Samhita Mukhopadhyay analyzes the politics of the popular blog Stuff White People Like.
Commentators and bloggers of all races have hailed the site as groundbreaking. Some have said it is edgy and deals with white privilege in a real way; others have said that it is a refreshing and funny take on racism in our culture. But this is true more on an implicit than explicit level. Even though some posts deal directly with race, such as the entries on Diversity (No. 7), Being an Expert on YOUR Culture (No. 20), and Being the Only White Person Around (No. 70), Lander didn't set out to write an academic treatise on whiteness. Rather, he set out to joke about it. What sets it apart from the hundreds of other well-written, funny Web sites is that it's hit a nerve--especially because it appeared at a time when America was captivated by the issue of race in the presidential primary. And so it's worth thinking about exactly what this blog tells us about whiteness and why its mostly white, affluent audience has so enthusiastically embraced this gently mocking rundown of their culture.
And Tara McKelvey talks with the men behind the new HBO series about the invasion of Iraq, Generation Kill, including The Wire's David Simon:
You say there are two kinds of television viewers: those who lean back on the sofa and watch passively and those who lean forward and think about what they're seeing. This show requires a lot from viewers. You hardly explain anything. It makes people work a little harder, but they earn it and they value it more. By the time you get to Baghdad, you realize there was an awful lot that was correct and you realize that there was an awful lot that was incorrect. If someone is there to explain why you're on this journey, then why are you on it?
Subscribe to our RSS feed to receive our articles as soon as they're published.
--The Editors
