Jimmy Crack Snickers

Well, time for me to weigh in on issues of the day, since this is a blog, after all, and I may capture people's attention better that way than discoursing about my own life. So I'll discourse about my opinions about other people's lives.

Today's topic is political correctness as applied to television commercials. Two recent commercials caught a lot of flak - one was the Snickers commercial during the Super Bowl, which showed two "Earl" types working on a car, and sharing a Snickers bar without using their hands... and ending up sort of kissing, after which they get freaked out and start trying to do "manly" things. This has been decried by people who disapprove of homosexuality, but also hollered about (and louder) by people who presume to speak on behalf of the rights of gay people. That word, "homophobia," came up in the discussion, as I recall.

Now David Sedaris, who, as far as I can tell, is still openly gay, has already written very well on the difference between disliking something and being afraid of it. At any rate, I think it's really funny that the "homophobia" issue came up around this commercial. Because no one seems to get it that they are MAKING FUN of homophobia, not fostering it. These guys are displaying true homophobia. Evangelical Christians and other assorted neocons don't have homophobia (at least not that I can say with any certainty); what they have is moral disapproval of homosexuality -- and/or indignation about gay people gaining political power.

Anyway, I always thought that "Will and Grace" was much more of a blatant affront to gay people, but no one else seems to share my take on that.

Second commercial: The Cingular one where the future son-in-law tries to become buddies with his fiancee's dad, Jim, until the call gets dropped. The last few times I heard it, I had a nagging sense that something was missing - it was not quite as funny. Ah, well, maybe this was the short version. Then I heard that there was a line cut out of it - "Jimmy crack corn" -- out of concerns that people would be offended since that was a song about slavery. This was apparenly confirmed by the company. They had a handful of complaints about it.

Well, OK, but it's also a song that most of us grew up singing in our grammar school music classes, along with a bunch of other, far more politically incorrect stuff. And on the subject of "Blue-tailed Fly" (The correct title for "Jimmy Crack Corn,") you can turn to the esteemed Smithsonian Institution, which took over the operations of Moses Asch's Folkways Records. In searching through their catalog, which includes all the Broadside records, with "Who Killed Davey Moore" and other anthems of the civil rihts movement, you'll find a record by Pete Seeger - hardly a neocon -- with the "Jimmy Crack Corn" song on it. It's a kids' record, mind you. As the liner notes say:

"Kick off your shoes, tap your feet, and clap your hands along with Pete Seeger, whose contagious performances have introduced generations of children to the richness of traditional American music. Accompanied by his banjo, Pete Seeger presents 22 songs for young children that the whole family will enjoy. Extensive notes include lyrics and some instructions for dance. Especially for children 3 to 7. 59 minutes Winner of the 2001 Early Childhood News' Director's Choice Award Winner of the Parents' Choice 2000 Audio Classic Award."

See? A racist. Barefoot children clapping their hands. What a paternalistic image. Oh, by the way, Leadbelly sang it too. And I understand that Ludacris has used a snippet from it as well. So let's back off on the rhetoric and realize that our culture really is something of a melting pot, even if some people interpret that through some twisted logic as a code word for "Separate but equal."

Anyway, I think it's less funny without "Jimmy Crack Corn" and think they wimped out. Others think that if there were more black people in positions of influence in the advertising business, they would never have allowed this to go through.

My take is that singing a line from a familiar song that was originally about a slave who was sad that his master died is not condoning slavery or racism. It's a phrase that's almost as familiar to us as "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."

All they were using was a familiar phrase that most of us heard as kids. Its' not like they were having the guy do an Amos'n'Andy impression. So let's lighten up.

End of my rant.