Are you my culture?

One of my journalism classes requires weekly blog entries through Wordpress.com, and I thought I would share this week's post on Mason Planet.  As such, it should be noted that I pulled the following information from my own blog, which I do not believe to be illegal in practice.  Seriously, would I file a lawsuit against myself?  Anyways, continue reading to see what all the fuss is about.

mun2 asked several celebrities from the entertainment industry to discuss any difficulties they have faced being Black and Latino in America.  Feel free to check out their comments below.

Although the video is already 10 minutes, I am fascinated about the topic and would like to know more about it.  I have found the entertainment industry to be filled with interesting people conforming to stereotypes that can be sold to mass audiences, but I was still surprised to find the number of  actors speaking of being forced to audition for African-American roles since they are deemed “not hispanic enough.”  It could be a testament that many of the subjects were actors, or that I wasn’t too familiar with their past work, but I would have viewed them as African-American outside of this video.

I think this video is representative of two things about America.  First, America is a such a large country filled with so many different people, so I believe that more and more of these cross sub-cultures will begin to emerge.  Second, it seems race has joined the ranks of religion, sexuality, political affiliation and dietary habits as something that needs to be asked (if appropriate or relevant), and not simply assumed.

-M