The K Experience

Animation has always been a medium used to represent real life, in differing ways. While cartoons like the Flinstones, and the Jetsons, were used to portray the “Ideal” American life, with the happy typical American family, cartoons like the Simpsons, and Family Guy, have been used to portray the “non-ideal” more realistic (although somewhat extreme) examples of modern American life. More increasingly, these cartoons have been touching on issues of race, class and gender, but only on a superficial level. The “Minoriteam” however, is more explicit in it’s portrayal of these topics, with race at the center of its message. In this short paper I shall attempt to critique the main themes brought out by the animation.

“Minoriteam is a group of superheroes that uses the overwhelming power of racial stereotypes to defeat their most sinister and racist enemy, the evilest villain of them all… the White Shadow.” [Minoriteam Website]

The main premise of the cartoon is to make a mockery of racism and racist stereotypes, in a comical way. The episode chosen for critique is entitled “His Story”. In it, the White Shadow, the evil villain of the series, devises a way to go back into time, with the aim of wiping out all minorities. The White Shadow and his team of evil doers, the Corporate Ladder, Racist Frankenstein, and the Standardized Test, go back to enslave the Mayan people, interfere with Moses freeing the Israelites from the Egyptians, interfere with the American Civil war and also other minor acts such as destroying hip hop. These acts together seem to symbolize the notion of the interference by “white supremacists” of different cultures around the world. (0:40).

The representation of the superheroes who battle against “White Shadow” is two fold. Each has a power directly related to their stereotypical traits. However all, with the exception of the leader Dr Wang, have normal non-stereotypical alter egos.

 

 

One other notion that was brought out in the episode was that of people of mixed origin. In society, those who are of mixed origin, however small the mix, are not classed as “totally” white. Dr Brilliant, Wang’s companion, is initially called a “white devil”. However, is accepted by Fasto once it is revealed that he is in fact 1/18th Cherokee Indian (3:16).

The episode also touches on the notion of the infiltration of hip hop music by the corporations using it as a way to “brain wash” the listeners (9:28). Modern hip hop and gangster rap can be seen as the result of capitalism, and corporatization of the music, where the record companies glamorize and sell the gangster lifestyle, promoting the negative image of black culture and hip hop for larger profits.  (Watkins, 1998).

Race seems to take center stage out of race, class and gender in terms of representation. However, gender stereotypes are evident. For example, the only female in the episode (other than the African American lady complaining about the hip hop music near the end) is Neil Horwitz’s girlfriend, Minka, who is portrayed in the episode as a sexual object. Her only words are a request for Neil and her to “ …do it…” on the ancient monuments (2:14). The final booty shot of Minka also symbolizing her as a sexual object. The male dominant nature is carried on throughout the series and evident from the name of the university that Fasto’s alter ego Landon K. Dutton is Women studies professor at, Male University.

To conclude, I can say that the “Minoriteam” has two purposes. One is to be comical and entertaining while the other is to reveal and bring dialogue to many of the serious and, in some cases taboo, issues in our society. I feel that the show has achieved both of these objectives. However, to what degree have these objectives been met? There is the issue that the majority of the viewers of the program may not understand many of the interpretations, and only the comical affects are seen and understood. Thus one objective is achieved over the other.  I also feel that showing the racial stereotypes in such a comical fashion also has the undesired affect of glamorizing them, and therefore perpetuating those stereotypes, instead of acting as a counter narrative to those stereotypical images. Thus the one objective works against the other.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."