CarmenVanKerckhove

Did any of you catch Friday's episode of the Oprah show? It was titled "Children Ashamed of the Way They Look" and included interviews with: Kiri Davis, the young filmmaker who created the phenomenal short film A Girl Like Me Grey's Anatomy star Chandra Wilson about her own views on beauty growing up and how she's raising her daughters A black woman who prayed that her son wouldn't come out as dark-skinned as her. The son, not surprisingly, has developed quite a complex about colorism. Korean-American MTV host SuChin Pak, about beauty ideals in the Asian and Asian-American communities.  Read more >

I've been following the media's handling of race in its coverage of Barack Obama's presidential bid very closely over the last few months. But right now I'm particularly riveted by the media coverage of his wife, Michelle Obama. Race, gender, and feminism are intersecting in fascinating ways. Here are some highlights.  Read more >

I recently came across a trailer of the excellent documentary Mickey Mouse Monopoly (hat tip to Yolanda and Kai): Mickey Mouse Monopoly takes a close and critical look at the world these films create and the stories they tell about race, gender and class and reaches disturbing conclusions about the values propagated under the guise of innocence and fun. This daring new video insightfully analyzes Disney's cultural pedagogy, examines its corporate power, and explores its vast influence on our global culture. Including interviews with cultural critics, media scholars, child psychologists, kindergarten teachers, multicultural educators, college students and children, Mickey Mouse Monopoly will provoke audiences to confront comfortable assumptions about an American institution that is virtually synonymous with childhood pleasure.  Read more >

Yes, that headline is meant to be provocative. Who counts as "white"? Is there such a thing as "black" music? There are no easy answers to any of these questions, of course. But lately I've seen quite a bit of discussion on this topic, particularly when it comes to so-called "blue-eyed soul." L.A. Times music critic Ann Powers recently wrote of Joss Stone: If there's one fault on "Introducing," it's that Stone's comfort level with that tradition remains too high. Throughout the album, she sings in a voice she learned from those soul albums; the lilt of coastal England never surfaces. Crafting a new self from beloved popular cultural sources, Stone is very much of her generation; it's her sincerity, her refusal to see that identity as artificial, that singles her out.  Read more >

I'm currently hosting the Erase Racism Carnival on my blog, Racialicious. There were so many great links that I thought I'd cross-post it here. Consider this a super-sized link post. :) The Erase Racism Carnival is a collection of blog posts dedicated to creating a world free of racism. It's published around the 20th of every month. The idea is to get more people blogging and/or reading about creating a world free of racism.  Read more >