Looking at the Google Doodle on August 7, 2012, commemorating the track and field event of the hurdles, I began to wonder if I was seeing some hidden racism in it's image. Look at the screen capture above and tell me if the runner that you're looking at who is depicted as African-American is standing on a track that appears to be a little reminiscent of a slice of watermelon? Is it just me, or is there really some hidden racism going on in this image? Then of course there's the obvious tie that blacks are often considered faster runners than non-blacks. I'm not sure if the person who created this doodle actually meant to inject some racism into this image, or if their choice of color palette was just unfortunate.
1 comment:
This was definitely intentional. The artist chose to round off the bottom corners of the grass below the track which gives the impression of a watermellon slice. Also the treeline behind the runners head was placed there to intentionally cast doubt as to whether the runner is wearing an afro hairstyle; which he is if you zoom in and look closely. Lastlty, the colors and shades chosen perfectly mimic those that are traditionally used to portray a watermellon. The artist could have made a few subtle changes in the shapes and shades of his artwork if he did not want to imply racism but he/she didn't and therefore it was intentionally racist.
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