Mar 20 2008
King Kong LeBron
Normally I hate Jemele Hill columns on ESPN, because she is such an unabashed Kobe nutrider. But when she talks about race, she’s almost always spot on.
Today’s column, which I would link to but you know how to find it, is about whether LeBron James on the cover of Vogue with Giselle on his arm is not unlike King Kong with Fay Wray on his.
Lebron
Lebro... I mean King Kong
What do I think, as a minority? That shit is racist. It’s also kind of funny. It also makes me upset, particularly if white people think it’s funny also. Unless they are cool white people. Of which there may be few, or if you watched Spike Lee’s X, are non-existent. Anyway, I have these thoughts about anything that might be un-PC. Maybe that makes me a racist. But anyone old enough to have competed in the job market, white or other, probably has racist thoughts also. As much as civil rights have progressed in the last 40 years in the legal arena, in the social arena, not much has really changed.
Anyway Hill linked this story to Obama’s speech, and it got my old brain remembering: whatever happened to Bill Clinton’s promise of a National Discussion on Race? Well, it turned out to be nothing, or put on a backburner, or just a device to get elected. I wonder if President Obama will be the same.
After all, there’s one type of person in America who actually is colorblind: the rich and the powerful. Obama and LeBron, welcome to the other side. Charles Barkeley is holding a spot for you at the table.
4 Responses to “King Kong LeBron”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Well put.
I’m trying to be better about not sounding so accusatory when I cry racism because I’m not out to piss off “the man”, but that type of portrayal of black athletes has always gotten under my skin. Like when they had Ricky Williams wear a wedding dress.
Racism’s never again gonna be as blatant as lynchings and segregated water fountains, but it’s still there. Loud and clear.
I completely agree with the criticism of this cover and, for the life of me, cannot understand how it made it through the layers of decision making necessary, on all sides, prior to publication. Aside from its blatant racism, the photo is also a massive departure in tone for Vogue in terms of its depiction of women. From portraits of femininity - beauty, grace, style, intellect and control - to a bewildered, dominated and giddy Giselle? There’s more dignity on the cover of goddamn Maxim.
Compare and Contrast.
Women alongside men and male representations from past covers of Vogue:
I had seen this cover before you wrote this and it struck me as pretty racists and, unlike my friend Hinge, I’m not as quick to jump on the race card. I did find this to be pretty…I don’t know…wrong i guess, though I didn’t make the KK connection. Good find.
@ Godoyers…you have a very strong knowledge, and apparently collection, of Vogue magazine. Impressive. Most impressive.
Spend enough time around El Gigante and you gain knowledge of Vogue, GQ and Ferragamo shoes. I don’t know what else to say.