As Robert Townsent said in "Hollywood Shuffle," there is work at the post office if you don't want to play demeaning characters.

I think most of the harsh history behind icons like Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima is lost to today's consumers. Even Colgate-Palmolive changed the name of "Darkie Toothpaste" (sold outside of the USA) to "Darlie." Still has the buck-toothed character on the label... but hey, that could be a job for Flava Flav.


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dwacon
http://dwacon.blogspot.com

Strange... I posted something on my blog yesterday about the latest Pine Sol commercial and how it could be theoretically be linked as a crossover with "Lost". (TV crossovers are part of my blog's focus.)

Just googled the actress for these commercials. Her name is Diane Amos.

My feelings is that as long as the actor or actress involved is making money, leave 'em alone. It's a tough enough business as it is without them having to worry about carrying the weight of their race's woes on their shoulders. Let them earn a living without worrying about what they represent as well.

But I could be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.

I find the articles alarmist. Of course we can magnify every nuance of representations in the media and find something offensive. Just think if these women were the opposite, someone would complain that there are too many thin, white, passive women on television. If there is indeed a "problem", I think it would be better handled by qualified civil rights groups as opposed to someone looking for an angle to meet their word count.