Primitive Monster

            While browsing the internet one day I came across one of the most racist commercials I have ever seen.  It is designed to promote natural toothpaste that is black in colour, comparing the toothpaste to a black man.  In the commercial the black man helps a little girl by climbing up a giant light post in order to get a balloon she had let go of.  When the man returns from retrieving the balloon, he attempts to give it to the young girl but her mother comes and takes her away, acting as though he is some sort of monster or is trying to hurt her daughter.  The man is sad and returns to his home where you see he has numerous balloons suggesting this is quite a regular occurrence for the man.  He then lies on his bed, which looks like a toothbrush, and is then transformed into the black toothbrush.  The message the add claims to be sending is that we should not be deceived by looks.  If that is the case what ideas about black males does society have that we need to overlook?

            I have many issues with this commercial but my first one comes from the fact that it has a black man climbing a pole as if it is a tree.  This action directly relates to Goldberg’s ideas regarding the common theme of primitive racism (Goldberg, 1993).  People who fall under the racial category of black are often subject to racism that circulates the idea they are less evolved than the rest of society, usually meaning white people.  This view is obviously portrayed when the man in the commercial climbs the extremely high post as if he were some sort of primate.  It is a despicable image because what he does is not humanly possible but when it is portrayed to be possible it is done by an individual who falls under a discriminated group often associated with being primitive. 

The other main issue I have with this commercial is the fact that the mother is so afraid of this man.  He is very obviously handing the balloon to the little girl, why is she so afraid of him?  Going back to the theme of commercial, it is supposed to be concerned with not being deceived by looks, suggesting that because he is black there should be some sort of fear.  This commercial attempts to naturalize the idea that most black people should be tip-toed around but every once in a while you might meet a nice black man who will climb up a pole for a child in order to retrieve a balloon.  Airing a commercial like this is not only reinforcing stereotypes of primitive behaviour but it also dehumanizes black males and attempts to relate struggles of black stereotyping to a toothpaste that is not in its usual shade.

Work Cited:

Goldberg, D.T. (1993). Racist Culture: Philosophy and the Politics of Meaning (pp. 148-55), New York: Blackwell.