What is it about McDonald's and Black folks? Before I begin I should backtrack, this blog is not a critique about representation perse. I know African Americans in this country has struggled for years and years for a place, a voice, and positive images in mainstream media. So, we can all probably agree that Black folks have media representation to a certain degree. My problem really begins with the ways in which we [as a community of people who share the same skin color] are portrayed.
I live in the south; I am sure the television commercials I see are geared toward a southern demographic. Therefore I should expect to see commercials that [advertisers believe based on qualitative research] are intended for communities in which they can sell their products. Having established that, I am still somewhat miffed at the abundance of fast food commercials, especially McDonald's commercials that depict Blacks enjoying this unhealthy _ _ _ _. Now, I am not trying to begin a fallacious argument here, I completely understand that my inquiries could be perceived as generalizations. Nonetheless, as a personal trainer and fitness junkie, I can't help but wonder if advertisers themselves are not relying on a the false assumption that Blacks are not very food conscious. I'll be honest there is a need in the African American community for greater health and fitness awareness in terms of our diets. For example, high blood pressure is a lot more common among African Americans.
I guess what really irritates me is that these commercials seem so culturally biased, almost as if McDonald's is floridly catering to one specific group, simply because they believe this group is not very well informed about their products. It all smells really disingenuous; and I know I have used that word in several blogs, but sometimes it is so appropriate. Maybe I am reading too much into it; am I over analyzing here? What do you think?
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