-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
CNN: The Aunt Jemima brand, acknowledging its racist past, will be retired
- Thread starter teezzy
- Start date
Halo is Back
Member
That ant is wearing black face 0/10
DragoonWalker
Member
Never thought the phrase "you die a hero or live long enough to become the villain" would ever apply to Aunt Jemima.
You know what would be a sign that we have actually progressed as society? Recognizing this brand's troubling origins, but acknowledging it was a stepping stone of progress in a less racially sensitive time, and whatever historical signifier it may have had is lost through time, becoming a neutral part of widely accepted culture. Aunt Jemima can't hurt black people, not anymore. But instead like so many other cases now there is a constant witchhunt of individuals/brands, reducing their value to only what they have done wrong in the past by the ever shifting standards of the present. A fool's errand. Lovecraft? Racist. Bruce Lee? created new asian stereotype. Disney? Made Song of the South. Volkswagen? Direct result of Hitler. Cancel them. Cancel them all.
(Worry not my friends. In a few decades when the tides of social norms turn again Aunt Jemima will be reinstated to her rightful place as top syrup mascot.)
You know what would be a sign that we have actually progressed as society? Recognizing this brand's troubling origins, but acknowledging it was a stepping stone of progress in a less racially sensitive time, and whatever historical signifier it may have had is lost through time, becoming a neutral part of widely accepted culture. Aunt Jemima can't hurt black people, not anymore. But instead like so many other cases now there is a constant witchhunt of individuals/brands, reducing their value to only what they have done wrong in the past by the ever shifting standards of the present. A fool's errand. Lovecraft? Racist. Bruce Lee? created new asian stereotype. Disney? Made Song of the South. Volkswagen? Direct result of Hitler. Cancel them. Cancel them all.
(Worry not my friends. In a few decades when the tides of social norms turn again Aunt Jemima will be reinstated to her rightful place as top syrup mascot.)
Kev Kev
Member
its not a big deal that they changed it, the same way it wasnt a big enough deal to change it to begin with
its a non issue all around. no one viewed aunt jemima as racist, and doing all this is only serving to make woke people stfu. but the truth is, no one else gives a fuck, bc the rest of us are sane and know that no one viewed it as racist. period.
so who cares
Mossybrew
Banned
I think this situation has inspired a lot of jokes, trolling, and faux outrage. Anyone that really cares that much about a corporate logo needs to put their phone down, take a long walk down a nature trail, and contemplate their priorities.
#Phonepunk#
Banned
The first black woman to win an Oscar
first her movie is banned
then her syrup is taken away
this is like a corporate IP ethnic cleansing going on rn
first her movie is banned
then her syrup is taken away
this is like a corporate IP ethnic cleansing going on rn
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
cryptoadam
Banned
Jemima (Bible) - Wikipedia
Satan at work folks.
Old Retro
Member
Right?!? Companies should replace "stereotype" characters with real life positive/successful black people.
Jemima = Oprah
Uncle Ben = Morgan freeman
Cream of Wheat = Samuel L Jackson
-Arcadia-
Banned
It’s kind of interesting, because without the Aunt Jemima branding, I won’t even know which one their syrup is.
I guess these gigantic mega-brands can afford to make just one product almost entirely disappear from public view? Seems awfully stupid to me though, even without considering the virtue signaling.
I guess these gigantic mega-brands can afford to make just one product almost entirely disappear from public view? Seems awfully stupid to me though, even without considering the virtue signaling.
#Phonepunk#
Banned
These are Hollywood’s modern mammies, always there to reassure white audiences with their magical soulfulness.
Tesseract
Banned
Last edited:
cryptoadam
Banned
Why didnt they just say they stand behind their brand and its real history.
The Lunch Legend
GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief and Nosiest Dildo Archeologist
Now that I think about it, AJ was just a white woman in blackface
Elcid
Banned
Getting? Sucks, I liked Uncle Ben's and Aunt Jemima, guess they just lost a customer for their stupidity of catering to this bullshit.
Grinchy
Banned
Air Jordans are kinda racist too if you really think about it. Michael Jordan could jump really high and far, so you could say he had a lot of hang-time. Probably more than anyone has ever had.
And there was a time when black men used to be hanged. So when you think about Jordan and his hang-time, it elicits the thought in your mind of a time when black men were hanged. I think we should remove that brand as well.
And there was a time when black men used to be hanged. So when you think about Jordan and his hang-time, it elicits the thought in your mind of a time when black men were hanged. I think we should remove that brand as well.
GnomeChimpsky
Member
No need to go that far. Air Jordan reinforces the harmful stereotype that black people are good at sports. Boom, cancel Nike.
Windle Poons
Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
This cheese has to go next.
cryptoadam
Banned
Jordans are troublesom for comical parody reasons. But who cares about the child and slave labor that went into creating them lol.
Oh boo hoo slavery 150 years ago. But gotta have my kicks made by a 7 year old bangladeshi boy who is chained to his sewing machine.
Oh boo hoo slavery 150 years ago. But gotta have my kicks made by a 7 year old bangladeshi boy who is chained to his sewing machine.
OmegaSupreme
advanced basic bitch
Nope. They've reclaimed that word. It's now used for black republicans.This cheese has to go next.
Darkmakaimura
Can You Imagine What SureAI Is Going To Do With Garfield?
EAT YOU CREAM OF WHEAT, MOTHERFUCKER!!!! DO YOU LIKE THAT SHIT!!?? MMMM MMMM GOOD MOTHERFUCKING SHIT!!!!
teezzy
Banned
I wonder how sales were prior to this upcoming (?) rebranding. Could just he a brilliant marketing ploy. I mean, we're talking about Aunt Jemima on a video game forum. No business does anything without profits in mind.
Last edited:
Scotty W
Banned
Imagine trying to explain this sentence to someone learning English, and no awareness of the historical context. It would take a few hours.
First you would have to explain the various meanings of fuck, and then of shit. Who Aunt Jemima was, that she is nobody’s Aunt, that her name is a brand name, what a brand name is, the history of the brand, what racism is, and finally what it means to say that the syrup (shit) is racist. And there would be a hundred small snags along the way.
ManaByte
Member
Actually they should replace Jemima with Candice Owens to REALLY trigger the left.
Halo is Back
Member
Imagine, forgetting the context that the company has already addressed the issue with her image before. Imagine that same company making a black woman a success story and allowing her to travel across the U.S. to spread the love and brand. Tell me exactly what is wrong whit her current image and why is it racist other than pointing out her origins. I have met black women looking just like her in the picture and never once met a black person who described that is was racist to me before any of this ever happened.
Stiflers Mom
Banned
German satire magazine Titanic on it:
"Really, Mars inc? This is the successor to Uncle Bens?"
#Phonepunk#
Banned
I’m drinking this tea while I still can
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
Jesus people this is just 1 fucking big advertisement. Everybody now thinking about this brand. Oldest trick in the book.
Also has been done MANY times.
They had a type of snack in holland i heard called negro-kisses. People forgot about them and sales where a bit stale.
Then sales skyrocketed after they announced recalling it kisses instead. EVERYONE was talking about it.
stop being a fucking marketing tool.
And have a kiss instead
Also has been done MANY times.
They had a type of snack in holland i heard called negro-kisses. People forgot about them and sales where a bit stale.
Then sales skyrocketed after they announced recalling it kisses instead. EVERYONE was talking about it.
stop being a fucking marketing tool.
And have a kiss instead
Last edited:
SketchyGamerMan
Neo Member
How is it racist? Literally every news site fails to mention lol
bronk
Banned
German satire magazine Titanic on it:
"Really, Mars inc? This is the successor to Uncle Bens?"
Nymphae
Banned
#Phonepunk#
Banned
otm WAKE UP SHEEPLE BIG PANCAKE IS JUST USING YOUUUU!Jesus people this is just 1 fucking big advertisement. Everybody now thinking about this brand. Oldest trick in the book.
Also has been done MANY times.
They had a type of snack in holland i heard called negro-kisses. People forgot about them and sales where a bit stale.
Then sales skyrocketed after they announced recalling it kisses instead. EVERYONE was talking about it.
stop being a fucking marketing tool.
And have a kiss instead
jacksondeam
Neo Member
I'm so tired of virtue signaling ...
#Phonepunk#
Banned
The Wikipedia article says the character is “based on the enslaved Mammy archetype” which is a simplification or distortion. While it is true black women were live-in maids while under slavery, this practice was common before and continued afterwards, and black women still employ as nurses and maids even today. Following the Emancipation many black women had experience keeping houses and used that to find employment in a society undergoing Reconstruction. Granted that housekeeper class has largely been taken up by Hispanic workers nowadays. but it’s sort of agenda driven to say it is a role that only belongs to enslaved people.
I’m seeing the narrative that the role grew out of slave plantations, yet this entirely ignores the history of personal servants and house laborers, which goes back hundreds of years. Before America the wealthy who did not keep capital-“s” industrial slaves often kept servants, who tended to be ethnic minorities. Just as well there during the Civil War there would have been upper class people in the North employing black housekeepers and maids for their New York brownstones.
So the reality is far more nuanced than “it’s a slave archetype”. Representative of the limited roles available to black women, it is a stereotype yes, but it also reveals a historic truth. And the fact that the actress being deplatformed was a former slave who ended up becoming one of the first black millionaires flies in the face of the narrative they are building. So she is deplatformed so that they might save face. Sadly they are erasing history and indulging in anti-representation policy.
I’m seeing the narrative that the role grew out of slave plantations, yet this entirely ignores the history of personal servants and house laborers, which goes back hundreds of years. Before America the wealthy who did not keep capital-“s” industrial slaves often kept servants, who tended to be ethnic minorities. Just as well there during the Civil War there would have been upper class people in the North employing black housekeepers and maids for their New York brownstones.
So the reality is far more nuanced than “it’s a slave archetype”. Representative of the limited roles available to black women, it is a stereotype yes, but it also reveals a historic truth. And the fact that the actress being deplatformed was a former slave who ended up becoming one of the first black millionaires flies in the face of the narrative they are building. So she is deplatformed so that they might save face. Sadly they are erasing history and indulging in anti-representation policy.
Last edited:
Long overdue, she's always been linked to portrayal of the typical "mammy" image and the other racist connotations that go with it, so it's long past due for it to go.
And to the ones implying it's only happening now due to "virtue signaling" or whatever garbage you' want to call it, this isn't even the first time that there's been an attempt to get rid of it. The best progress with that until now was her overall imagine change in the late 80's (From the very overt mammy with the headdressing, to the design that exist now). The point is that this has always been a problem, and just one that's finally being addressed now.
And to the ones implying it's only happening now due to "virtue signaling" or whatever garbage you' want to call it, this isn't even the first time that there's been an attempt to get rid of it. The best progress with that until now was her overall imagine change in the late 80's (From the very overt mammy with the headdressing, to the design that exist now). The point is that this has always been a problem, and just one that's finally being addressed now.
Nymphae
Banned
I really don't get it honestly, I understand that this is the truth apparently, but what is the actual imagery presented? A smiling black female face. You actually need to be taught how this is problematic.
Kamina
Golden Boy
Racial bias? Uncle Bens is a rice and sauce brand where i live (not many other products from the brand available here), so what bias are we talking about?What about her husband, Uncle Ben? (too late)
Uncle Ben’s ‘Evolving’ Its Brand Identity After Aunt Jemima Name Change
“As a global brand, we know we have a responsibility to take a stand in helping to put an end to racial bias and injustices,” a Mars spokesperson said.www.huffingtonpost.ca
Last edited:
HellforLeather
Member
I can't blame you for not knowing just looking at the current design. The old one is where alot of the issues start from (Just google old aunt jemima) and leans into the "mammy" imagery. The whole mammy thing is pretty shitty since it gives idea of the happy slave content with being someone's servant... which is pretty far from the reality of back then.
Even when I look at it today, I still think of the old design (I was a kid before it changed) and that's a big part of the problem; It'll pretty much always be linked to that. Just one of those things that better to start fresh and get rid of the baggage.
Nymphae
Banned
Good thing they weren't still using the old design.
People alive who saw the old designs will remember it of course, but it just makes me laugh because devoid of political context, I don't see any way you could make that visual representation more favourable. And I still think that the political context is forced and no one generally thought this was an issue until the Corporate Woke Off began.
If you watch this video on mute...
After I watched that it reminded of
This
In the hugest of coincidences fast forward to the import part which is 20 minutes 20 seconds. (Who could have imagined that 2020 the section at 20:20 would seem so relevant.)
Well like I said, this isn't just a thing that popped up out of nowhere now. It's been something that people have wanted (and tried) to change for a long time now, it's just that the current environment has helped push it through.
I know that looking at it without any context or having reason to be offended by it, it may seems unnecessary, but you have to think of it from the perspective of people who do see that imagine and it does invoke offense and the undeniable racist history surrounding it.
It's just better in the long run to move away from something like this with the negative baggage it has, especially when there's no down side to doing so.
ManaByte
Member
Trump Defies Liberals By Chugging Entire Bottle Of Aunt Jemima Syrup
TULSA, OK—Liberals are trying to ruin America by destroying all our favorite corporate mascots, logos, and team names. But Trump says he won't have it. He defied the woke progressive crowd this week by chugging an entire bottle of Aunt Jemima syrup at his Tulsa rally.
babylonbee.com
Nymphae
Banned
No downside lol, they have to pay to completely redesign and manufacture all of their product , packaging, and branding everywhere it can be found because of this nonsense that will do less than nothing to ease race relations.
AfricanKing
Banned
PepsiCo made 67Billion dollars last year ... they won’t even notice a dent in their profits from rebranding it.
You're intentionally missing the point, It has nothing to do with easing race relations, it's simply about not keeping a mascot that's historically based in racial caricature. And the whole packing and redesign thing is also completely moot, as most companies do this stuff every couple of years anyways to update their products, so it's not like they wouldn't have done something similar soon anyways even if they did keep the character. That and redesigns like that are a dime in the ocean for big parent companies like Pepsico.
And let's be honest, some people (definitely some here) trying to feign concern as a way mock this change honestly wouldn't have given two shits about it if it weren't for the reason it's being done and they know it. It's just the next notch in the endless "doing it to be woke" shitck that's past worn out into the ground and was never funny anyways.
Last edited: