Racebending.com

Happy New Year, Racebending.com readers! Here’s another Saturday link roundup.

• “Ethnic, Ethical, and Excellent” – by Latoya Peterson of Racialicious
  
  
  A look back at “Soul Train” – entertainment with a mission and a purpose. The idea that entertainment can aspire and achieve, can inspire and represent.
• SuperBowl Ad features Doritos Samurai Throwing “Ninja Stars” and Swinging “Nunchucks” – by Jozjozjoz of 8Asians
  
  
  You might have missed this one – distracted perhaps by a nefarious thirty seconds involving a dramatic accented voice and a landscape peppered with Inuit window dressing – but 8Asians sure didn’t. Check out the Doritos Super Bowl spot and their reaction.
• Sentence in ‘nip tipping’ called soft – by Tom Godfrey of Toronto Sun
  
  From Angry Asian Man, we found this news article about “nip tipping.” A Canadian man was sentenced to just two years in prison after a brutal hate crime on Asian Canadian fishermen that left one man paralyzed for life. In laying down the sentence, the court acknowledged the racial motivations behind the attack – which apparently did not carry enough weight to meet the prosecution’s suggested sentence of eight to ten years.
• Vietnamese New Year celebrations in Orange County, California – by Giang Nguyen of CNN
  
  Did you miss the Lunar New Year? Don’t fret – CNN has a photo collage from Orange County, showing off how the Vietnamese American community rang in the Year of the Tiger.
• Study: TV May Perpetuate Race Bias – by Alice Park of Time Magazine
  
  Most people regard watching television as a passive activity. You sit, you watch. Occasionally, you change the channel. But a new study reveals that even this passive diversion may lead to actively damaging effects, particularly when it comes to issues of race.
• Gérard Depardieu sparks racism row over role as mixed-race Dumas – by Charles Bremner of Times Online
  
  
  In France, there is uproar over the casting of a white actor to play Alexandre Dumas, a French national hero with mixed African blood. Professionals and activists are upset over this “missed chance … to celebrate ethnic diversity in France and remind the world of the writer’s origins.” (Dumas’ father is pictured above)
• Censorship is un-America Ferrera – by Dorothy Snarker of After Ellen
  
  
  The Ugly Betty star talks candidly about her new film role and the difficulties women of color face in Hollywood in a new interview with Bust magazine. America also talks about the difference between a white (code: normal) movie, versus a movie with two Latino actors (code: ethnic) and the frustrations she’s felt from being denied a role just on the basis of her skin colour.
• What is it about Movies Called Avatar and Race? – by Cindy Au of Geekosystem
  
  
  A really cool article on Geekosystem that describes the coverage of the Airbender casting controversy by Topless Robot and Salon.com. The post draws from several sources. It’s nice to take a step back and see how the controversy looks from the outside.
• How to Raise Racist Kids – by Jonathan Liu of Wired.com/GeekDad
  
  GeekDad blogger Jonathan Liu discusses how many parents believe that not mentioning race to their children will create color-blind children who will treat their peers with equality. The opposite is true.
• 5 Tips for Talking About Racism with Kids – by Sasha Emmons of Parenting.com
  
  Parenting.com interviews Dr. Beverly Tatum, president of Spelman College and author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations about Race, about parents and other adults can discuss race and ethnicity with children.
  
  “For many parents, the race talk is as difficult as the birds and the bees talk. Dr. Tatum attributes this awkwardness to a lack of communication about race in many of our own childhoods. ‘There are concerns about saying the wrong thing and sounding racist, even if that is not the intent.’ says Dr. Tatum.
• Searching for Asian American Actors on TV – by Linda of 8Asians
  
  
  8Asians looks at the television landscape and asks: where are the Asian Americans? It could be a breakout year for minority actors, after several years of decline for media diversity. But the going’s still tough for performers of color.