"He could be a crackhead"

I'm sure by now pretty much everyone has seen the YouTube video of "Leprechaun in Alabama." It's probably one of the most popular YouTube videos out there. It's even been featured on one of my favorite television shows, The OReilly Factor :):)

The video shows the people of Mobile, Alabama who are convinced that there is a leprechaun in their town. What makes this video so funny is that it seems as though these people truly believe that there is a leprechaun. Their reactions make it easy to make fun of them.

The problem lies in the fact that every single person in this video, with the exception of the male news anchor, is African American. I don't know whether Mobile is a predominantly black town, but the video gives that impression. The video also gives the impression that these people are naive and unintelligent. So is this video harmful to the Black community? It is supporting a previously held stereotype or creating a new one?

It's hard for me to say this about this video because I do find it to be humorous - and that has nothing to do with these people's race. However, I would really like to hear the perspective of an African American person. Clearly this video provides a false representation of black people. Although most people would consider it to be harmless because it's for humurous purposes, I think it would be quite ignorant to assume that this video is not promoting a certain stereotype.

Now, if this exact video included all white people, I would still find humor in it. I also wouldn't be upset that it was giving a particular representation for white people. But - that's easy for me to say because "hicks" or "white trash" are not the typical stereotype of Caucasians. African Americans, however, have constantly battled the stereotype that Barker provided. "Within the west, people of color have often been represented as a series of problems, objects, and victims....unable to think or act for themselves, people of color are not held to be capable of inititating activity or of controlling their own destiny" (264).

Like I said, I really need the perspective of African Americans on this one. In fact, I want to know what they think about their representation in the media in general, whether it's videos like this or the "good" examples like the Cosby Show...