From Pandas to Indians: Heavily Racialized Superbowl Commercials

I was talking with a friend about why I wasn't into watching the superbowl. She asked if I least enjoyed the commercials - and I said no because most of the time I just don't find them funny and many of times I find the commercials offensive and just disappointing.  This year, I worked straight through the superbowl, but I watched kenyatta's family on ichat watching the superbowl  - now that was fun!  Afterwards, I saw kenyatta's blog post about the commercials, titled "That's Hegemony! (Super Bowl XLII Edition)."  His post  highlights several commercials from Victoria Secrets to Hanes Underwear.  I am reposting some of the videos he pointed out, but also some new ones - that especially show just how screwed up we are about race. 

In America, we think we are over racism because we can talk about it, flaunt it, celebrate it and even be un-pc about it - hey you so Asian I love you - I have a black friend - Mexicans make great food!  But at the end of the day our race problems are rooted in not being able to understand the "other." 

Well here are two video from Sales Genie, one that shows some pandas speaking chinglish, another showing an Indian worker who can be a  productive Indian with a bit of pressure from his overweight white boss.  Then there's the taco bell commercial with Mexican mariachis who can make great mexican food, play mexican music and even seduce a white woman!  Lastly we have the budlight commericial that just de-masculinizes Indian and Chinese men with accents while celebrating the glorious white man's ability to woo women.