ON RACE AND POLITICS AND POP CULTURE:
Rumor has it that Barack Obama has been elected as the next President. Assuming this rumor is true, this will make the first time someone of African descent has been President. (Note: Thomas Jefferson's dalliances with Sally Hemings don't count towards the presidency.) This is a historic moment - how did it happen?
One hyphenated word: twenty-four. The hit show "24" premiered in 2001, almost seven years to the day of Obama's historic election. That show featured Dennis Haysbert, who is black, playing a politician (Season One found him as a Senator going through the California primary, Seasons Two and Three found him as a president).
I make the following argument: Had the writers of "24" not written "President David Palmer" as such an upright, moral, awesome character, Barack Obama would not be president. I fully and truly believe that people watching "24" - and again, this is/was a very popular show - watched Haysbert-as-Palmer and thought "Wow, turns out an African-American would make an awesome president." Because of this, people were more open to the idea of someone of African descent being president.
So before you give credit to fundraising or effective public speaking, or maybe a terrible job by a certain (now) lame-duck president, consider what I always consider: the power of television.
Yes you can!
4 comments:
Sorry guy. Three words. The Fifth Element. Black Prez. 1998.
Snap!!!!!
Maybe if we had elected a black president in 2000, your argument would carry some weight. Oooh, or if "The Fifth Element" weren't an awful excuse for a film. That would also help.
What???? That film is a national treasure.
Didn't you see the part where Bruce Willis flew his future taxi around and shot things? Or how about Chris Tucker as a cross dressing DJ who gets lots of action but screams like a girl all the time?
We must be thinking of a different movie.
Chris Tucker was a great cross-dresser in that movie, but I was really surprised that he was the president.
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