Passing

"'She probably started passing like the rest of 'em, that's what... There used to be a lot of that. A lot of it. Not so much nowadays, but there used to be a lot of 'em did it-if they could.'" (290)

This excerpt of Song of Solomon is referring to passing as a white person. After doing some research, I've found that this practice of passing was not uncommon and resulted in alienation from a person's non-passing family.  Sadly, as Stanford historian Allyson Hobbes notes, passing causes the loss of "the family jokes, the oral history every family has, and repeats and passes down". Oftentimes, many felt it was the best thing to do in a society where melanin was highly ostracized; if you could pull off white, then your life could be so much better.

One example of passing is the story of Elsie Roxborough. Born into an upper class African American family in Detroit, she made history as the first black woman to live in University of Michigan dorms. After graduating, she moved to anew York and tried passing as a white woman to find fame as a writer. Her new name was Mona Manet. However, upon hearing his daughter was passing, her father refused to support her, and Elsie commit suicide. Her sister had to pass as a white woman herself to claim Elsie's body, and her death certificate was declared as a white woman.

Clearly, passing is a very complex choice black people make. On one hand, they don't pass but still have familial connections, yet they go through the constant discrimination and racism as a visible black man or woman. On the other hand, pretending to be white cuts one off from their black relatives, yet gives them an identity that opens opportunities they'd never get before.

Overall, America has seen passing for a long time. A recent roles reversed incident was seen in the Rachel Dolezal debacle, in which a European descended woman pretended to be black and even was the NAACP director. In my opinion, it says a lot about our country that passing is a practice in the first place.

An Exposé

A lot of people don't like Song of Solomon. Some don't like it because of the countless layers of symbolism we have to analyze before we get to "what Toni Morrison is trying to say". And since this book takes place in the mid to late 20th century, themes of racism are expected. One theme that's disturbing is the internalized racism many of the characters display. All the creepy Doctor was interested in was "the color of [his granddaughter's] skin" (71), he was delighted by the birth of his light-skinned granddaughters, not the birth of his granddaughters period. And although this book takes place in the 20th century, allow me to take you on a journey of how humanity is still messed up today!

EXHIBIT A: South Asian Beauty Ideals

Here we have a tragic love story. A girl leaves her lover only to find him with another when she returns. On seeing a Ponds "white beauty" commercial, she applies the cream, and (I'll save you the 5 episodes) he falls back in love with her! When was this released? 2008, nine years ago. Aside from the fact that I feel old as hell, that wasn't even that long ago. The Bollywood movie industry has been doing this for ages. However, one bright  spot in this is that Indian commercials have just gotten darker (and that's called juxtaposition!); in 2014, the Advertising Standards Council of India issued guidelines that ban any ads that depict darker skin in an inferior way. Sadly, however, companies like Fair and Lovely are still running rampant in Pakistan, where celebrities endorse it and the general population fetishizes white skin.

EXHIBIT B: Western Hypocrisy?

Let me introduce you to a little corporation called Unilever. Their self description is meeting "everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good, and get more out of life". Sounds beautiful, right? Wait.. Unilever owns these two companies: Fair and Lovely and Dove. Yes, the very same Dove with inspirational campaigns such as their "Real Beauty" campaign and the "You're more beautiful than you think you are" ad (below).

I think the scent of hypocrisy here is clear. On one hand, Unilever promotes self love and positivity to its Western audience, and on the other side of the globe, feeds on age old stereotypes against dark skin through its Fair and Lovely subsidiary. Analyzing any of its ulterior motives leads to the ultimate conclusion of money. Unilever will bend to the will of the people: as Western audiences are increasingly becoming more progressive in terms of beauty ideals, Eastern audiences are still stuck in a colonialist mindset of white equals good, black equals bad. While this mindset is of no fault of their own, it's a never ending cycle. 

THE BIG PICTURE: 

From the first commercial, does the girl look familiar? She's Priyanka Chopra, the star of ABC's Quantico. Possibly the worst part about these beauty ideals is that celebrities endorse them. It's an unspoken truth in Bollywood and Lollywood (Pakistan's Walmart version of a film industry) that many actors have gotten skin lightening surgery. And in a country where the public is swayed so much by the media they intake, the ideal is shifting from white is good to white is necessary. 

Further, while this subtle racism is expected in the East, it's starting to permeate in the west. Recently, Nivea tried its hand in releasing this ad: 

I hope you can understand the problem with this.

In a time where racial tensions seem to be escalating, ads like these are just tasteless. Overall, the false adage that whiteness is rightness is getting old, and it's about time for society and corporations to realize this. I've bought and thrown away my last Fair and Lovely. Now that's called a glow up! 

I swear that's an index finger

Couplin' Cousins

DISCLAIMER: It's about to get really weird in here. Like, weirder than Song of Solomon, which is already one of the most abnormal books I've ever read (I mean that in a good way, Ms. Valentino!).

SO, as we know by now, Milkman and Hagar are a little more than just cousins... not only is she "as pretty a girl as he's ever seen" (45) they're (in the least awkward way I can say it ) romantically involved!

This was shocking! This was unexpected! This was unheard off! Wait, no; it's not unheard of. I'll be real, while the relationship between Hagar and Milkman is unusual and kind of unsettling, it's definitely not the first time I've heard of it. Many cultures abroad and in America participate in (and encourage) cousin marriage. And I'm not here to argue one side or the other, but sometimes each perspective is worth considering. For example, in Pakistan, cousin marriage is very common. Why? Because in a country where there are sadly too many shady people, cousins seem like the best option. Marriage is very family-oriented, so the family you're getting married to determines a lot. With cousin marriages, you already know the family, their personality, and you don't have to risk marrying into a crazy clan. 

Even though its something highly normalized in my culture, I wouldn't marry a cousin for my own reasons. And although my sister and I still snicker whenever my mom reveals that the two people that got married are cousins, I still believe that it's necessary to see the other perspective. 

Reverse, Reverse!

Friday morning (11:30 AM), I woke up with the impending doom of taking the SAT in the back of my mind. I needed to practice and I needed to prepare, but then I found myself on Friday afternoon, 12:00, here:

gotta have that good ol' oatmeal on the side

So I watched "The Great Gatsby"! It was really great! One thing I noticed about the movie was its extreme likeness to the book. I felt like I already watched it because the characters would literally say their lines out of the dialogue in the book. Interestingly enough, the soundtrack was very unique. With Jay-Z as the executive producer of the music score, songs like "No Church in the Wild" and a cover of "Crazy in Love" could be heard in the background. Also, the director is Baz Luhrmann, who directed that psychologically scarring captivating "Romeo + Juliet" we watched as freshman. So a little weirdness has to be expected. However, while the music was an unorthodox (yet compelling) pair-up with the movie, the casting was very loyal to the book. Gatsby has that smile,

This oozes that "quality of eternal reassurance" vibe (Fitzgerald 48)

 Jordan is as lanky and "jaunty" as Nick oh-so-often described her; the white characters are white, and all (two of) the black characters are black. This made me think about what the movie's reception would be like today. Even though this was made in 2013, emphasis on racial diversity in Hollywood has increased. People would probably advocate for a diverse main cast that goes further than an Indian man portraying a Jewish man. So would you be okay with a black Gatsby? Opinions differ. For example, in the popular Broadway play Hamilton, loosely based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, Lin Manuel Miranda (Puerto-Rican American) portrayed Hamilton; Leslie Odom Jr. (African American) portrayed Aaron Burr.   

The Hamilton casting garnered praise and criticism. Many lauded the casting as a bold move in support of racial diversity after the #OscarsSoWhite trend, giving non-white Americans a chance relate to a part of history that seems too distant, while others argue that it's not an accurate historical representation, and that "by cloaking white history in the talent, bodies, and labor of people of color, Hamilton obscures the white supremacist origins of our country" (http://ncph.org/history-at-work/its-not-just-a-musical/). 

Either way, it's clear that there are valid points on each side. However, in an industry where whitewashing of roles in book to movie adaptations is normalized (Jake Gyllenhaal in Prince of Persia, to name one), is it okay if that were to happen the other way around, with roles reversed? If Jake Gyllenhaal could be the Prince of Persia, could Idris Elba be Jay Gatsby?