Racism has been around ever since people were different colors. Even in our open culture today, it is no surprise racism is still present. A big difference with racism today is it is based less on hatred and more on stereotypes. Does this make it any less racist? Music videos help justify those stereotypes. Every black rapper that puts out a music video of girls dancing on them while they throw money and flash their jewelry solidifies that image of a black man. Weird Al Yankovich attempts to make fun of white people in his parody “White and Nerdy”.
The video opens with two black men driving in a very nice convertible with bobbing their heads to the beat. They both double take when they see Al mowing his lawn. He is wearing a polo, slacks, and thick glasses. His nerd status is solidified when he gives the black men an over enthusiastic wave and starts speed walking over to them. The reaction of the men in itself is a parody. They frantically lock the doors (in a convertible) and drive away as fast as they can. This is making fun of how white people react when approached by a black man in a bad neighborhood. They seem afraid of the stereotypical nerd that is approaching them while others are afraid when approached by the stereotypical gangster.
The role flip in itself is not racist. I do not think this video is meant to be racist at all. It does, however, make some assumptions that do stem from racism and negative stereotypes. For instance, every gangster in this video is black and every black person in this video is a gangster. This is a minor detail but a very important one. It gives the impression that in order to be gangster you have to be black and in order to be nerdy you have to be white. This is only important because it highlights how white has come to equal intelligent and well spoken, while black has come to equal gangster and illiterate. At some point in time we have all heard, “why is that white guy acting black?” or “at least that black guy doesn’t act black”. This might be one of the worst forms of racism because black people are the ones that use it most. It has become their identity to “act black”.
Literally every line in this song is a stereotype of white and nerdy people. He talks about how he loves doing calculus, how all of his friends come to him to work on code, and how he has a front lawn. The front lawn is a subtle stereotype. Ghettos are not known for their large front lawns so by the simple line of “they see me mowin, my front lawn”, he is flipping this stereotype. Even though he is talking about being white and nerdy, he is dressed up like a gangster in pieces of the video which is also funny. A big reason we find it funny though, is because a white person dressed as a gangster just doesn’t make sense.
This song and video were all made in fun and with good intentions. That does not mean that it is void of racism. It sheds a light on the type of racism that has been so engrained in our culture and society that it is no longer recognized. The main reason is because black people have accepted it as their identity. This does not make the stereotypes any less harmful to a culture or race though. The worst part is this music video and song are actually really funny. They make fun of the song “Ridin” by Chamillionaire perfectly. I suggest you listen to that song as well in order to get the full feel of “White and nerdy”.
First, I felt like your paper was a touch confusing because you stated the video is not racist, yet then you finish it with saying that it is not void of racism. I believe, however, it is meant to highlight stereotypes in a humors light. If Al was really trying to offend someone of a different race, he would not be so blatantly making fun of his own. Also, all of Al's song are made as spoofs of other songs, so he is not focused on mocking a group of people, but more the song he has chosen.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually having fun watching the "White n Nerdy" video. It's hilarious and it reminds me of "The Big Bang Theory", it is nothing racist to me though. Also, I think Weird Al choose a song to make parody sometimes is because some lines of that song sounds like a funny topic, like this one, "ridin dirty" sounds like "white n nerdy". So I agree with Brenna that Weird Al's parodies are more about mocking the original songs rather than racists or other stereotypes. Yea I also watched the original video, and that is racist.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching both the music video of "White and Nerdy" and "Ridin", there is no doubt that the "White and Nerdy" song is actually parodying the song "Ridin". The song "White and Nerdy" portrays stereotypes on white who is nerdy while the song "Ridin" concerns about the stereotypes of African American. In my point of view, there is no element of racism at all in "White and Nerdy" but the major idea that it is trying to bring out is that stereotyping and racism are negative issues that happen in everyday life but being racist and stereotyping the others are uncivilized acts.The video is made hilarious to project the idea that to some extent people stereotype the others but they are unaware of it until they laugh at the funny scenes in the music video.
ReplyDeleteI find this video to be quite humorous as well! The video is putting the stereotype that if you are white there isn’t a way for you to act like a gangster. In this day and age there are many white people who try to act ghetto or act black, but that is a stereo-type that we can all agree on. In the video all of the people who are supposed to be the gangsters have beaters on, they are wearing bandanas, and they have big muscles to prove that they are tough. The nerdy guy has his pants pulled up high, tucked in shirt, and glasses. He seems to not be fazed by the gangsters because he feels that he is a part of them, but in essence he really isn’t.
ReplyDeleteI also find it funny that the background music is very simple. I understand that it was written by somebody else originally, but in almost every song that is written by African American artists, they all have simple beats that usually repeat over and over again. The fact that a nerdy man is trying to rap to this simple beat makes it very funny and ironic.
To be honest I don’t think that this video is that racist because these are all stereotypes that are present in our current life. I understand that if this were to be published it would probably get banned; however these weren’t the intentions of the song. The main intentions of the song where to perform a satire on the whole rap industry to prove that they don’t just have to rap about getting with girls or making money. What Weird Al Yankovic did was very humorous. However, if this were being performed on live television, he would get in trouble for this because it makes some hasty generalizations. This song is very comical and I believe that people shouldn’t bash it because most of the things they say are true.
In my perspective, "White and Nerdy" is not about racism. It is funny and it presents a feeling of a man with "white and nerdy". Racism reflects a little from this song. And, I agree that the song parody the song "Ridin". I think the original one, which is about an African American, is racial discrimination.
ReplyDeleteIf there were ever a racist video made with good intentions, I would claim this video fits that criteria. In the music industry, Weird Al is a huge name and artists find it an honor to have their songs remade by him. Obviously, he uses stereotypes to create a humorous parody, but I do not see this being taken offensively by any group of people. In fact, "White & Nerdy" humorously draws attention to the actual racism seen in other songs.
ReplyDeleteI do not personally find this video offensive, but instead humorous, which I believe is the point of Weird Al creating the video. Yes, the sterotype exists that white males are much smarter than black males and all black males are gansters. But we all know that stereotypes are not always correct. Obviously, not all African American males are gansters. We have an African American president! In addition, there have been plenty of white males to start or join gangs and dress like a ganster. I believe this video is trying to put the stereotype out in the open so people start to realize that it is false. If you were a white male watching this video, you may be offended because you do not characterize yourself as nerdy, mowing your front lawn, and doing calculus all day. If you were a black male, you may be offended because you do not characterize yourself as a gangster. This shows that the stereotype is incorrect. Weird Al used a humorous and successful approach to counter a popular stereotype.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone else has said, this video is very funny and I enjoyed watching it. While watching it however, I thought of all the stereotypes used in the video and how often I apply these to people without even realizing it or meaning to. These stereotypes really override our lives without us really ever noticing. These stereotypes are so potent in our everyday lives. In the present, sometimes you don't even have to be white to be considered white or be black to be "black." This video plays on the stereotypes in a great, humurous way, but it makes everyone realize how inapropriate the stereotypes really are by exaggerating them. Wierd Al is spreading a good message by playing on such stereotypes. The video is not necessarily racist because the stereotypes used are not to portray the characters negatively, but rather, to get out a humorous song with a message.
ReplyDeleteGiven just his name, "Weird Al" Yankovic is a very hard person to take seriously. He has been making parodies of any and every song imaginable since 1976. He has parodied Queen, The Knack, and many others. In fact, for Mr. Yankovic, parody is the name of the game. He tries to humor his audiences by making fun of the work of other artists, and almost every scene in this video is directly corresponding to a scene in “Ridin” by Chamillionaire. Chamillionaire even thought the song was hilarious and placed a link to the music video on his MySpace page. Parodies seek to mock the style of the song that they originated from, and, if anything, "Weird Al" is mocking gangster culture with this video. Careful examination shows, in the beginning of the video, a couple of gangsters who are scared witless by a man in a pink shirt, and dress pants. This is a remark by Mr. Yankovic not that white people are scarey, but, rather, that "gangsters" are mostly just big fakers (who are perhaps a bit unsure of their sexuality). Through out the rest of the film, "Weird Al" goes on to show audiences why, as a commenter on YouTube mentions, it would be much better to be a nerd than a gangster. Thus, the comedy of this video is not directed at the alabaster tech gurus, but the "gangsters" who are now so accepted - and some might say even worshiped- in modern society.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I find this parody funny and not racist. Through this parody, Weird Al wants to deliver a significant message to everyone on how stereotypes of black and white people are not always true. White is mostly characterized as nerdy-type person who loves studying and wears glasses. While black is always pictured as gangster look person with muscles. However, there should not be any stereotypes on how to be white or black. It is only the matter of skin color. People can act whatever they want to as long as they are comfortable with it, even though it doesn't look right at the first place, such as the nerdy white man who tries to blend with the black guys. This is what Weird Al tries to convey through his video.
ReplyDeleteI remember the highlight of my 8th grade talent show was when our teacher performed this song. He was a Caucasian English Teacher and I thought it was funny how he wore sunglasses and was walking around the stage with his arms swinging around trying to act "black." Personally, I found more humor in this song then I did hurtful racism. This video does do a great job of contrasting the common stereotypes we have in society. I thought it was very funny how in the beginning when he went to approach the "gangstas'" in the car how they seemed more "afraid" of him. I have seen a lot of videos of the opposite action. A common theme is how the two groups (preppy whites and gangster blacks) always seem to stay in their own in-groups. Every time a black man approached a white person, they seemed more scared. Also most of this video is mostly funny because of the over exaggeration of these stereotypes. Hopefully no one really brings their laptop in the shower to study some calculus.
ReplyDeleteI would like to start by stressing the difference between racism and racial stereotypes. Racism is, by definitioin, the belief that one's race issuperior to another and that members of said race are, by default, superior to members of any other race. Stereotyoes are merely generalizations made by society that pertain to a specific group of people. It is also clear that Wierd Al made yet another satirical spoof of a popular song highlighting his proclivites as a nerd. Just because something points out a difference between races does not inherantly mean they are trying to convey a racist message. Whether media is racist or not cannot be determined by watching a music video made by a commedian, but rather, by analysing the subtext underlying the message itself.
ReplyDeleteAs discussed before in class in regards to sexism, this song also promotes racism, but in a non-hateful way. It mostly points out the extreme differences between these two cultures, and the images most often associated with them. As a white nerd myself, I found myself laughing at the protagonist in the video more often, rather then believing it was a profound statement on racism in the US today.
ReplyDeletei think that the video uses racism for comedic purposes. The video over-plays the stereo-type of white males to such an extreme that is comedic. the stereotype cannot be generalized to the entire white male population and is intended only to be funny. Given the Artist's previous songs and videos, i think this is intended for comedy only.
ReplyDeleteI think this musical video definitely want to make the racism argument to attract people's attention. However, when I look into the music vedio, I do not think there is any racial issue in the vedio. As an asian, I do not have stereotype such as White people act like a nerdy. As for me, I think the music video just reflect two different kinds of people overall. There is no white or black thing in it. Some black people like to deal with math problems too. They might be live like a nerdy. So I don't think this is about racial issue.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, racism is still racism even though is subtle as suggested by the writer. To term it as stereotypes, it is just another way to define racism in a different word. I do agree with the writer that it means not harm but just as a sense of humour in the song. We shouldn’t encourage this type of action as there will always be stereotypes/ subtle racism.
ReplyDeleteI think Group 3 point out well that some of racism nowadays comes more from stereotypes rather than hatred I agreed. Also, as some of you guys mentioned, this American society has advanced more to racial equality, with the African American president demonstrated.
ReplyDeleteI guess the reason why none of us are offended and feel amused by this video is that those nerdy behaviors are observed only small part of people in this society and they are not serious minority who needs to be protected. Also, the light tone of description adds more entertainment.
I do not believe that this video or song is racist but you are very correct in the matter of it portraying stereotypical roles and views between white and black people. The view of black people being the gangsters and thugs and white people as being the nerds is very common in todays time and it's almost so common that it's completely overlooked as being offensive or racist and thought of as normal.
ReplyDeleteWhile the video does use different racial stereotypes to grab the viewer's attention in this video, there is no resentment behind the message. The video is solely made to poke fun at some of these stereotypes that we have in today's society. The image of the black men as gangsters and the white man as a geek has been shown so many times that our culture doesn't even seem to phase us. Flipping the character traits though, as done in this video, captures the viewer's attention because it is a fresh approach to these stereotypes. Because it is done in jest, no hard feelings really arise, but it does make people do a bit of a double take when seeing these stereotypes in action. Some may call it racism, but I believe it is more of an exploitation of stereotypes than anything. No harm is done, and no deep seeded hatred is involved anywhere in the process.
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