Recently there was a song released (originally in Europe) in
the United States called “Royals” by a sixteen-year-old New Zealander under the
alias “Lorde”. It’s reached number one on the Top 100 chart and has been
playing on the radio frequently for the past month. I was on CNN today reading
the news and an article popped up that read “Is Lorde’s ‘Royals’, the top song
on the Billboard Top 100 racist?” I thought to myself, you’ve got to be joking.
So I clicked on it, and couldn’t believe what I had read.
A woman
named Bayetti Flores, who writes for a blog called femenisting.com, wrote, “While I love a good critique of wealth
accumulation and inequity, this song is not one; in fact, it is deeply racist .
. . Because we all know who she's thinking when we're talking gold teeth,
Cristal and Maybachs. So why shit on black folks? Why shit on rappers?" The
song is supposedly about consumerism and excess of wealth and how the people of
the lower class can only dream of living that extravagant lifestyle. Bayetti
says that this “lifestyle” that Lorde paints in the song is racist and that
she’s condemning how rappers and pop artists (mainly African Americans) spend
their money. I find some of these stereotypes silly. Who wouldn’t want to be
drinking champagne while riding in a Cadillac? The fact that she calls the song
racist for these reasons just condemns her as a racist for recognizing that
these things are an African American stereotype. By saying “why shit on black
folks” she’s also pulling out the stereotype that that’s all African Americans
aspire to, which is just an abhorrent assumption. Lorde also relates to other
actions of those in the lime light in her song that aren’t necessarily
stereotypical to African Americans. She’s talking about America’s consumerism
in general.
After reading the article I thought to myself, “how is this blog post
from some unrecognizable blogger worthy enough to be further publicized through
CNN, a major news outlet?” I mean I guess it worked. I read the article because
I saw the title and it interested me. The fact that is stems from such an insignificant
blog post was what bothered me most. I feel like the news almost wants it to
continue being a problem. Without racial slurs and other incidents, the news
would have less stories to tell, less hooks to real in the public. The media
has a lot to do with kindling the embers of racism. Like I brought up in my
other blog post with regards to the incident with Trayvon: the media twists
information. In this case, they’re making mountains out of molehills.
The Blogger’s Post:
http://feministing.com/2013/10/03/wow-that-lorde-song-royals-is-racist/
I actually just read this article myself earlier today! The part of it that stood out most to me was when she said, "not everything in this world should be viewed through the lens of Americans." I find it interesting that there is still an international awareness of America's issues with racism. It is funny that as soon as anyone says something a certain way people are so quick to jump and point fingers at them for being racist. It is funny how far people will stretch things to make them support their claims. This is a great example of that because this woman was so focused on the words, which she decided were racist characteristics, that she completely failed to grasp the real message of the song. While this is very ignorant, it happens all day everyday all across the world. But as far as what you said about whether the author was actually offended or trying to start trouble, I found myself wondering the same thing. In my opinion, I would have to think that this woman was truly desperate for a story to write and this was the best she could come up with. The author did make a very good point however that the artist Lorde is from New Zealand and it was very unintelligent of the accuser to assume the artist would be hinting at American issues of racism. Especially when she was simply referring to the lyrics in many of the popular songs we hear on the radio today. When it comes down to it, it was a misunderstanding of the lyrics, an honest human mistake. It is unfortunate for celebrities that their actions are so analyzed and magnified through the media that we tend to over-exaggerate some of the things they do and overdramatize them unnecessarily simply because it is public knowledge. You are so right in saying that without people making assumptions and picking up on implications that do not exist and the many forms that racial slurs can come from, the media would indeed have much less "exciting" stories to report. In terms of this article in particular, I would not consider it news worth reporting. It's really more like gossip with vary vague references.
ReplyDeleteI think part of the problem with this is that all musicians who talk about the culture surrounding their fame has inherent stereotypes in it. To nitpick on one song, because its more popular than others, is a common thing to do. I do not, however, think the song is racist in any way because the songwriter intended it to be or because she harbors overtly racist feelings.
ReplyDelete“We all know who she’s thinking when we’re talking gold teeth, Cristal and Maybachs.” Well, apparently I didn’t. All I assumed was that Lorde was referring to the wealthy and ostentatious, who could be of any race and skin color. Assuming that the song is specifically about African Americans is, as you said, racist in itself. In my opinion, making mountains out of molehills is the unfortunate result of people wanting desperately to APPEAR as though they are fighting for racial equality, when realistically they are doing very little. Instead of doing anything that will actually be effective when combatting racism, individuals such as this blogger choose to focus on trivial details (in this case, a pop song on the radio) that may not even be racist. When actual, discernible racist acts are still occurring every single day in our society, making news out of this subject seems rather meaningless. It is a means of creating trouble and controversy where there is none, because that is what will sell in the media. (Also, I liked the comment, “Who wouldn’t want to be drinking champagne while riding in a Cadillac?” I wouldn’t mind a tiger on a gold leash, either… does that make me racist?)
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