Friday, November 13, 2009

Burning Questions from the Meltingpot


It's Friday, people, so that means I have questions. So many questions. Maybe you can help me out.

1. Is it just me, or have you noticed more commercials featuring interracial families on network TV? I just saw a Playskool toy commercial with a little biracial girl and her White mother. And I swear I've seen others recently. Anyone else noticing this trend? And if so, does this mean anything?

2. Does anyone else not really like watching ABC's Private Practice, but sometimes can't help getting sucked into the drama after watching Grey's Anatomy? And if so, did you watch last night and kind of cringe when Taye Diggs leaned over and locked lips with Kate Walsh? Or were you kind of hoping those two might be the new sexy, hot primetime couple? Me? I was definitely on the fence. Not b/c I have a problem with the Black man, White woman thing...no, I just don't like Kate Walsh's character on the show.

3. And while we're on the topic of interracial couples, has everyone gone over to the Mixed and Happy blog and added your peeps to the list of mixed and happy families? They only need 47 more people to post by December 15 to meet their goal of 100 mixed and happy folks.

4. Speaking of happy, doesn't Dominican baseball star Sammy Sosa seem a little too happy about his "accidentally" whiter skin? He claims that his dramatically whitened appearance occurred because his nightly skin cream stripped away the melanin in his face. Oopps! Basically he's pulled a Michael Jackson, going from cinnamon brown to, well, kind of pasty white. Check out the photos at Clutch magazine and let me know if that isn't just a little bit disturbing?

5. And to end on a happy note. Did you know in college I majored in education with the secret fantasy of working for Sesame Street? Well, it never happened, but that doesn't take away from the fact that I still love the show, probably now more than ever. I think I've always loved Sesame Street even as a child, because I saw brown, Black, and White people living together and it seemed like the perfect place to be. As a matter of fact, when the show debuted in 1969, according to Time magazine, " it was one of the first TV shows to depict an inclusive, racially harmonious neighborhood, prompting Mississippi to ban it (briefly) in 1970." (Shame on you Mississippi!)So Happy Birthday, Sesame Street: Here's to 40 more fantastic multiracial, multicultural entertaining, educational and most importantly, hilarious years on television. Do you have a favorite Sesame Street moment?

Peace!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Woah, on the Sammy Sosa face. Does not even seem possible that that is him.

Anonymous said...

Definite yes to Addie and Sam. Two best characters on the show and we could do with an interracial couple on a primetime show. Plus Kate Walsh and Taye Diggs are HOT!

Mixed and Happy said...

I'm with you on the Kate thing. And thank you, thank you, thank you for spreading the word about Mixed and Happy!

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

Did Sammy's cream also make his eyes turn green and straighten his hair too? Wow.

JennyBHammond said...

Yes - I happened to watch Private Practice (which never happens)...and thought it was interesting...but, who can resist Taye Diggs - I mean, really?! I'm not sad that Addie and Sam had a "moment". Let's see if it will last.

I also watched a bit of the Wanda Sykes show last night - which is when I first saw the "new" Sammy Sosa. That IS disturbing. So...if it was b/c of his face cream...does that mean the rest of his body doesn't match his face? I'll check out the link you posted later:-)

My favorite Sesame Street moment is definitely the "mah-nah-mah-nah" song. But it didn't hurt that I saw lots of different ethnicities on the show either.

Mrs. E. said...

A few more than they used to. But, its about time they started to break the racial barriers. What is so controversial about featuring bi-racial children or people in commercials?

Professor Tharps said...

Everyone,
Thanks for your answers to my burning questions. I feel better now:)