Think of the Overseas Profits, You Fools
Friday, May 21, 2010
Dora the Explorer, circa 2010This is getting ridiculous--Dora the Explorer doesn't look anything like this photo anymore:
In her police mug shot, the doe-eyed cartoon heroine with the bowl haircut has a black eye, battered lip and bloody nose.
Dora the Explorer's alleged crime? "Illegal Border Crossing Resisting Arrest."
The doctored picture, one of several circulating widely in the aftermath of Arizona's controversial new immigration law, may seem harmless, ridiculous or even tasteless.
Lest you think I'm joking, here. Experts. They have this to say, so you'd better listen:
But experts say the pictures and the rhetoric surrounding them online, in newspapers and at public rallies, reveal some Americans' attitudes about race, immigrants and where some of immigration reform debate may be headed.
"Dora is kind of like a blank screen onto which people can project their thoughts and feelings about Latinos," said Erynn Masi de Casanova, a sociology professor at the University of Cincinnati. "They feel like they can say negative things because she's only a cartoon character."
The depictions, whether through irony or protest, are being used by those who oppose and support Arizona's law. On one hand she's a likable symbol who many can relate to, and at the same time, perceived as an outsider who doesn't belong anywhere.
Now, what gets my blood boiling is that the ignorant jackasses that did this sort of thing don't really seek anything other than a cheap laugh. They're not making a salient point. They're putting a black eye on a treasured childhood image.
Dora the Explorer is a proud symbol of for-profit children's television. Do you have any idea--any freaking idea--how much money Dora has made for her owners? She's a veritable cash cow in terms of merchandising and overseas sales. Forget the U.S. distribution--think of all of the money she makes in places where they barely get television.
Yeah.
Got you there.
Ride the lightning, homeys. Peace out.
Norman Rogers | tagged
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