![]() What is critical to establish is that white people’s commodification of Black bodies through this meme, and WhatsApp mediation of these interactions through design and (lack of) governance, contribute to perpetuate white racism. Male genitalia in the meme has been blurred by the author). This is the most common bait-and-switch use of “El Negro de WhatsApp” meme (screengrabbed by author, September 2018. When a WhatsApp user clicks on the image to zoom in or to see it full screen on the phone, the image on the right appears. On the left, there is a picture sent on a WhatsApp chat showing that someone has gone mushroom hunting. The meme taps into racist fantasies of hypersexualized Black bodies (hooks, 2004), with the exaggerated, photo-shopped large penis a sign of a subhuman otherness.įigure 1: “El Negro de WhatsApp”. Popular culture has stereotyped Black bodies for centuries, and this meme follows this long tradition of commodifying Blackness to please the white gaze (hooks, 1992). ![]() The meme involves the posting of a picture of any current topic that looks legitimate in preview, but when clicked on reveals a lurking image of a semi-naked Black man with disproportionate genitals, a turquoise towel around his neck, and a plaid hat on his head (see Figure 1). “El Negro de WhatsApp” is a platform-specific meme particularly popular amongst Spaniards and Latin-American WhatsApp users. ![]() The challenges of private, encrypted services for the normalization of racism Popular culture, the commodification of Black bodies, and digital blackface The article concludes outlining the challenges of private, encrypted services if we are to dismantle ‘platformed racism’. Second, I argue that encrypted services like WhatsApp facilitate and amplify what Picca and Feagin (2007) refer to as the “backstage” of racism. As a first step, the paper links “El Negro de WhatsApp” meme with the long racist tradition of commodifying Black bodies in American popular culture and beyond. Through the examination of a popular WhatsApp meme in Spain, I show how everyday socio-technical practices on this platform perpetuate power hierarchies based on race. This paper explores how structural racism encodes itself into social media. Here are a few great comic book stories to catch up with as you prepare to check in with the Doctor when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness releases in May.'El Negro de WhatsApp' meme, digital blackface, and racism on social media But after six years, he's now returning to theaters as the main character in a movie that promises more reality-bending adventure than its predecessor. ![]() Since his 2016 solo film (and Marvel Cinematic Universe debut), Doctor Strange seems to have settled into an advisory role in films such as Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. He had his own adventures, but was often most memorable when showing up to advise on some larger existential threat. Over the years, Strange became one of Marvel’s consummate supporting figures. The main feature in that issue? A tale that pitted Fantastic Four member the Human Torch against C-level baddies the Wizard and Paste-Pot Pete.ĭespite that ignoble beginning, Strange soon captured the imagination of college kids who tuned out to Ditko’s increasingly psychedelic visuals and Stan Lee’s unnatural dialogue. The brainchild of Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, Doctor Strange debuted as a backup feature in 1963’s Strange Tales #110. With his odd hairstyle and penchant for saying things like “By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!”, the Doctor seemed doomed to C-list status.Įven that would have been a step up from his origins. Although the character had been the focus of several solo comic series and even starred in a made-for-tv movie in 1978, the Master of Mystic Arts usually enjoyed little more than second-tier status. Even twenty years ago, few would have expected Doctor Strange to be the focus of a highly-anticipated blockbuster film starring an actor of Benedict Cumberbatch’s caliber.
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