Friday, April 01, 2011

Burning Questions from The Meltingpot

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

I'm on a crazy deadline today for a new project I'm working on. So I thought I'd post some of the burning questions messing with my mind in the hopes that you can help me out.

1. Why or why was Juju Chang, the news anchor on Good Morning America, removed from her posting only to be replaced by a White male former sportscaster? According to the Huffington Post this was not a demotion, but it still seems fishy to me. Since the morning cast already includes two White men, doesn't it seem a little odd that they'd replace a woman of color --who happens to be a darn good reporter -- with another White dude? Help me understand this please.

2. I recently finished Junot Diaz's Pulitzer Prize winning work, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and enjoyed it very much. But I was left scratching my head over Diaz's liberal use of the N-word in referring to the Dominican Oscar and his other Dominican peeps. Did I miss something? When did Dominicans become Black? Last I heard the last thing a Dominican wants to be known as, it's Black. But maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe Black is taboo but referring to oneself as a N-word, is okay. Anybody care to shed some light on Dominican racial politics?

And finally,

3. Did anyone else watch Grey's Anatomy last night and cringe through the whole ridiculous episode? Here's a show that is trying to grapple with same-sex marriage, single motherhood, infertility, interracial relationships, and serious medical issues, all in a one-hour time slot and they decide the show could be even more exciting if they make all of their actors sing their lines. Yes, you heard me. Last night, in one of the most intense and horrific episodes, the producers of Grey's decided to turn the show into a musical. Why? That's my only question. Why? Did anyone else besides me watch the show with the volume on mute?

I'm waiting for your answers people. I'm listening.

Peace.

5 comments:

Kendra said...

I watched Grey's last night and thought the exact same thing as you. WHYYYYYY are they singing???? It was the stupidest thing! Shonda Rhimes really???? Honestly I had to suspend total belief in the episode just to even pretend it was possible that Callie wasn't wearing a seat belt and could have survived being thrown through a windshield. A lot of improbabilities last night.

Rose Anne said...

did't watch but saw out takes this morning-yikes!
All I can say is stick to what you are good at!!
Rose Anne

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I used to love Grey's Anatomy but I'm so glad I stopped watching! GAH! It sounds like they jumped the shark big time!

My understanding of Dominicans was that they had the same light/dark prejudices as other mixed race societies and the lights always want to distinguish themselves from the darks, unless the N word has been co-opted for coolness....?

UNKNOWN said...

I'm not sure about the other things, but I know many people from minority groups (and even a few white people) who call their friends or are called by friends the n-word (with the "a" ending). Usually it's in urban settings, like rhapsodyinbooks said to be "cool" or "down". Where did the author grow up?

Oh, I don't know if you are interested in this, but Henry Louis Gate's is going to have a Black in Latin America series which will air starting April 19th on PBS. He will talk about colorism in the Dominican Rep and a few other Spanish-speaking countries.

Professor Tharps said...

Kendra,
I hear ya. I'm hoping Shonda Rhimes hasn't lost her edge.

Rose Anne,
Yikes is right.

RIB,
I think the cool factor is definitely playing a part. But why?

Afromorena,

Thanks so much for the heads up on the Skip Gates piece. I'll be sure to tune in!