Vine: Redefining Racial Stereotyping in Six Seconds
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This document discusses moral and ethical dilemmas related to stereotyping and racial issues in the media. It examines the Trayvon Martin case and how short video clips can frame incidents. It also looks at cultural identification and belonging, as well as approaches like deontological ethics, teleological ethics, and Aristotle's Golden Mean that could provide a balanced perspective moving forward.
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Vine: Redefining Racial Stereotyping in Six Seconds
- 2. The Pursuit of Happiness
- 3. “Trayvoning”
- 4. Moral dilemma and stereotyping in the media
- 5. Six seconds of f(r)ame
- 6. A new frontier for racial comedy: #Blackpeople vs. #Whitepeople
- 7. “Good job!”
- 8. Burke: Identification & cultural belongingness
- 9. Curtain & Gaither: Cultural narrative theory
- 10. Ethical dilemma in the Vineyard
- 11. InterVinetion 1: Deontological ethics
- 12. InterVinetion 2: Teleological ethics
- 13. InterVinetion 3: Aristotle’s Golden Mean
- 14. A happy medium
- 15. Going forward
Editor's Notes
- The history of American public discourse is one marred with both the attempt of erasing Black and suffering, and to find pleasure in the suffering of the other (Guerrero & Leonard, 2012). The “Pursuit of Happiness,” in most cases, is deemed central to hegemonic power, or White supremacy (Rodriquez, 2007). Paired with new media and mobile technologies, this ongoing White racial domination is further encrypted in the fabric of the American society through new means of communication and oppression.
- In their article, “Playing Dead: The Trayvoning Meme & the Mocking of Black Death,” Lisa Guerrero and David J. Leonard argued that “the marriage of communication innovation with racist stagnation constitutes something new … in the history of the system of racism in the United States” (2012). “Trayvoning,” according to descriptions on GlobalGrind.com, is the “meme-ification” of Trayvon Martin’s death by asking Internet users to post photos of them in a hoodie, with Skittles and Arizona iced tea, posing like they have been shot in the chest (“Trayvoning,” 2012). Such despicable and dehumanizing act recasts and performs racial injustice by turning one’s pain and suffering into “a spectacle of white pleasure that further denies the humanity of black people” (Guerrero & Leonard, 2012). With new means for communicating, posting, sharing, and expressing oneself on the Internet today, more opportunities are opened up for the privileged to reveal its entitlement to remain relatively indifferent to social injustice, allowing the continued trivialization of the powerless.
- With media being the focal point for much of the criticism of the perpetuation of stereotype and racial injustice, media professionals are called to grapple “with the moral dilemma of responding to the concerns of those who object to unflattering or unrealistic portrayals” while considering the “legitimate and acceptable roles some stereotypes play” in various media content (Day, 2006). As such, my presentation seeks to explore and examine the racist aesthetic in one of the most popular social media today, Vine. By identifying the likeness between Vine and early minstrelsy, and by scrutinizing the identification process in racial stereotyping, this presentation considers the ethical dimensions in the video-sharing app as a new stage from racial comedy. I also seek to establish strategies for confronting stereotyping on social networking platforms based on three major ethical theories in moral reasoning, namely deontological, teleological, and virtue theories.
- Vine, a free mobile app that allows users to create and share short, looping videos, was launched January 2013 by a three-man company based in New York (AllThingsD.com, 2013). As expressed on the Vine homepage, the app creators believed that “constraint inspires creativity” (“Introducing Vine,” 2013). Given the constraint in recording time, Viners (Vine users) are forced to fit their stories into the six-second video frames. In doing so, Viners adopt a minimalistic approach in video production by eliminating less important elements from the recording. However, when Viners are forced to strip off the less necessary scenes of their video, they eliminate some important elements that are essential to telling a complete story. This becomes problematic in ethnic humor, as racist or stereotypical jokes may be perceived out of context.
- Journalist Julie Kayzerman described Vine as the latest platform for racist rage like those in the minstrel show of the 1840s. By portraying lampooned Black American as dim-witted, lazy, and buffoonish, minstrelsy was an American entertainment comprises of musicals, comic skits, and variety acts (Lott, 1991). Kim Pearson, chair of the department of African-American studies at The College of New Jersey argued there are parallels between the minstrel show and popular culture today, such as Vine. Viners can search for eacially themed videos using hashtags like “#blackpeople”, “#whitepeople”, “#whitemoms”, or “#blackmoms.” A common plot for these racial videos is the comparison between Black and White cultures.
- For instance, in “White People Dunking vs. Black People,” the video begins with two White teenagers celebrating a good shot in basketball with a simple “Good job!” It then closes with two Black teenagers celebrating their slam-dunk with wild gestures, loud cheers, and chest bumps, portraying a barbaric stereotype for Black people. In merely six seconds, the Vine video has portrayed Black culture in a less desirable light. The video was able to negatively represent African Americans as wild and violent.
- It is not uncommon to find that some Viners post and share racist stereotypes or jokes about their own ethnicity. While some may find it unreasonable, scholars of rhetoric and cultural studies are interested in learning the motivation underlying such behaviors. Some theorists argued there are processes of assimilation to help marginalized minority cope with discrimination. In his famous essay, A Rhetoric of Motives, Kenneth Burke (1950) suggested that identification occurs as a condition in which specialized activities occupy. According to Burke, cultural belongingness is rhetorical, and cultural identification can become sinister when unacknowledged or hidden.
- Another explanation stems from the cultural narrative perspective. Curtain and Gaither (2007) found narrative theory demonstrates that tapping into shared myths can be a powerful persuasion tool because they resonate with people’s deep-seated emotions and beliefs. In “I Love Black People,” a compilation of Vine clips that focus only on Black culture, it shows African Americans playing an active part in producing images of racial stereotypes. This suggests the identification of a minority culture to its supremacy by downplaying its own identity. Cultural studies scholars believe that meanings are always constructed within the range made possible by institutional frameworks. They then are reconstructed as people use them in their particular social situations.
- Charles Zastrow and Karen Kirst-Ashmann defined stereotypes as a “fixed mental image of group that is frequently applied to all its members” (1987). According to media scholar Louis Day (2006), the media have been blamed for much of the criticism of the perpetuation of stereotypes. Nonetheless, as media professionals, it is important to identify the struggles with the moral dilemma of responding to the concerns of those who are subjected to unflattering or misrepresentative portrayals while defending the legitimate roles that some stereotypes play in media content. Day argued that in a pluralistic culture such as the United States, media practitioners must not just eliminate all stereotypical portrayals but to consider the “fundamental fairness” in stereotypical images of certain segments of the society (2006). According to Day and ethicist Deni Elliott, cultural stereotypes play a vital role of fulfilling social functions. On the one hand, stereotyping help media institutions “to attract and hold audience for advertisers.” On the other hand, stereotypes are a tool for media institutions in social engineering “a more egalitarian culture” (Day, 2006). While scrutinizing the pros and cons of racial stereotyping, one must take into consideration the role of stereotypes in shaping societal ethics and worldviews. Therefore, there are values in investigating the legitimacy of stereotyping from three ethical perspectives. The following section applies three kinds of ethical theories to evaluate the “meme-ification” of Black culture on Vine.
- In his book, Ethics in Media Communications: Cases and Controversies, Day (2006) identified three kinds of ethical theories based primarily on the teachings of Kant, Mill, and Aristotle, namely deontological theories, teleological theories, and virtue theories. Deontological theories, also known as duty-based theories, assume that there are ethical rules that should be universally applied and that respect the humanity. Deontologists (like Immanuel Kant) believe that the ends do not justify the means. In other words, one simply cannot use foul means to do good. A deontological perspective would object any act of prejudice or discrimination, including racial stereotyping. As the universal moral standard according to a Kantian maxim of “do not deceive,” Viners’ stereotypes would be deemed demeaning and thus shall be avoided.
- The second kind of ethical theories, teleological theories, are consequence-based theories. Consequentialists (like John Stuart Mill) seek out ethical choices that maximize good consequences. They are deemed to be more flexible than deontological theories as they allow more leeway in ethical choices, especially when dealing with difficult situations. From the teleologist perspective, one might argue that the anticipated consequences in Viners’ stereotyping, that is, the relative benefits and harms to the audience, outweigh a universal maxim such as “do not deceive.” A teleologist would concur that racist jokes on Vine help marginalized cultures to gain popularity and normalize themselves among White supremacy. This may lead to more harmonious interactions between the oppressed and its oppressors, eliminating unnecessary conflicts. As such, moderate racial stereotypes on Vine may be acceptable.
- Finally, virtue theories, as represented by Aristotle’s golden mean, are ethical decisions concerned with character building. Aristotle’s golden mean seeks to provide a middle-ground solution in cases in which there are extreme positions. Even though most Vine videos are seemingly racist in a moderate level, a critical theorist may still regard any racial stereotype as highly offensive. Yet, an advocate for the marketplace of ideas concept and the freedom of speech would argue that any censorship threatens a democratic society. Hence, an Aristotelian approach to confronting racial stereotypes on Vine may be to allow Viners to continue sharing racial sensitive content while requiring Vine to provide a warning for mature content and an option for Viners to report inappropriate content. By doing so, Viners are trusted with the autonomy to post community-building content and be watchdogs in the world of Vine. On the other hand, it allows both the marketplace theory and freedom of speech to endure.
- Based on the foregoing analysis, an Aristotelian virtue perspective seems to best serve the interests of Vine and the community of Viners. A happy medium for both extreme positions can be achieved by allowing Viners to maintain their freedom of expression while keeping an option for overtly inappropriate stereotypes to be reported and removed. Although there are many other ethical considerations to be identified and attended to in various social media, the recognition of racial stereotyping in a popular social network such as Vine is an important first step to critical examination of other similar platforms.
- For media professionals, this presentation represents further thinking about ethics in new media. Future studies should promote a continual effort of investigating and reconceiving social sharing sites as educational and political spaces. At the same time, it is prudent to acknowledge the complications and contradictions involved in such work. This realization, however, cannot be an excuse for inaction. With this I urge media scholars to take on the responsibility of revealing social injustice and discrimination disguised as racist humors in the media.