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08.03.07 07:50 PM
I Got Your Black Tech Blogger Right Here
So I subscribe to PodTech in iTunes, primarily because it was a place where Irina Slutsky once called home. But I also watched ScobleShow and CalacanisCast when I had time, because they appealed to the geek in me. There were a few other shows that I've watched on there from time to time, but today I discovered that there's one I won't ever watch again. (Hat tip to the inside informant who sent me the link, as I'm on vacation I completely missed this one.)
It appears that Loren Feldman of 1938 Media believes that it's still funny and totally acceptable to perform in black face in 2007. And it's bad black face at that. I've never met anyone (in the 'hood) who speaks as he does in this video he released today called, Technigga. The slang he uses and outfit he wears is not only meant to be a racist parody, but it's also a throwback -- as in, black people don't speak or dress like that any longer.
If you're going to try and get laughs by mimicking a black man, at least try to get that shit right. There's only room for one Ali G, and fortunately there's Sacha Baron Cohen is only semi-distasteful.
Adario Strange at Wired Blogs spoke to both Feldman and Ariana Huffington, of Huffington Post, where you can find some of Feldman's material. Here are their responses. I'm not yet sure if the video ended up in the PodTech feed, but if it does, I'll want to see what Scoble or someone over there has to say.
Go watch the video here and judge for yourself. For the record I'll just say that it's completely unfunny, and the most insipid piece of satire that I've ever come across. On the real though, dude would catch a smackdown if I were truly 'hood. But I'm not, so all I have is this blog to share my disgust with the rest of the blogosphere. (I'm sure I'll catch some insane love mail for this one, but whatever, I'm saying what has to be said.)
Big Eddie Ed, no disrespect, but I think this one is aiming at you and your man's heads over at NiggaKnowTechnology. Represent.
posted by lynne | link to this |
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Comments
Unfunny white guy attempts to parody black culture with unfunny results. Groundbreaking.
I refuse to give this fool any link juice. But I will say your tie-in with NiggaKnowTechnology is spot on.
posted by j. brotherlove![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.lynnedjohnson.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| August 3, 2007 9:11 PM #
i didn't know what to think of it. At least when you got people 'trying' to do something like this, you can get a little bit of 'funny' out of it. This was just bad. If you're gonna go 'racist' at least try to do with some quality material.
Just bad.
posted by Todd Kelley![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.lynnedjohnson.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| August 6, 2007 1:18 PM #
Did you read some of those ignorant comments? Have you seen his apology post? I guess that was his Michael Richards impression.
posted by Markus | August 7, 2007 12:08 AM #
I really appreciate Liz Henry pointing to Gary Dauphin's "Should I Use Black Face On My Blog" Flow Chart on ebogjohnson in Feldman's comments.
Truth is, I've watched Feldman often. And there have been other times I felt he crossed the line. For instance, he was very mean to Nick Douglas at Valleywag once. But Nick dishes tech dirt, so some may have felt it was deserved. Either way, it's not the first time he's been offensive in any way. It's just that this one pushed my buttons because he really wasn't shedding any light with his satire. And it just wasn't funny.
I'm not uptight, I can laugh at "black" jokes. This was just in poor taste.
posted by lynne![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.lynnedjohnson.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| August 7, 2007 12:39 AM #
This was just weak. I blogged it at Racialicious:
http://tinyurl.com/257n2v
posted by Carmen Van Kerckhove | August 7, 2007 11:04 AM #
Also check this other video that Rafi Kam passed on to me, in case anyone doubts that this dude has a deep-seated disdain for, and profound ignorance of, Black culture: http://www.1938media.com/black-and-blue/
-Worth noting since he is now positioning himself to say "the joke's on you, I didn't mean it like that!" regarding the new video.
posted by Jay Smooth | August 7, 2007 12:49 PM #
Feldman says he made a point with all of this. On the one hand I get it, and on the other, I don't. For instance, in the New 1938media show he appears as a cog in a machine, but still telling brash jokes here and there. He's made a saga out of it all, as he said to prove a point.
And according to him, the widget is not the next killer app of social media. There's a lot more that social media could be used for -- I'm still waiting for the "what"? And that's how I felt when I first watched the Tech-Nigga video, where is the what?
Anyway, I guess I have to start making videos now. I got a camera some months back to do work with students and to work on other projects that I wasn't sharing publicly, but I guess it's time.
posted by lynne![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.lynnedjohnson.com/nav-commenters.gif)
| August 7, 2007 12:51 PM #
I don't know what bothered me the most... the misleading blog title or the fact that he chose to stereotype unreasonably.
At first glance, reading the title I was left thinking "well hey, I'm a black tech blogger", but I found that it had nothing to do with the title.
What was this guy's angle? And if you are gonna use black tech bloggers as a tool to proove some kind of point, why not offer a more sincere apology!?
Seeing that Scoble had placed a comment I decided to get him on the phone to express my concerns, being that Loren is part of the Podtech network. I don't think Scoble appreciated the seriousness of the topic either.
I think that Podtech's sponsors should pull out if this is whats being allowed and supported.
posted by Darla Mack | August 7, 2007 6:43 PM #