Racist Political Ad? Nah, of Course Not.

Things just got real in Michigan. U.S. Representative Pete Hoekstra is gearing up for a senate run against Democratic incumbent Debbie Stabenow, and is coming with serious heat. In an attempt I guess to show Sen. Stabenow as some spendthrift politician who could care less about shipping jobs overseas, Hoekstra drops this ad on Michigan voters:

In one thirty-second ad, Hoekstra manages to offend just about everyone. First, he makes it appear that there are many smiling Asians across the Pacific just happy as can be at the prospect of American jobs. Also, in Hoekstra's ad, there is no country mentioned just the euphemism of 'we' as if to lump all Asians together as those pesky American job thieves. Maybe if Mr. Hoekstra picked up a paper as of late, he would've seen that things are starting to change.

What a bout the young woman in the ad you ask? As it turns out, she has since expressed regret at being in the ad and interestingly enough doesn't even live in Michigan. Sadly, this is probably the first of more than a few racially insensitive campaign commercials coming to us during this election year. Let's hope there's better judgement over the coming months.

Did On Screen Black Presidents Pave Way for Obama?

Well ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of year again. The news cycles are once again roaring up for another presidential election. I must be honest, nearly three years since Barack Obama's inauguration, I'm still stunned that a black man is president of these here United States.

Now in the years since Obama's election, many things have been attributed to his achievement of becoming the first black president. People say he ran a solid campaign. Others say he engaged the youth like few politicians have. Millions were wowed by his great speeches, and some would even say his early adoption of social media was a deciding factor in his election. Being that this blog focuses on film and television, I can't help but wonder if previous on screen portrayals of black presidents, assisted in Obama's rise to the White House.