By Jonathan Primero
Taking a look at social media over the years it’s hard to imagine that anyone would ever have to question the authenticity of something or someone. Over the years as media has expanded worldwide with commercials, movies and internet it is hard not to question the authenticity of something or in this case someone. I hope to change your perception on impostor in media today and the consequences they have in society. I have two examples of media impostor both claimed to be of a different race than what they were born, but two different consequences in one’s impersonation.
Rachel Dolezal was the head of the NAACP (National Advancement of Colored People) division of Spokane. She was an American civil rights leader and a former Africana studies instructor. On paper it would appear that she is a law abiding citizen that pays her tax dollars and believes in the equality of the African American people. Rachel Dolezal however make look like a model citizen on paper but there is one thing that seems to separate her from the rest of her African American ancestors, and that is she is Caucasian.
Rachel Dolezal has been living a lie most of her entire life. Born in Montana and raised by her parents, Ruthanne and Lawrence Dolezal. Rachel Dolezal is of Caucasian decent. It is hard to imagine that someone who is born one ethnicity claim to be that of another race. A civil rights leader, the head of the NAACP and an Africana studies instructor is actually a 37 year old female of Caucasian descent.
Rachel’s case is interesting one because the focal point is that she is being accused of Cultural Appropriation, which is someone who claims to be part of a different cultural when in actuality they are from another cultural. In this case Dolezal is claiming to be born of African Descent and in reality she is white. Rachel Dolezal is an impostor, a media impostor, a person who benefits by claiming to be that of a different race. Although one must ask the question how can someone who is Caucasian, pass for African American in a media run world. Takaki said ““What I find is that most people don’t know the fact that they don’t know, because of the complete lack of information.”(Takaki pg6) In Dolezal case people accepted the information that was provided by Dolezal herself. It would appear that critical thinking did not play a part in questioning someone’s background. Is it that easy to pass as a different race? Because of the lack of information given by this impostor you can see how easy it was to advance her career.
The authenticity in media today is being put into question because of the impostors who benefit from cultural appropriation. The consequences of ones actions can be catastrophic when it comes to someone lying about who they are just so they can advance their career or reap the benefits of someone that is of a different race. An Impostor like Rachel Dolezal who claims to be black but is actually white has significant consequences starting from where she went to college. Rachel attended Howard University a college that is known for its African American culture and students, and a university that she had a filled a lawsuit against for discriminating against her for being white. It is hard to imagine that a person is going to file a lawsuit for discriminating against her for being one race and she is claiming that she is a completely different race.
Rachel Dolezal lied about her ethnic race to benefit herself. She lied to get to the top of the NAACP where she became a leader of one of the largest and oldest civil rights organization in Spokane Washington. That position truly belonged to someone other than the impostor who claimed to be something she is not, someone who is of actual African American descent. Sadly this is not the first time an impostor has claimed to be of a different race and benefited from it. Impostors in media are more common than we think the question is if it is Hollywood is it okay and what are the consequences of ones actions in claiming to be that of a different race? In Rachel’s case she was asked to resign her position from the NAACP as well as step down from her teaching job in Eastern Washington.
In 1971 Earth day, an ad was launched by a nonprofit organization called Keep America Beautiful. It was an ad to create awareness to the people of the United States that pollution was becoming a problem. The ad itself featured a Native American Indian walking through the streets of our cities, floating down the river in a canoe and everywhere he went there was trash. At the end of the commercial the Native American Indian began to cry. The words popping up “People started pollution, people can end it.” The ad which was highly successful, created an awareness that was so catastrophic that people started to come together and create small communities to help fight the pollution issue. The ad itself help decrease littering by 88%. Imagine that one commercial had such an impact on American lives that it decreased littering in the United States by 88%. One man now dubbed “The crying Indian” changed the way we live in the United States. What was it about this commercial that changed the way America treated its planet. Was the slow tear falling from the old man’s sad eyes? Was it the fact the commercial showed rubbish all over the road and in our rivers? It was obvious that it was the man who cried for our planet.
Who is the Native American Indian who felt such pain when he saw how we were treating our planet, and where did he come from? The answer is quite simple his name is Espera Oscar DeCorti, an Italian actor who was born in Louisiana. Decorti left home to become an Actor in Hollywood and when he first arrived in the land of dreams he changed his name to Cody. During the time of Hollywood there were a lot of western movies that were being made, and authenticity was important to directors in Hollywood. So Cody decided to add Iron eyes to his name to give the illusion that he was of Indian descent. Even to his death when question about his race he claimed to be Indian and not of Italian descent. The man who changed the world’s perception on pollution was an impostor.
The consequences of a man portraying to be of a different race seem to differ from those of Rachel Dolezal. It may very well be because of the simple fact it was a man who looked Native American and played a role in a commercial as Native American that is was a little more forgiving. A certain understanding in Hollywood is that people play roles of other people, and as long as they look the part they can play the part.
Taking a look at the fact the he was not an actual Native American, seemed to be somewhat acceptable to society, as oppose to Dolezal role who was a leader in a black civil rights organization claiming to be black. Postman said “The best things on television are its junk, and no one and nothing is seriously threatened by it.” (Postman pg16) Not to take away the fact the commercial of the crying Indian changed the perception of Americans on pollution, but to note the fact that the person playing a role in a commercial is not threatening to society. It’s expected that authenticity be tweaked when it comes to Hollywood. In real life however the feeling of someone pretending to be something there not poses a different type of perception.
Taking the two impostor and comparing them side by side, they are identical in respect that they both claimed to be of a different race to advance their careers. However Decorti career path was a look the part play the part, and Dolezal was simply deceiving the public to advance her career. Lying about her race to be part of an African American cultural, taking it and adapting it and accepting it as her own cultural is Cultural Appropriation. It seems there is a line that can be crossed when it comes to Media impostors. That line is a grey line with Hollywood written all over it. Two similar cases of cultural appropriation but two very different out comes. Authenticity is questioned in social media however it would appear that there is a certain acceptance when it comes to playing a role instead of portraying something you’re not.
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Postman, N. (2006). Amusing ourselves to death: Public discourse in the age of show business (20th anniversary ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books.
Takaki, R. (2008). A different mirror: A history of multicultural America. New York, New York: Back Bay Books/Little, Brown
Vanity Fair Interview Rachel Dolezal
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