What shall we do with the token female?
What shall we do with the token female?
What shall we do with the token female
Early in the morning?
Love her for her beauty, not for her brain,
Love her for her beauty, not for her brain,
Love her for her beauty, not for her brain
Early in the morning.
Throw her into danger for cheap pathos,
Throw her into danger for cheap pathos,
Throw her into danger for cheap pathos
Early in the morning.
Make her need a man for self-fulfilment,
Make her need a man for self-fulfilment,
Make her need a man for self-fulfilment
Early in the morning.
What shall we do with the token black man?
What shall we do with the token black man?
What shall we do with the token black man
Early in the morning?
Throw him in the mix as a comic sidekick,
Throw him in the mix as a comic sidekick,
Throw him in the mix as a comic sidekick
Early in the morning.
Keep his love to his own kind, if at all,
Keep his love to his own kind, if at all,
Keep his love to his own kind, if at all
Early in the morning.
Sacrifice his life to save the hero,
Sacrifice his life to save the hero,
Sacrifice his life to save the hero
Early in the morning.
What shall we do with the token Asian?
What shall we do with the token Asian?
What shall we do with the token Asian
Early in the morning?
Have him always talk with a funny accent,
Have him always talk with a funny accent,
Have him always talk with a funny accent
Early in the morning.
Make him super-smart but a social outcast,
Make him super-smart but a social outcast,
Make him super-smart but a social outcast
Early in the morning.
Don't explore his homeland; they're all the same,
Don't explore his homeland; they're all the same,
Don't explore his homeland; they're all the same
Early in the morning.
What shall we do with the token Russian?
What shall we do with the token Russian?
What shall we do with the token Russian
Early in the morning?
Give a shot of vodka every hour,
Give a shot of vodka every hour,
Give a shot of vodka every hour
Early in the morning.
Keep his goals and honesty in question,
Keep his goals and honesty in question,
Keep his goals and honesty in question
Early in the morning.
Make him a Marxist; the Cold War's still on,
Make him a Marxist; the Cold War's still on,
Make him a Marxist; the Cold War's still on
Early in the morning.
What shall we do with the token Arab?
What shall we do with the token Arab?
What shall we do with the token Arab
Early in the morning?
Relegate him to a backward culture,
Relegate him to a backward culture,
Relegate him to a backward culture
Early in the morning.
Have him flee from fair fights; he's a coward,
Have him flee from fair fights; he's a coward,
Have him flee from fair fights; he's a coward
Early in the morning.
Ground his Western hate in strawman logic,
Ground his Western hate in strawman logic,
Ground his Western hate in strawman logic
Early in the morning.
What do we do with our token actors?
What do we do with our token actors?
What do we do with our token actors
Early in the morning?
Caricature faith, practice and nation,
Introduce them to civilization,
But don't let them improve rank or station
Early in the morning.
Showcase them as objects, not as people,
Keep the minaret beneath the steeple,
In the pecking order, they are feeble
Early in the morning.
Make sure their share of the winnings are small,
Have them take the blame for the hero's fall,
Use them to remind your audience that
You're the best clan of all.
What shall we do with the token actors? by @Thorvald (El Thorvaldo)
A parody of the classic sea shanty, "Drunken Sailor".
We've come so far. We still have so far yet to go. Hollywood remains saturated in patriarchal, Orientalist preconceptions of what other peoples can and should be. To a modern audience, such prejudices should seem antiquated; and yet the media, and even some "academic" circles, continue to fabricate arbitrary, largely meaningless divides between "us" and "them". When we compartmentalize our fellow humans thusly, we deny understanding, and thereby perpetuate pointless conflict.
I've never been one for writing "hard" poetry, probably on account of I think poorly in the abstract. The first few stanzas suddenly came to me a few days ago, and with a little focused inspiration it turned into this.
Comments & Critiques (4)
Preferred comment/critique type for this content: Any Kind
@Camazotz: "What'choo talkin' 'bout, Masiel?"
'With the transcontinental railroad completed, the workers who had built it were dismissed and they dispersed across the West. The pop culture image of the American West is based more on the films of director John Ford and Monument Valley than fact. This Hollywood version features John Wayne walking through a White town. What's missing is the Chinese hotel that John Wayne would have slept in, the Chinese restaurant where he would have dined, the Chinese laundry where he would have done his wash, and the Chinese general store where he would have purchased his provisions. Notes the historian Stephen Ambrose, "In nearly every Western railroad town there used to be a Chinatown."'
— James Bradley, The Imperial Cruise
@Thorvald: oops i meant: nacho taco chimichangaaa
@Camazotz: That's better. ಠ‿ರೃ
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in and have an Active account to leave a comment.
Please, login or sign up for an account.