The opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games held in London,
portrayed the country as a diverse place where people of all races live in
harmony together. They showed living in London is a place where it is normal
for families to be built with people from different races; they showed the multi-cultural
side to the UK to the world in the opening. Multi-cultural side to the UK is represented
through black and white mixed family as they rush around the suburban-house
living a day to day lifestyle.
Alvarado says that there are four key themes in racial
representation which are how the black raced people are seen by other races. They
are seen either exotic in terms of
food or models, dangerous as they are strongly linked to the stereotype of
being linked to crimes and gangs, humorous due to black comedians on shows or
in films or pitied for poverty in countries in Africa whom are placed on
charity promotions. These stereotypes are printed in peoples mind depending on
what they have seen or heard in their life, a quick judgement made in their
minds on what they seen the black community like.
Frantz Fanon is a theorist who
similarly to Alvarado have stereotypes and he believes typically the black stereotype
can Infantilize, Primitivize, Decivilize, Essentislize. He also says the only
way black community is accepted by white people are by “Putting on a white mask”
which is portrayed in the Olympic opening.
Shortly after the opening a journalist for the daily mail called Rick Dewsbury produced an article
that was an unpleasant mix of contempt, misanthropy and thinly disguised racism
as an article from the guardian says.
