Taylor Swift Is Racist!

[Taylirious]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ideo-offensive-thats-what-people-say-mmm-mmm/

Rapper Earl Sweatshirt tweeted that the video was “inherently offensive and ultimately harmful” for its portrayals of black stereotypes — though Mr. Sweatshirt admitted that he hadn’t actually, you know, seen the video, which spawned a thousand think pieces wondering if the its inclusion of twerking was racist, innocent but misguided, or something else entirely.

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfWlot6h_JM[/yt]

Taylor Swift - Shake It Off

People seem to have many issues with the vid/song from fans to people who never listened to her before.

As a fan I don't take this direction as a badly as other fans and the vid is fun with a important message about no matter what you do, people will "hate on" you. IRL I can relate. Sigh. However you need to "shake it off" cause you can't please everyone and there are horrible people who will look for reasons to dislike you no matter what.

ETA: http://metro.co.uk/2014/08/21/is-taylor-swifts-video-for-shake-it-off-racist-4840418/ "Taylor Swift is probably not the first name that comes to mind when you think of a pop star who might be embroiled in a race row but that is exactly what has happened with the release of her Shake It Off video."

 

[Amaris]

I'm not seeing any racism at all, though I do like some of the lampoons she's doing of well known artists. I am seeing some incredibly fit people, though, which is always nice. Actually, the video is pretty cute!

Don't mind the people who get offended for the sake of offense. Whomever the hell Earl Sweatshirt is, he hasn't even seen the video, so ignore him. The world's full of people who are offended at things they've never seen, and artists seeing the brunt of that "offense". Just ask Martin Scorsese.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Don't mind the people who get offended for the sake of offense.

 

[tomalak301]

Well this was an interesting side to Taylor, but man I miss the "Speak Now" Taylor Swift

 

[Professor Zoom]

Taylor Swift is beginning to remind me of Avril Lavigne. Perpetually 18, with songs that have about the same amount of depth as a greeting card.

 

[bigdaddy]

Taylor Swift is beginning to remind me of Avril Lavigne. Perpetually 18, with songs that have about the same amount of depth as a greeting card.

Thumbs up!

Was it Taylor Swift who attacked Tena Fey about being a bad woman?

 

[Guy Gardener]

I was wondering about Averil earlier this morning. The character Kelsey Grammer plays in his shitty new sitcom "partners" described how he had been dragged to an Averil concert by his wife and that he liked it apart from staying up too late... Which really made me ponder who that 29 year old "punk skater chick's" target demographic is?

I suppose someone has to sit in the 300 dollar seats up at the front?

Watched the music video above...

Which bit is racist?

I must hav e missed it.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

Don't mind the people who get offended for the sake of offense.

You know, we live in a time that's so ridiculously hypersensitive, and the so-called powers that be are so intent on nudging our behavior in a "desired" direction, I am truly amazed that the editors allowed this cartoon to be published. Kudos to them!

("I made that sign and I'm offended.")

 

[SPCTRE]

^ I love America. I also think it is insane, to paraphrase Dennis.

 

[Guy Gardener]

From the colouring in, I assumed that toon was 20 years old.

 

[Melakon]

Isn't she the girl Kanye disrespected so much he interrupted her acceptance speech and took the microphone from her? And she's supposed to be racist?

 

[Gov Kodos]

From the colouring in, I assumed that toon was 20 years old.

According to this site, 1981. Certainly, Opus's look is from the early era of the strip. http://www.hoodedutilitarian.com/2014/02/bloom-county-in-contexts/

 

[Guy Gardener]

Isn't she the girl Kanye disrespected so much he interrupted her acceptance speech and took the microphone from her? And she's supposed to be racist?

"She" is the Diana Ross of her generation.

It's not a very good generation, but they have their idols.

 

[RandyS]

Don't mind the people who get offended for the sake of offense.

You know, we live in a time that's so ridiculously hypersensitive

Ain't that the truth.

 

[martok2112]

Isn't she the girl Kanye disrespected so much he interrupted her acceptance speech and took the microphone from her? And she's supposed to be racist?

+Infinitum!

You want someone who does not help shed stereotypes at all, look no further than Kanye West.

 

[gblews]

Isn't she the girl Kanye disrespected so much he interrupted her acceptance speech and took the microphone from her? And she's supposed to be racist?

"She" is the Diana Ross of her generation.

Unless Swift can restart her career with a string of songs on the level of those written by Holland Dozier Holland, and Nile Rogers (later in Ross' career), and become main part of a template upon which future "girl groups" are based, there's not much to your statement.

I'm not seeing the racism here either.

 

[Unicron]

Don't mind the people who get offended for the sake of offense. Whomever the hell Earl Sweatshirt is, he hasn't even seen the video, so ignore him. The world's full of people who are offended at things they've never seen, and artists seeing the brunt of that "offense". Just ask Martin Scorsese.

Yep. I remember years ago The Daily Show ran a story about an American senator who wanted to do away with The Sopranos, on the grounds that it stereotyped Italian-Americans as criminals. Unfortunately for her, she also admitted to having never actually watched the show.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Nothing racist that I can see, and in fact that video is very inclusive. She's just showing several popular styles of dance and pop and making fun of herself for being goofy and unable to do them, and then follows it up with a "be yourself, have fun, and don't worry about what other people say" message. Seems pretty positive, humorously self-deprecating, and empowering to me. The Earl Sweatshirt guy should probably take a look at it and glean the context before declaring it racist.

 

[Amaris]

Don't mind the people who get offended for the sake of offense. Whomever the hell Earl Sweatshirt is, he hasn't even seen the video, so ignore him. The world's full of people who are offended at things they've never seen, and artists seeing the brunt of that "offense". Just ask Martin Scorsese.

Yep. I remember years ago The Daily Show ran a story about an American senator who wanted to do away with The Sopranos, on the grounds that it stereotyped Italian-Americans as criminals. Unfortunately for her, she also admitted to having never actually watched the show.

It's easier to judge something when you don't have to know what it is.

Nothing racist that I can see, and in fact that video is very inclusive. She's just showing several popular styles of dance and pop and making fun of herself for being goofy and unable to do them, and then follows it up with a "be yourself, have fun, and don't worry about what other people say" message. Seems pretty positive, humorously self-deprecating, and empowering to me. The Earl Sweatshirt guy should probably take a look at it and glean the context before declaring it racist.

Her message is "Be yourself"? What's wrong with being someone else? Is she too good for them? What a bigoted, elitist young woman! She's not like me, because I have several friends of varying skin colors, and am therefore not racist, but I am definitely offended! [/weep] [/travail]

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Isn't she the girl Kanye disrespected so much he interrupted her acceptance speech and took the microphone from her? And she's supposed to be racist?

+Infinitum!

You want someone who does not help shed stereotypes at all, look no further than Kanye West.

Melakon's comment is a non sequitur, and yours is just... well, let's say classy.

I watched the video. Meh. I am not sure what about it is offensive but I can see how some of the parody elements could be construed as problematic. Many of the scenes were silly and then you had black women twerking, which seems tantamount to a white woman saying "black women twerking is silly" which is, at a minimum, kind of disrespectful. Racist? I don't think I'd go that far.

Her musical quality seems to have declined over the years, which is really saying something. Of course, her musical themes have issues in general. I guess the song this thread is about could be considered a response to such criticisms.