Offensive Purple picture? - DPChallenge Forums

07/12/2004 09:15:57 PM · #76

Originally posted by timganier:

I am a gentleman of color, more than 9 different nationalities, to make it simple I am a MUTT, lol. I have a mix of it all, and if you dig too far, you might just find out I am related to you too. I could pass for many different nationalities. I am also from south Louisiana, as south as it can get, where racism is very evident.

However, my first viewing of the photo took me a couple of minutes to think about before I could vote on it, which I gave it a pretty high vote in the end. It took me off guard, to simply say �I WAS NOT READY FOR IT�, but I was faced with it and what ever the content, I still take it as art. Art comes in many different forms, and even if it was intended to resemble blackface, I have to hand it to you Bassie, it was well done and I actually like the picture for many different reasons. We can not grow by being scared of being faced with issues of life and history is an issue to some that has caused many internal scars, but the truth of the matter is it is a part of our history, and it is a major factor in the development of our free country. Yes we have to deal with racism, but it is how you deal with it and your interpretation of it. In the end we can not fear it but continue to learn to overcome it. Thanks for your artistic talents, continue to create your art in what ever form it is intended to be. We can not be afraid to offend someone, it is in the nature of our business to make life an art, and life at times is offensive to someone somewhere, and this photo definitely defined that fact. To put it blankly, I think the biggest problem with the photo is that people are not ready to face the subject, and if we all can see beyond the negative we could possibly see the positive. 10,000 years from now, this photo could be in our history books and would probably not offend anyone. Go out and make more waves, you probably received more publicity than any other photo, also the picture could possibly sell, it kinda reminds me of Mardi Gras!! Laissez les bons temps rouler! Ahheeeeeeeeeee! Personally, it is going in one of my favorites. Great job.

Very well put. I would like to make it clear that I myself was not offended by the picture but for a moment, as I mentioned in my initial posting. The issue I have been grappling with is the dismissal of the legitimate feelings of those who were offended. It is too easy to dismiss something we don't understand. Until I was in my late teens, I did not realize that there was strong animosity between Armenians and Turks. I had no knowledge of that history. I'm still pretty dim in that area but I have a better understanding. I don't agree with or condone the ethnic hatred but I would not be overly quick to dismiss the feelings of someone that I may have inadvertantly offended with my ignorance. I know an elderly Jewish gentleman who lost family in the Holocaust that to this day refusing to buy German products. I once offered him a candy and he refused because it was German-made. While I don't agree with his policy, I understand it and would never dream of
berating him for it.

I think Tim nailed it when he said "I think the biggest problem with the photo is that people are not ready to face the subject".

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

07/12/2004 09:16:14 PM · #77

Originally posted by laurielblack:

Originally posted by GeneralE:
Hollywood has a LONG history of having white actors play ethnic roles (often appearing ridiculous in the attempt!), while denying work to talented actors "born to the part."

...Kevin Costner...Robin Hood...no one has to say anything else. LOL

lol, I love you guys. The Rock played a remake of Bufford Pusser in Walking Tall.lol.

sher

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

07/12/2004 09:18:13 PM · #78

Originally posted by timganier:

Originally posted by laurielblack:

Originally posted by GeneralE:
Hollywood has a LONG history of having white actors play ethnic roles (often appearing ridiculous in the attempt!), while denying work to talented actors "born to the part."

...Kevin Costner...Robin Hood...no one has to say anything else. LOL

lol, I love you guys. The Rock played a remake of Bufford Pusser in Walking Tall.lol.

LOL...was that sad or what?!?!?

07/12/2004 09:20:58 PM · #79

Originally posted by sher9204:

Originally posted by timganier:

Originally posted by laurielblack:

Originally posted by GeneralE:
Hollywood has a LONG history of having white actors play ethnic roles (often appearing ridiculous in the attempt!), while denying work to talented actors "born to the part."

...Kevin Costner...Robin Hood...no one has to say anything else. LOL

lol, I love you guys. The Rock played a remake of Bufford Pusser in Walking Tall.lol.

LOL...was that sad or what?!?!?

lol! Very much so, but I like the Rock! I see him as the next goofball Lovable Arnie Swartzie! Men need big goofball idiots for roll models, takes the seriousness out of some of them.

07/12/2004 09:22:08 PM · #80

Originally posted by laurielblack:

Yes, it was a joke...I apologize if I offended any citizens of the UK or of the US in my obviously poor attempt at lightening the mood around here...

I figured it was a joke but I have a hard time switching gears that fast. I thought he was wretched in what was an otherwise great movie.

I love the Rock. I thought he was great in The Rundown. I haven't seen Walking Tall yet. Talk about your ethnic ambiguities. Samoan, black, and arguably one of the most beautiful human beings in the world today (inside and out--he always comes off as the sweetest, nicest guy).

graphicfunk

Canon EOS-20D

07/12/2004 09:24:41 PM · #81

Take heart; we do have a few backward people here. They are ready to be offended and will lash out when they find something they do not agree with. They forget that photography is art simply because they do not practice it so.
Your picture is a great shot and you receive the votes to prove it. Forget about these shutter pushers and their supposed twisted beliefs.

07/12/2004 09:25:05 PM · #82

Originally posted by timganier:

lol! Very much so, but I like the Rock! I see him as the next goofball Lovable Arnie Swartzie! Men need big goofball idiots for roll models, takes the seriousness out of some of them.

I think the Rock has potential to be a much better actor than Arnold. He has far more natural grace and intelligence, IMO. He is big, sure, but he also has great comic timing and a certain kind of gentle humanity. I never saw any of that in Arnold.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

07/12/2004 09:26:19 PM · #83

Originally posted by melismatica:

I love the Rock. I thought he was great in The Rundown. I haven't seen Walking Tall yet. Talk about your ethnic ambiguities. Samoan, black, and arguably one of the most beautiful human beings in the world today (inside and out--he always comes off as the sweetest, nicest guy).

Yes, very sweet guy, but would not have a problem kicking our butts in a second. Did you ever see MTV punked when they pretended to blow up his trailer. He was ready to show them what was cookin.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

07/12/2004 09:28:48 PM · #84

Originally posted by melismatica:

Originally posted by timganier:

lol! Very much so, but I like the Rock! I see him as the next goofball Lovable Arnie Swartzie! Men need big goofball idiots for roll models, takes the seriousness out of some of them.

I think the Rock has potential to be a much better actor than Arnold. He has far more natural grace and intelligence, IMO. He is big, sure, but he also has great comic timing and a certain kind of gentle humanity. I never saw any of that in Arnold.

See Arnold in Pumping Iron from before he became a film star (or which made him a film star). It's kind of hard to display any "gentle humanity" when your role is The Terminator.

07/12/2004 09:29:49 PM · #85

Originally posted by graphicfunk:

Um...we were trying to move on but you just went ahead and stirred it up again. I am one of the backward people you are referring to. I am aware that photography is an art and I practice it as such. Kindness is also an art and it should be practiced as well. I'm not degrading the quality of the photograph (although, honestly , I didn't like it--I gave it a five for technical merit, lighting and such). I'm upset by the lack of kindness and understanding being extended to the minority--the people who were offended. Keven doesn't need any more backpatting. If you have been following this entire thread most people have been saying the same kind of thing you just said. In other words, you are preaching to the choir my friend. I'm pretty much the only dissenting voice on this thread so you may as well have just sent me a PM calling me backward, ignorant, unartistic, whatever.

07/12/2004 09:29:51 PM · #86

Originally posted by melismatica:

That is for sure! He started out as the strong silent type, like the bad boyz of yesteryear! But did you ever see one of his first movies THE VILLIAN with Kirk Douglas. Funny! If you get into that type of dumb humor!

07/12/2004 09:31:47 PM · #87

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by melismatica:

Originally posted by timganier:

lol! Very much so, but I like the Rock! I see him as the next goofball Lovable Arnie Swartzie! Men need big goofball idiots for roll models, takes the seriousness out of some of them.

I think the Rock has potential to be a much better actor than Arnold. He has far more natural grace and intelligence, IMO. He is big, sure, but he also has great comic timing and a certain kind of gentle humanity. I never saw any of that in Arnold.

See Arnold in Pumping Iron from before he became a film star (or which made him a film star). It's kind of hard to display any "gentle humanity" when your role is The Terminator.

Lol, you cant kill a stigma that wins!

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

07/12/2004 09:33:02 PM · #88

Originally posted by timganier:

Originally posted by melismatica:

I love the Rock. I thought he was great in The Rundown. I haven't seen Walking Tall yet. Talk about your ethnic ambiguities. Samoan, black, and arguably one of the most beautiful human beings in the world today (inside and out--he always comes off as the sweetest, nicest guy).

Yes, very sweet guy, but would not have a problem kicking our butts in a second. Did you ever see MTV punked when they pretended to blow up his trailer. He was ready to show them what was cookin.

I'm just going by talk show appearances and SNL. He comes off as a very sweet guy who loves his wife and mother. LOL! I guess its the tender hearted woman in me that sees this.

I would like to see Pumping Iron one day, as I've heard it's a great documentary. I actually thought Arnold showed a little tender humanity in his role in T2. And maybe in Kindergarten Cop ('It's not a tumah!" Otherwise, I think he is just a lunk.

Bassie

Nikon D70

07/12/2004 09:37:15 PM · #89

I have been reading through the comments here and I can't tell you all how much I have learned. I just wanted to take a cool looking picture for a challenge. I have only been taking digital pictures for a little over a month now and I never imagined that a picture of mine would cause so much contraversy. Now I can see that many people can be offended by seeing it and honestly I don't know how to feel about my picture anymore. I can say I am sorry for taking it but I don't think I did anything wrong. I definitly feel bad for the people that my picture caused them to remember such horrible things. Me saying sorry isn't going to erase history or rid racism of the present day. But, if me saying sorry makes anyone that was offended by my picture feel any better, then I am truly sorry.
Bassie

dacrazyrn

Nikon D300

07/12/2004 09:38:45 PM · #90

Originally posted by melismatica:

I think it would have been courteous for him to simply say, "I'm so sorry if I offended some people.

After following this thread for a bit..It has led me to come to the following statement
.I would like to say that I am sorry to have offended ANYone in the world, in ANYway, with ANY photo I have ever produced.
There, now I can have a clear conscience for the rest of my picture taking career. WHEW!! Glad that is off my chest (sarcasm) (C:

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

07/12/2004 09:42:48 PM · #91

Originally posted by melismatica:

And maybe in Kindergarten Cop ('It's not a tumah!" Otherwise, I think he is just a lunk.

Hey Melisa, you might develop a [i]tumah fighting as you are about the subject at hand! I dont believe people will change, but they can be taught! Find the ones that are willing to listen and start there. Once you have built your cult, start the movement. I think it is very humanitarian of you to fight the way you are about this. But you cant throw a mountain into a lake, but you can take a pebble at a time and make a dam!

Mick

Canon EOS-5D

07/12/2004 09:43:51 PM · #92

Originally posted by timganier:

Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by melismatica:

Originally posted by timganier:

lol! Very much so, but I like the Rock! I see him as the next goofball Lovable Arnie Swartzie! Men need big goofball idiots for roll models, takes the seriousness out of some of them.

I think the Rock has potential to be a much better actor than Arnold. He has far more natural grace and intelligence, IMO. He is big, sure, but he also has great comic timing and a certain kind of gentle humanity. I never saw any of that in Arnold.

See Arnold in Pumping Iron from before he became a film star (or which made him a film star). It's kind of hard to display any "gentle humanity" when your role is The Terminator.

Lol, you cant kill a stigma that wins!

I always thought Arnold was a nice guy; until he became a lying thief... uhh... politician.

BTW, I think Kevin's photo is fantastic. It certainly has "wow" factor.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

07/12/2004 09:46:50 PM · #93

Originally posted by micknewton:

I always thought Arnold was a nice guy; until he became a lying thief... uhh... politician.

BTW, I think Kevin's photo is fantastic. It certainly has "wow" factor.

You mean the Govenator! Just praise God he can not run for president!

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

07/12/2004 09:49:14 PM · #94

Originally posted by timganier:

Originally posted by micknewton:
I always thought Arnold was a nice guy; until he became a lying thief... uhh... politician.

BTW, I think Kevin's photo is fantastic. It certainly has "wow" factor.

You mean the Govenator! Just praise God he can not run for president!

Yet ... that proposal, along with the contingency plans for suspending the November elections, are "in the works ..."

pitsaman

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

07/12/2004 09:49:57 PM · #95

Unless I see kissing gays,nothing is controversial, LOL !

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

07/12/2004 09:52:39 PM · #96

Originally posted by Bassie:

Very noble of you Bassie! 1 Billion Cool points! Keep up the great work. Hey sometimes we all need to be shaken up! Dont feel bad about your photo, you know your intentions. Liven up and Walk Tall, like the Rock,lol!

frumoaznicul

Canon EOS-20D

07/12/2004 09:53:56 PM · #97

Originally posted by dacrazyrn:

Originally posted by melismatica:
I think it would have been courteous for him to simply say, "I'm so sorry if I offended some people.

After following this thread for a bit..It has led me to come to the following statement
.I would like to say that I am sorry to have offended ANYone in the world, in ANYway, with ANY photo I have ever produced.
There, now I can have a clear conscience for the rest of my picture taking career. WHEW!! Glad that is off my chest (sarcasm) (C:

hahaha yea me too!

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

07/12/2004 09:57:50 PM · #98

Originally posted by pitsaman:

Unless I see kissing gays,nothing is controversial, LOL !

Oops...you mean something like this? (shameless plugs for one of my faves...grigrigirl's absolutely beautiful and tasteful work)

07/12/2004 10:04:35 PM · #99

Originally posted by Bassie:

Bassie, you didn't do anything wrong. Still, by our blundering, we sometimes step on other people's feet and it is just nice to say ,"Oops, sorry about that." Of course the gravity of the apology depends on the gravity of the faux pas. I appreciate your talent and my only beef with you on this thread was the comment about losing the ribbon because of the ignorance of people in the past. It seemed as though you didn't quite get the extent of the issue. Other folks seemed to be placing more importance on a work of art than on the feelings of some human beings. Art is important to me and I could see if you were making some kind of statement other than 'this looks cool' I would be more inclined to defend the argument of art serving the higher purpose. In this case, the higher purpose would have been served by aknowledging the feelings of some people who belong to a race that is still struggling in this country. The problem with racism in the US is that it has never gone away. It isn't all in the past, as much as people would like to put it behind them.

You are right in that an apology from you will not erase racism. You are certainly not responsible for all the world's problems. It is simply a small gesture that takes very little on the part of the doer and can mean quite a lot to the offended party. Have you ever heard that old song, "It's in every one of us to be wise."? I remember it from the Muppet Christmas special, believe it or not. It goes like this:

It's in every one of us to be wise. Find your heart, open up both your eyes.
We can all know everything without ever knowing why.
It's in every one of us, by and by.

The point is, little things we do each day have the power to effect the world whether we realize it or not. An apology is simply a gesture. One that costs nothing but seems so difficult for people in Western culture to do. This is the last I'm saying on the subject.

I appreciate very much your simple and sincere gesture. Now go make more photographs.