We're a Culture, Not a Costume

Our News and Journalism project focused on the "We're a Culture, Not a Costume" campaign. A group of Ohio University students from STARS (Students Teaching About Racism in Society) was fed up with Halloween costumes which depict minority cultures in a negative light. The posters made by the group have gained national attention and have even been seen on the University of Minnesota campus.

CNN's Take

The article “‘We’re a culture, not a costume’ this Halloween,” which was written by Emanuella Grinberg and featured on CNN, discusses the campaign launched by an Ohio University student group.

The article was posted online and features pictures of the posters made for the campaign. The posters show a student of a certain race next to a picture of someone dressed up in an offensive costume of that race.

The article also uses short paragraphs to keep the reader’s attention and interest and is about two pages long. Looking at the online version of the article, the site uses thick margins, so the article looks longer than it actually is on paper. It also uses a lot of quotes from people directly related to the campaign and others who just have opinions on it.

The article uses fairly simple language that could be understood by almost any audience. While the words used are not complicated, the article is unclear in some areas. Several times, the author does not explain clearly where the quotes used are coming from. Often the speaker or why they are important to the project is not made obvious.

There are many concepts and people mentioned in the article that many readers would not understand. For example, the author explains that the President of STARS is black and is dressing up as Janelle Monae for Halloween. However, I for one did not know who Janelle Monae is and why it is relevant that this person is dressing up as her. I think that this would also confuse other readers who also do not know who this she and why she is mentioned in the story. Another person who was not clarified in the piece was Ryan Lombardi. The article mentions the opinion of “the dean of students” at Ohio University, where this campaign is taking place, however it does not mention his name in this paragraph. Then there is a quote used from a person named Ryan Lombardi, who is the dean of students. Again, I had to look this information up because it was not clear in the writing.

A concept used in the article is ‘blackface’. This was another term I have never heard of and had to look it up. For those who do not know, it is make up used by performers so they can somewhat realistically portray an African American. It would be beneficial for the author to put in a definition or explanation of this term so the audience could understand how this action is significant to the campaign.

Time Magazine's Perspective

The article ‘We’re Not a Costume’ was written in Time by Erin Skarda. It focuses on a student group who started a campaign targeting racially stereotyping Halloween costumes. Students Teaching About Racism in Society (STARS) is a group of 10 students from Ohio University. They started the project to inform people about how offensive these somewhat common Halloween costumes are.

STARS started this campaign with the intent of making people think about their Halloween costumes and how they may offend other groups of people. The costumes the students focused on deal with common ethnic and racial stereotypes. The group used five different costumes in their ad campaign, which ranged in degree of offense from a Native American “Pocahottie” costume to a Muslim terrorist with explosives strapped under his vest. These ads portray a person of the minority group being discriminated against holding up a picture of a person wearing the derogatory costume and the words “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume” written above. These ads have been displayed across the country on college campuses, including the University of Minnesota, and have received national new coverage.

The article is very short, but it talks about the offensive nature of these costumes. The paragraphs are also short in length, separating each idea in order to make sure the reader knows how important each issue is. The article is set with very large margins and each paragraph is only a few sentences long with very little detail. Each section is written in a way that makes the reader feel like they know exactly what the campaign is trying to achieve. The article is only a brief overview of the campaign, but with the examples Skarda includes throughout the story it is easy to imagine what the rest of the campaign is about. The author also includes a link for the top ten Halloween Costumes for 2011. Although none of the costumes on the list are used in STARS’ campaign, some represent other people (Muammar Gaddafi) or groups of people (Mormons) in ways that are still derogatory.

The article in Time only printed two of the five pictures STARS created. Each picture portrayed a different gender and minority. The first was of a young African American woman holding a picture of a girl who painted her body black. She has a chain, a flat-billed hat, and is making a stereotypical gesture with her hand vaguely resembling a gang symbol. The second picture is of a young Islamic man who is holding a picture of someone dressed up as a Muslim and has a bomb strapped to his chest. Along with the picture there is also a banner on the poster that says, “We’re a culture, not a costume. This is not okay.” The article talks about how there have been many supporters throughout the campaign but there has also been a lot of people who think that the Ohio University students are reading too much into it. They believe it is just a simple Halloween costume.

Skarda talks about Sarah Williams, the president of STARS, and what she hoped would come out of the campaign. Williams says her goal was to let people know that the offensive costumes were not okay and it is offending not only individuals, but also cultures as a whole. She also talks about her response to the feedback from the campaign the many negative comments they have received.

My initial reaction to this article is that it caught my attention. Even though it has very few details about the actual campaign, it still caused me to look into the project and learn more about it. The article is very short, approximately 300 words, but you still know exactly what Skarda is writing about. This article made it possible to relate directly to the campaign and forced me to consider the issue they were putting in front of me. I was able to see both sides of the issue because Skarda talks the many negative reactions to the campaign. This demonstrates how strongly what is considered offensive is based off of what the majority considers to be inappropriate.

Good Housekeeping's Website

On October 21 a student group at Ohio University started a campaign to raise awareness about Halloween costumes based on a culture. The “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume” project featured five different ads depicting students of minority groups holding pictures of costumes that degrade their culture. These costumes include a Mexican wearing a sombrero and poncho while sitting on a donkey, a Geisha, an Islamic man with explosives strapped under his vest, a couple of Native Americans holding a check from a casino, and a black woman with “bling” and a flat-billed hat. These images started as a campus campaign, but have since received national attention and have even been posted at the University of Minnesota.

When looking for a report on “We’re a Culture, Not a Campaign” I found an opinion-based letter written on Good Housekeeping’s website about project. This piece is very informal: it was posted on a part of the magazine’s the website in which the writers have usernames and are allowed to put up a picture of themselves next to their submission. On the average computer screen, the column is about three and a half inches wide, leading it to appear slightly longer than if it had been formatted in a word-document such as this one. Though I must admit that this post is much better written than some I have read on other sites, it is not necessarily written in a formal style.

Though the post looks like it is a type of blog, it is posted on a website directly connected to a magazine. This brings into question the truth behind the opinion. Because the webpage is associated with a news source, the opinions represented need to maintain their base of clients. Above all, Good Housekeeping has a goal of making money and has to monitor how they are represented. This post would have been approved and possibly edited before appearing on the website. With an audience of women including young adults and “middle-agers” an especially controversial piece posted on the website could easily affect sales of the magazine. The matter of the post being an honest opinion is now only what can be considered a “partial truth.”

The post on the Good Housekeeping website believes STARS’ ad campaign is overreacting in some ways. He states that, for instance, dressing up as a Geisha does not mean that a person is trying to portray an ethnicity. This would be an example of dressing up as an occupation, much like being the ever-popular “naughty cop.” If one would argue that it is an occupation belonging to another race, would not dressing up as a ninja be offensive as well then?

In addition to offending the cultures the costumes are inaccurately portraying, these outfits also desensitize society to degradation, as minor as this example may seem. It is a sort of “slippery slope” from wearing a “Pocahottie” costume to the explosive-carrying Islam. From these actions may spring more severe offenses.

He goes on to say that the stereotypes a group of Ohio University students seem to have a problem with only apply to minorities who have a history of being oppressed. Might there also be white people who are offended by the redneck costumes, Germans who feel slighted by Oktoberfest garb, or Irish who wish to be seen as more than leprechauns? The writer is quick to point out that he is in fact black so he is not to be quickly judged as “racist” or “insensitive.”

Dyer’s work on neutral white bodies directly applies to this difference. When a group of white people is asked to make a list of categories to which they belong, how many of these lists will include race? Most likely, very few would and those that do would have “white” written very far down on the list. Conversely minorities identify more strongly with their race. White bodies may occasionally be seen as “good,” but most often they are simply neutral. A Caucasian can be assured that their first impression will not be based solely on their skin tone, while many African Americans are judged originally on this trait. This plays into the ability to wear costumes depicting white people in a negative light. Additionally, whites have a history of being the oppressor and “have it coming” in a sense.

I was somewhat surprised when I realized that in part, I agreed with the statements made in this letter. When I first saw the ads around campus I was embarrassed by them even though I have never worn any of these costumes. Seeing people wearing things that seemed as clearly offensive as an Islamic man with bombs strapped under his vest shocked me. On the other hand, I have a friend who dressed as a German beer girl this year and though I am about 80% German, never thought twice about its appropriateness. Because I have never been discriminated for my heritage in my lifetime, I do not immediately take offense to any portrayals of the culture. I am not trying to say that people who have been offended by the costumes portrayed in the campaign’s ads are overreacting, simply that it is interesting to note that only certain groups tend to feel insulted by costumes portraying their cultures.

Our Conclusion

We have been following an article that has not only been on the news, but has been promoted across the University of Minnesota campus. A group of 10 students from Ohio University stated a campaign with the tagline “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume.” The campaign began a few days before Halloween with the intent of teaching people about many of the Halloween costumes that are offensive to other cultures. We looked into 3 different reports covering the story. We looked at CNN, who was the main news reporter on the story, Time, a popular news-based magazine, and an individual’s letter posted on Good Housekeeping’s website. Each had a different viewpoint on the topic and was displayed in different ways.

It was interesting to look at the differences between the reports of CNN and Time. Because they are partners, it seemed possible to assume that they would have similar articles. This is true to some extent. While both articles have quotes from the president of STARS, only CNN interviewed others from the school- both students and the dean of students, Ryan Lombardi. This was likely due to the crunch for space magazines like Time experience.

Each report included pictures of the campaign, though while CNN included all five that the students, Time only used two. Both report made clear the idea of the campaign regardless of the number of images displayed. Time did explain that STARS put out a total of five pictures. The opinion sent in to Good Housekeeping did not include any pictures though many of the images were referenced.

Because of the differences in the way the reports were published, the representation of the “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume” campaign also varied. CNN was a major source in giving the program publicity, writing a full article explaining it in depth with many examples. Time had a very short article that summarized what the ads stood for and explained the outcome STARS was hoping to achieve. The approach of the opinion posted through Good Housekeeping was much different. The author did not give much background on the project before sharing his opinions on it. His reaction was the only report of the three that questioned the campaign’s stance personally, though he was not held responsible for his writings as the other reporters were. The opinion-based letter was informal and questioned aspects of the Ohio University students’ project. Because his reaction was not for any company to put out, the author could write what he wanted anonymously and without retaliation.

The layout for each report differed greatly. Time wrote a short article with a large margin, which changed the look of the article. The appearance made it seem longer than it actually was. CNN’s report also a little longer and had more depth. It had the same structure with narrow columns, a typical layout for a professional news source. Such a layout appeals to the reader and makes the article easier to read. The opinion section of Good Housekeeping’s website is also set up with slim columns, making the three reports comparable in this measure.

Though neither CNN nor Time outwardly use rhetoric in persuading you to feel a certain way about the “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume” campaign, after going through them the expected reaction is that the reader would agree with the project. The articles suggest that the cause is morally sound and should be supported. When reading them, it feels as if one would have to be a complete jerk to disagree with the project! On the other hand, the opinion-holder from Good Housekeeping wants people to take a second look at the work STARS is doing. He brings up costumes portraying other cultures either harmlessly, such as a German beer girl or a leprechaun, or stereotypically, like a redneck. Because these cultures do not have a recent history of discrimination, they are considered acceptable outfits. He brings into question how much of the problem is solely based on the appearance of the outfit.

The ideology of the project as a whole is not hard to relate to. While there are many who argue STARS blew the issue out of proportion, few can honestly say that there is no truth to their campaign. The reactions to the Geisha or Mexican costumes may be mixed, but the Islamic costume is especially hard to validate. We are asked to take the position that dressing as a half-naked Native American woman is offensive, yet I saw at least twenty girls wearing a variation of the outfit last weekend. It may be easy to look at the posters designed by STARS and comment on how insensitive people have become, yet these costumes were still worn on campus. Our subjectivity can be changed within a day depending on the circumstances in which the same image is seen.

CNN and Time are the leading classes in controlling portrayal of this project to society. They must hold the majority’s views on the campaign to maintain their success, and the views presented will affect the way the STARS group will be remembered in years to come. In some senses, it is not that these sources “control the news,” but that the news has power over the sources. Presenting a controversial stance on the subject may lose the news outlet’s credibility, damaging the level of support they receive. These companies must maintain a consistent slant to their articles- whether left-wing, right-wing, or middle grounded- to hold their audience of supporters. While they are controlling what is remembered about current events years from now, there is only an extent to which they have control to distort the story with their own perspective. The affects of the “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume” campaign will be interesting to watch play out.