For the record
THere is a tevevision commercial for GE about the transcontinential railroad being joined together. In reality, it is for a "cleaner locamotive", but that isn't my main point here. THe commercial shows a group of WASP men all together celebrating the comletion of the railroad. All are dirty and holding pick axes and hammers to show they have been working diligently on this for some time now.
WASP men account for MAYBE 5% of the people who built the railroad. Not one black, asian, mexican can be found among them... and yet it was them that actually did the building.
Now this wouldn't be a problem for me if they had been using orignal gootage from the event... but they aren't. Therefore they should have shown a diverse group of people. They could have used their commercial to educate people about who really built are railroads... instead they chose to continue to try and make white people out as the real achievers.
Normally, I don't feel so strongly about advertisments or suddle racisms in our culture because everyone has their right to their own opinion... but GE is touting itself as trying to improve the lives of all Americans.... and being a company on the edge of what's new and cool... and here they are not giving the Chinese people credit for what they literally built nail by nail.
WASP men account for MAYBE 5% of the people who built the railroad. Not one black, asian, mexican can be found among them... and yet it was them that actually did the building.
Now this wouldn't be a problem for me if they had been using orignal gootage from the event... but they aren't. Therefore they should have shown a diverse group of people. They could have used their commercial to educate people about who really built are railroads... instead they chose to continue to try and make white people out as the real achievers.
Normally, I don't feel so strongly about advertisments or suddle racisms in our culture because everyone has their right to their own opinion... but GE is touting itself as trying to improve the lives of all Americans.... and being a company on the edge of what's new and cool... and here they are not giving the Chinese people credit for what they literally built nail by nail.