Tag Archives: black

Film and TV, The Media

(VIDEO) AMERICA RUNNING OUT OF WHITE MALE COMEDIANS FOR LATE-NIGHT SHOWS

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NEW YORK, New York (The Adobo Chronicles) –  It’s been a while since America has seen a black late-night show host in the person of Arsenio Hall (late 1980’s to mid 1990’s).

White male comedians and talk show hosts have dominated late nights on the boob tube.  But are they now a dying breed in America? Apparently so. They’re all retiring or moving on to something new — the likes of David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.  And the television networks are having a very hard time finding their replacements who are, well — male and white.

On Monday, Comedy Central announced that Trevor Noah, a biracial South African  will replace Jon Stewart as the new host of “The Daily Show” when the latter steps down later this year.

One can just imagine the shock with which White America learned of Stewart’s replacement. “Comedy Central is going nuts,” said one late-night TV redneck fan. “How dare they put someone on late night TV who looks like just 13% of the population?”

“He’s not even an American,” quipped another talk show enthusiast from Texas. (Nevermind that talk show hosts Craig Ferguson is Scottish and both James Cordon and John Oliver are Brits).

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Noah, left, and Wilmore

Noah will become the second black late-night show host when he takes over ‘The Daily Show,’ joining Larry Wilmore, who is also black, host of ‘The Nightly Show.’

As the British like to say, “Keep Calm” America, White is on the way out. Black is in. Can we all just get along?

Business, The Media

TARGET STORE USES THE WRONG ‘ANNIE’ IN ADS FOR NEW CLOTHING LINE

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annieMinneapolis, Minnesota (The Adobo Chronicles) – Target, one of the nation’s big box stores, just launched a new girls’ clothing line that it is calling Annie for Target.

The launch was perfectly timed with the showing of the film, Annie in theaters nationwide.  The film stars black actress Quvenzhané Wallis in the title role.

In celebration of the iconic story, Target partnered with Sony Pictures’ “Annie” costume designer, Renée Ehrlich Kalfus, on a collection of girl’s apparel and accessories that captures the essence of the movie’s spirited characters.

There was one big problem:  all the models used in the Target ads were white.

There is speculation on social media that Target refused to use black models for fear that its clothing line will not be patronized by consumers who are upset that the film stars a black instead of Caucasian actress.

Although the Annie character is fictitious, many Americans had always envisioned a white girl playing the role, just like on Broadway and in musical theaters worldwide.

In a statement issued today, Target said “this is not about race” as it prepared to launch another clothing line for adult women, Selma for Target. Its promo ads also features all Caucasian women, and is being launched in connection with the current theater run of another film, Selma, about the legendary Martin Luther King.