"Obama the Magical Negro" Song Parody (video)--offensive or not?
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/29/Writer_defends_Obama_Magic_Negro_song/UPI-75691230581489/
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M$10 Answers
Now the REAL question is regarding the intention of the chairman candidate who sent it; no one can ever say for sure whether he had any malicious intent or just meant for it to be fun, but I think in this instance, that's the real question that exists.
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M$First, it's not the term "negro" that would be considered offensive but the use of "magic negro." This is a term, according to Wikipedia that means "mystical stock character in fiction who, by use of special insight or powers, helps the white protagonist get out of trouble." It is a term that dates back to the 50s but was popularized by Spike Lee.
Also the lyrics state "not authentic like me." Well, let's see this "authentic negro" Paul Shanklin:
http://www.paulshanklin.com/images/rosslook.jpg
There has long been a standard of jokes being considered less offensive if it is made by someone that the joke pokes fun at. I believe that this is because it is very clear that no offense is intended. It's clear, given that the song was written by a white conservative, that is not the case here.
Also, parody is defined as "A work or performance that imitates another work or performance with ridicule or irony." Since there is no irony here, it must be ridicule. And to ridicule someone is offensive in most cases.
Finally, I recall watching an interview with Paul Rodriguez where he was asked if jokes that contained racial slurs were funny. His answer was "not if they are funny." Quite honestly, I didn't think this was funny.
So, yes, I think the video and song is offensive and very inappropriate to be sent out as part of a "political gift."
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M$
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story?coll=la-opinion-center
that was the basis for the song.
also, the alleged "James Earl Ray" quote that another answerer mentioned never happened. (Same as "the south was safer after dark" quote.) Every word that comes out of that man's mouth for 15 hours a week is recorded live by people who would love to force him off the air. Every word he says at a live speech is also recorded. Trust me, if Limbaugh said those things, you wouldn't be reading about it, you'd be hearing him say it, over and over, more times than they replayed the Challenger disaster.
So far as this song goes, what's the point? Yjis song hasn't had any relevance since the Democratic Primaries were decided. We all need to be 100% behind our President for the next 4 years. I didn't vote for him, but I'd rather have Obama than Hillary. I wasn't really happy about McCain.
The cabinet he's announced is well to the right of President Clinton's first cabinet.
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M$
I have mixed opinions about that opinion piece, but I still think this is in a different place. David Eherenstein is African American, and the creator of the video isn't, apparently, which I find especially bizarre since he does say "like me" and that he is "from the hood" which means he is pretending to be black in the video. Kind of confused by that.
This is a tough topic...and I just hope that even if Ehrenstein is in many ways right, Obama is 1) able to help our country as a distinguished politician who is capable of bringing us together (and, really, how many politicians at the White House level have been "ordinary" people) and 2) able to open that door for many others to enter politics in the future.
To Quote Rush...
"You know who deserves a posthumous Medal of Honor? James Earl Ray [the confessed assassin of Martin Luther King]. We miss you, James. Godspeed. "
I'm not black, so you have to sometimes listen to how they react to it and not think about how you feel about it.
An RNC rep in this video is defending Chip to some degree and the black anchor lady says straight up.. "It wouldn't be funny if someone called me 'Tamron Hall the magic negro anchor lady.' "
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZL3E1vZgiQ
Again, I don't really know the correct answer, only my own. I hope someday people will be able to look beyond race and classify people by the colour of their skin. At the end of the day, for Chip, a person who was going to be "the face of the republican party" coming off as a racist wasn't a smart idea. I hope future American politicians can find better role models than Rush Limbaugh
Here is more civil discussion about it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkRcyFaRA_A
/maybe if Dave Chappelle wrote the song it would not be racist, but Rush has no black friends from what I know, just knowing this comes from Rush you know it was meant to be racist.
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M$
It talks about "real blacks like snoop dog, me, and farakan" and "black but not authentically", as if we have some definition of "real black" that wasn't popularized by the media recently. Let's look at the color of black people's skin. How many black people in this country can't trace some white or other race's blood in their genes? Why has there never been conflict in calling many of the current black leaders who have a white parent as African American or black, but there is such a conflict suddenly with Barack Obama?
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M$
Perhaps some democrats might take offense, and perhaps some black Americans might take offense. But most of all I think the guy who wrote Puff the Magic Dragon might be justifiably offended.
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M$
To me, the use of the phrase "Magical Negro" is what kicks this parody firmly over the line into the "offensive" category. Nobody uses the word negro anymore, and although it's not as offensive as the other N-word, it's still an antiquated word with some negative connotations.
That being said, I'm also a big believer in the First Amendment, so I'm fine with being offended by the vid. It bothers my sense of humor as much as it does my sense of good taste. For what it is, and the amount of play it's getting, it's just not funny. It's a one-joke play on words that never really goes anywhere, and it's not worth all the press attention.
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M$
But to address concerns about where the song came from, the lyrics were written by Paul Shanklin not Rush Limbaugh, and the idea for the song, that Barack is a "magic negro" who won because of white guilt, was from the LA Times.
As for use of the word negro, Mark Twain satirically used the more vulgar form of the word repeatedly in his highly lauded novel Huck Finn, which is also considered to be a very strong argument AGAINST racism.
So if your issue is with the overall idea of the song, you should be offended by the LA times, because it is their idea.
If you are offended by the word negro, then you should be more angry that Huck Finn uses a more offensive word, and is required reading in many US high schools.
However if you are just offended by the overall poor quality of the song, then hell yes you have a right to be offended.
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M$
Yes, it's offensive, much in the way the TechNi**a video was offensive.
http://blip.tv/file/326972/
See also my comments on racism directed at President Elect Obama on another Mahalo Answers question.
http://is.gd/eetE
TECH Ni**a Video - another so-called parody
http://blip.tv/file/326972/
and
http://is.gd/eetE
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M$
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M$
