Cultural Analysis: The Exaggeration of Racism and Stereotypes

“But That’s not Racist” is a sketch made by YouTube personality, Dominic Sandoval. In this video, characters put a racist perspective when approaching someone of a different race. The different races featured were Caucasian, African American, and Middle Eastern. When Sandoval approached two African American men, Sandoval immediately fell on his knees pleading for his life and giving the two men his wallet when the two African American men knew it was simply an accident. As the video progresses, the two African American men approached a man from the Middle East and immediately the African American men dropped to their knees chanting for Allah. All in all the stereotypes were exaggerated but what makes these videos funny, about these controversial topics, is how comedians try to “push the buttons” of their audience. “But That’s Not Racist” may exaggerate the typical stereotypes of another race but it also identifies how people see each other based on history.

This sketch uses general stereotypes of the different races identified. In the early 2000’s Americans alienated Islamic people because of the 9/11 attack. Al Qaeda claimed they were Islamic but they were Extreme Jihadists seeking to cause danger to Americans. According to the Pew Research center 60% of Americans are concerned about Islamic Extremism arising in the United States. Because of this statistic 55% of people from the Middle East think it is harder to live in the United States since 9/11. Americans do not realize Al Qaeda was a terrorist group “claiming” Islamic values. This attack has posted a negative connotation on people from Middle Eastern descent.

For most African Americans, slavery is a difficult topic to talk about. In the video two African American men were offended because a Caucasian was giving them orders. The African American men intertwined that situation to pertain to slavery. Then made the Caucasian man feel bad while calling him a “cracker”. Slavery is always a hard topic to talk about because it took so long for people to accept African Americans as citizens and humans. Back in the 1800’s they were taken advantage of and treated brutally. Although it was a tough time in the United States not every African American should recall that notion because not all of the Caucasian race owned slaves and mistreated them.

History has a tendency to make the worst part of an event the perpetual memory of that event. Other comedic sketches such as “White People Can’t Dance” by Dave Chappelle and “The White Face Project” by Eddie Murphy exaggerate components of stereotypes that define a race. Their purpose is to make their audience laugh but to also prove these stereotypes false. The problem is that people make a generalization about others and their opinion is converted into a stereotype. That stereotype thrives on that race for a long time then once a person of that race “lives in the stereotype” they showcase that it is true. In his famous “I Had A Dream” speech, Martin Luther King said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” The content of a person’s character is the only thing that should define that individual or group rather than stereotypes that generalize the whole race.