The worst examples of racial stereotyping are arguably not the vile supremacist hate images but the everyday evocations of difference that emerge from insensitivity and fundamental disrespect. I’m always looking for examples in different cultures, past and present. Before “politically incorrect” became part of our vocabulary, there were many instances where stereotypes were considered humor.
Depending on the cultural point of view this humor was not always intended as derogatory but in today’s context, what else can it be? Take a look at these Italian publications. The first is a children’s drawing book titled “The Budding Painter.” The art deco cover is pretty but the message supports the Fascist agenda of colonization and genocide. The second, a popular postwar radio song magazine, is more benign but no less racially exaggerated and implies that the American black troops are comical and also threatening characters.
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