So, About Those Email Leaks…

Details

Description

Hey Guys! TGIF.

This is a quick video about the Great Sony EmailGate of 2014, which involves leaked personal emails exchanged between Sony Pictures executives. Sony co-chair Amy Pascal and Oscar-winning producer Scott Rudin are some of the most recent execs to get emails hacked, in some of which they express racist commentary about comedian Kevin Hart, who they called a 'greedy whore,' and also about POTUS Barack Obama, whom they posit 'must like Kevin Hart movies' and 'probably loved Django [along with other 'Black' movies like '12 Years A Slave'].'

The emails were blasted by the media as 'racially insensitive,' and the two have since publicly apologized. What I (and many others, like award winning content creator, writer, and producer Shonda Rhimes) find to be problematic about this entire thing is the lack of willingness to call these acts 'racist' outright, and the expectation that an apology and claim of 'I'm not racist!' is enough to mollify the public.

These two high-level Hollywood execs and their casual racism are perfect examples of white moderates in our current society of 'racism without racists.' The term, coined by sociologist Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, theorizes 'that we have gotten past our history of overt racism and [instead] have become a country that is built on "racism without racists."' He goes on to state that, "The 'new racism' is subtle… and institutionalized." So while Pascal and Rudin might not consider themselves 'racists,' per se, they are still holding onto unconscious biases about Black culture and behavior, and as people in high positions, this has a subtle trickle down effect of possibly influencing the actors they hire, the movies they finance, etc. (All of which has also been recently thrown into the spotlight thanks to a series of searing essays on race in Hollywood by comedian Chris Rock.)

Pascal and Rudin are not alone in their subtle-yet-evident racist perception of Black Americans. Many white people fall into the 'white moderate' category of not considering themselves to be racist although they hold onto unconscious biases and racist beliefs, keeping the national conversation on race completely stagnant.

Thanks for watching. Have a great weekend.

P.S. I was featured on the World Trust blog! You can read it here:
http://blog.world-trust.org/blog/anime-diversity-activities-that-help-teachers-learn-about-unconsious-bias

Their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/WorldTrustTV/featured

Links:

'Sony Pictures boss’ shockingly-racist Obama emails exposed:'
http://rt.com/usa/213647-sony-obama-emails-racist/

'Sony execs apologize for racist Obama emails:'
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/sony-executives-apologize-for-racist-barack-obama-emails-113508.html

'Shonda Rhimes Slams ‘Racist’ Leaked Sony Emails:'
http://time.com/3631127/shonda-rhimes-sony-emails/

'The new threat: 'Racism without racists':'
http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/26/us/ferguson-racism-or-racial-bias/

'CNN BLASTS AMERICA'S 'RACISM WITHOUT RACISTS':'
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2014/11/27/CNN-Blasts-America-s-Racism-Without-Racists

PDF links on Bonilla-Silva's work:

http://cooley.libarts.wsu.edu/schwartj/pdf/Bonilla.pdf

http://www.professoryeseniaking.com/uploads/1/3/4/7/13472504/elreflejocsulbyesiking.pdf

Buy 'Racism Without Racists' on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Racism-without-Racists-Color-Blind-Persistence/dp/1442202181?&tag=rnwap-20

'Clemson Suspends White Frat Over Racist 'Cripmas Party':
http://jezebel.com/clemson-suspends-white-frat-over-racist-cripmas-party-1669246916

'Chris Rock Pens Blistering Essay on Hollywood's Race Problem: "It's a White Industry":'
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/top-five-filmmaker-chris-rock-753223