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Sony gets racist. White is coming.

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M

Mr. Pointy

Member
It's suspect, to say the least. Chances are the controversy from this ad's resulting shitstorm will move some PSPs.

I am however planning to get a white PSP Giga pack, because of its supposedly superior D-pad.
 
S

Square2005

Banned
So not only is Sony of Europe anti-Catholic but now they're racist too! :lol

(Maybe that appeals to Europeans? I don't know...)
 
T

The Shadow

Member
TheTrin said:
If its intention was to be entirely benign, SCEE`s oversight in this regard is even more evidence that Sony has lost its mind.
Click to expand...

Benign? No. It's meant to push buttons but to say it's all out racist is stupid. I mean just in this thread we have people coming up, all in their head, scenarios such as the white girl "beating up" the black guy, or that it's the "literal definition" of white power.

This is all in people's head. People come in with their own prejudice and apply them to the ad and declare it racist.


I'm really hoping anyone and everyone who's moaning about this also wrote to Comedy Central about the Dave Chappelle show and/or Mind of Mencia.
 
R

ralexand

100% logic failure rate
hadareud said:
peterh.jpg
Click to expand...
:lol
I always loved that one.
 
T

travisbickle

Member
Zenith said:
an overtly white person beating up a black guy/girl, for a product whose USP is being white isn't just a tad overboard?

you can't deny that colour is the central "theme" of this ad, and having one beating on another kinda seals the deal.
Click to expand...

And I'll repeat what I said before, if people don't stop coming to their own conclusions about what the "true meaning" of adverts are, and the "obvious prejudices" the advertising team had when making the shoot, racism will remain rife in today's society. It doesn't look like the black model had a problem with doing the advert, or are you going to say she's been forced into the role by the white oppresor.
 
N

Nino

*LOVES* Bob Marley
ssoass said:
I don't think this particular one is in Amsterdam.
The one I saw was in the Kalverstraat, and this does not look like that street at all.
It's probably somewhere in the Netherlands as you said though, going by the Dutch words on the buildings.
Click to expand...
I stand corrected, what I meant was that the signs give away that it's somehwere in the Netherlands, I assumed this one was in Amsterdam because of your previous post. Wat een kutweer trouwens.
 
T

Tellaerin

Member
travisbickle said:
And I'll repeat what I said before, if people don't stop coming to their own conclusions about what the "true meaning" of adverts are, and the "obvious prejudices" the advertising team had when making the shoot, racism will remain rife in today's society. It doesn't look like the black model had a problem with doing the advert, or are you going to say she's been forced into the role by the white oppresor.
Click to expand...

More like cash > principles for some people, especially when we all have to eat at the end of the day. That still doesn't make this any less racist. Come on, man - we've got a white model in a threatening posture facing a black model who looks cowed, with the caption 'White is Coming', and you don't see any subtext there?
 
M

M3wThr33

Banned
Tellaerin said:
More like cash > principles for some people, especially when we all have to eat at the end of the day. That still doesn't make this any less racist. Come on, man - we've got a white model in a threatening posture facing a black model who looks cowed, with the caption 'White is Coming', and you don't see any subtext there?
Click to expand...

No! Unless you have been explicitly told it's racist you can't think it! You're ignorant for inferring anything from an ad and you are only perpetuating racism by THINKING it is racist. Idiot!
 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
I'm not calling it racist, but rather plainly in bad taste...meant to evoke the subject of color however deeply it's meant. It's just a bad idea for a product and a fairly cheap shock advert. A comedy show can watched or not. Advertisements aren't as easy to selectively view.

It doesn't look like the black model had a problem with doing the advert, or are you going to say she's been forced into the role by the white oppresor.
Click to expand...
Don't be stupid. Acting/modelling is a living where exposure is more important than what and how their work might be used in the final piece after they're done with their end of the job. But the way it's done in the advert is just lame.
 
M

Mr. Pointy

Member
travisbickle said:
And I'll repeat what I said before, if people don't stop coming to their own conclusions about what the "true meaning" of adverts are, and the "obvious prejudices" the advertising team had when making the shoot, racism will remain rife in today's society.
Click to expand...
That's in the top 5 of dumbest things I've ever read. And I've read some guys opinion on why the Gamecube can run Advent Children in real-time.

The advert is pretty much in bad taste.
 
H

hadareud

The Translator
travisbickle said:
And I'll repeat what I said before, if people don't stop coming to their own conclusions about what the "true meaning" of adverts are, and the "obvious prejudices" the advertising team had when making the shoot, racism will remain rife in today's society. It doesn't look like the black model had a problem with doing the advert, or are you going to say she's been forced into the role by the white oppresor.
Click to expand...
that's just being stupid.

It's not like Sony (or their marketing firm for that matter) don't do this on purpose. Do you honestly think they are so stupid to not notice what could be implied into this advert if somebody wanted? They are clearly looking for this reaction, because it will get talked about.
 
S

Sho Nuff

Banned
Mr. Pointy said:
That's in the top 5 of dumbest things I've ever read. And I've read some guys opinion on why the Gamecube can run Advent Children in real-time.
Click to expand...

Ooo I want a link for that one
 
B

bud

Member
didn't she also play the villian in the chronicles of narnia, anyone?

she looks alot like her.
 
S

Stitchy

Member
The Shadow said:
I think they added white gloves to add contrast between her hand and his face.
Click to expand...

It's just one glove, dude.

The symbolism held here is that she's supposed to be the anti-Michael Jackson.

That's a pretty positive message, if you ask me. Cause, y'know one of those is one too many.
 
M

Mr. Pointy

Member
Sho Nuff said:
Ooo I want a link for that one
Click to expand...
I wish I still had a link for it. But it got deleted. It was good too; the poster was completely nonsensical but you could tell he believed his claims.
 
T

travisbickle

Member
fight.gif


Oh my God, Rocky 3 is racist!!

The advert is black vs white, they've used a black model and a white model, anything to do with the suppresion/hate crimes towards black people by white is taking the advert out of it's context and putiting a spin on it.
 
T

Tellaerin

Member
travisbickle said:
fight.gif


Oh my God, Rocky 3 is racist!!

The advert is black vs white, they've used a black model and a white model, anything to do with the suppresion/hate crimes towards black people by white is taking the advert out of it's context and putiting a spin on it.
Click to expand...

No, they've used a white model in a dominant posture and a black model in a submissive one. Aggressor and victim. That's the subtext of the image, and it's presented pretty damn clearly. There's no 'taking it out of context' involved.
 
N

No.1

Member
I doubt it was their intention, but having a white person holding onto a black person's face like that isn't going to go too well with people who are senitive about the topic of racism - and people still are.

If they wanted to show the contrast between a black and white person then there are other ways to do so. I just think with the gloves, the scared face of the black person, the overpowering face of the white person and the the hold of the face is a little too much.

But it's Sony. This isn't the first time they've released such ads, with the Jesus ad being the perfect example.
 
S

Stitchy

Member
travisbickle said:
fight.gif


Oh my God, Rocky 3 is racist!!

The advert is black vs white, they've used a black model and a white model, anything to do with the suppresion/hate crimes towards black people by white is taking the advert out of it's context and putiting a spin on it.
Click to expand...

i liek mr. t cereal
 
D

duckroll

Member
travisbickle said:
fight.gif


Oh my God, Rocky 3 is racist!!

The advert is black vs white, they've used a black model and a white model, anything to do with the suppresion/hate crimes towards black people by white is taking the advert out of it's context and putiting a spin on it.
Click to expand...

If Rocky 3 revolved around a white man specifically seeking out a black challenger and beating him to a pulp to prove that the white man is superior, then you might have a point. No one is taking the ad out of context because the CONTEXT of the ad is - WHITE IS COMING.
 
T

travisbickle

Member
The context is it is an advert for Sony PSP, it states it is black vs white in it, we can see it is black vs white by the two models potrayed in the photograph. Taking it out of context would be to say it is some how trying to agree with the thousands of years of suppresion against blacks, and that it is also giving a positive reflection to recent racist beatings.
 
T

Tellaerin

Member
travisbickle said:
The context is it is an advert for Sony PSP, it states it is black vs white in it, we can see it is black vs white by the two models potrayed in the photograph. Taking it out of context would be to say it is some how trying to agree with the thousands of years of suppresion against blacks, and that it is also giving a positive reflection to recent racist beatings.
Click to expand...

It's not just saying 'black vs. white', it's saying 'white is superior'. (Which is all well and good when you're trying to sell different-colored PSP's, but is another matter entirely when you're talking about people. Or using them as visual metaphors for products in your ads.) The dominant aggressive posture of the white model and the submissive posture of the black one make that pretty obvious.
 
F

Frankfurter

Member
No.1 said:
I doubt it was their intention, but having a white person holding onto a black person's face like that isn't going to go too well with people who are senitive about the topic of racism - and people still are.

If they wanted to show the contrast between a black and white person then there are other ways to do so. I just think with the gloves, the scared face of the black person, the overpowering face of the white person and the the hold of the face is a little too much.

But it's Sony. This isn't the first time they've released such ads, with the Jesus ad being the perfect example.
Click to expand...

Anybody got a link to that ad? I keep hearing about, but probably have never seen it.
 
X

Xellotah

Member
travisbickle said:
The context is it is an advert for Sony PSP, it states it is black vs white in it, we can see it is black vs white by the two models potrayed in the photograph. Taking it out of context would be to say it is some how trying to agree with the thousands of years of suppresion against blacks, and that it is also giving a positive reflection to recent racist beatings.
Click to expand...


Tellaerin said:
It's not just saying 'black vs. white', it's saying 'white is superior'. (Which is all well and good when you're trying to sell different-colored PSP's, but is another matter entirely when you're talking about people. Or using them as visual metaphors for products in your ads.) The dominant aggressive posture of the white model and the submissive posture of the black one make that pretty obvious.
Click to expand...


You are both right, it all up to interpretation. No doubt Sony wanted the ad to be provacative though.
 
T

travisbickle

Member
I think I just live in a different world where noone over-reacts to adverts by multi-national companies. I'll send the advert to my British mates telling them to buy the new white PSP, and I'll see if any of them are offended.
 
F

Francias Castiglione

Banned
I think the best point that can be made is that there is NO reason for the White model to be exerting violence to the Black model. It's a different colour of the same product, not a superior version.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
What if white was the default and the ad was "BLACK IS COMING" would it still be racist? If not, then it's not racist.
 
A

Amir0x

Banned
heh. I think it's pretty obvious the intent is not to be racist and that whoever created it didn't even think of it that way; it's a pretty sad world we live in when this is the water mark for the general sensitivity the world still feels toward this.

THAT SAID, they should have still erred on the side of caution... you never want to hurt your potential customers in that way.
 
S

Stitchy

Member
Amir0x said:
THAT SAID, they should have still erred on the side of caution... you never want to hurt your potential customers in that way.
Click to expand...

I think that Sony erred on the side of money. We've all seen this style of advertising before.

Producing slightly controversial ads repeatedly has improved the sales for many companies (for example, Benetton). There's no reason why Sony can't have the same gameplan.
 
V

Vieo

Member
I think of it as Spy Vs. Spy. Although, if there was a Spy vs. Spy movie, would the black spy necessarily be, well, black?
 
N

nightez

Banned
Well its pretty obvious that they are conveying that the White model PSP is superior to the Black PSP. Hence the white person is kicking the black person's ass. There are race based undertones I say.


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