Saturday, July 20, 2013

Why did Bill Cosby play an important role in how modern day society views African Americans?

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funnybunny


I am doing a History Day report on Bill Cosby, and to learn more about how people love him for what he does. If possible, please add any additional information about Bill Cosby's life and legacy. Thank you to anyone who helps!


Answer
His first big role in I Spy was a character that could have been just as easily played by a white man, I mean to say it was not a servant or other role that was commonly played by blacks so he was probably the first regular guy black character on TV and he was very good and likable in the role (he was the first black to win an emmy I think) which then led to his own series, one of the first for an african american. After he had established himself in the entertainment he went back earned a graduate degree in education and produced the animated Fat Albert cartoon series that portrayed poor black kids in way that could be viewed as educational entertainment by both black and white kids. His Cosby series in the 80's showed more upscale successful blacks again groundbreaking although I personally felt the series became unfunny and self-indulgent after the first couple of seasons. Finally he has recently become critical of hip hop culture and the role models that black youth now follow.

Overall Bill Cosby has always been a positive influence on the image of black society, presenting an intelligent, likable humorous image without a trace of of the Uncle Tom subservience that prior generations of black talent was forced to display in order to get into the mainstream

How did geography affect the development of asian cultures?




smilesandp


How did the geography of China, Japan, and Korea influence the development of each culture?

This isn't in my history book, but we have to do this in a unit review packet. Thanks for the help!



Answer
Over the last millenium or so Korea has been harassed and invaded by its larger, more aggressive neighbors numerous times - the Chinese, the Mongols, the Jurchens(Manchus), and especially the Japanese. The Koreans have an expression which is telling: "A shrimp caught between whales".

After the devastating double invasion by Japan near the end of the 16th century Korea never quite recovered from the loss until modern times, whereas Japan profited not only from the material plunder but also from the skills and civilizing influence of craftsmen and scholars captured and taken to Japan. There is in the outskirts of Kyoto, Japan, a monument known as Mimizuka ("Ear Mound"), which is literally the tomb of some 38,000 noses and ears cut from dead Koreans as war trophies.

As a result of this horrible experience the Korean court closed the country off from the outside world (hence the nickname "The Hermit Kingdom") until forced to open up late in the 19th century. By then Japan had already opened up to Western civilization and was rapidly becoming a military power to reckon with, which led to Japan taking over Korea once again early in the 20th century, this time annexing it officially as a colony of Japan.

Life in Korea under Japanese colonial rule was brutal and exploitative. For example, Koreans were forbidden to speak their own language and had to change their names to Japanese ones. Many cultural treasures were destroyed or stolen not only for their value but in a systematic attempt to erase Korean history and identity altogether, to try to turn Koreans into second-class Japanese. Would you believe buildings were moved(!) in order to ruin the good feng sui in Korea's capital? Sounds incredible, but it happened.

Many Koreans were relocated to Japan, Central Asia and Siberia, either by force or through deceptive recruitment, to help with Japan's war effort in the 1940's, then simply abandoned there when Japan surrendered. There are many ethnic Koreans living in those areas today, descendants of those unfortunates. There is also the problem of the 'Comfort Women', women of Korean and other Asian countries (and also some Dutch women captured in Indonesia) who were forced to work as sex slaves to Japanese soldiers. The whitewashing of history and reluctance on the part of the Japanese government to confront this particular chapter of Japan's imperial history has been a source of ongoing tension between Japan and its neighbors.

Today though, there are many healthy signs of progress. Young people in both South Korea and Japan are becoming aware of each other as people, not just historical abstractions. They are visiting each other's countries in record numbers. Korean TV shows and pop stars are becoming popular in Japan, and Japanese comics and animation are all the rage in South Korea. The respective governments have done much good work in order to cement economic and cultural ties between the two nations which are, after all, next-door neighbors with many physical and cultural similarities, and have always had close dealings throughout history. There is even talk of constructing an undersea tunnel connecting the two countries. Whether or not that actually comes to pass, it is surely a sign of more to come.




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Title Post: Why did Bill Cosby play an important role in how modern day society views African Americans?
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