Ah, the beauty of the dichotomy!
I first encountered this advertisement/music video for the Toyota Sienna minivan, AKA the Swagger Wagon on Godheval’s blog. I have to give Toyota’s advertising writers their props for this one. This Ad campaign was brilliant! It’s obvious that some very hip hop minded and ultra cool people got together to dream this campaign up. The Sienna Family is cool, yet grounded, fly, yet suburban, family oriented yet with so much…swagger! Just looking at this video makes me almost want one of those bland swagger wagons for my damn self!
Yet there’s something about it all that’s hella foul. Some people aren’t feeling the swagger of the this wagon video. My son for one. He absolutely despises and detests this video. I had a feeling that he would and that’s why I slyly asked him if he had seen the Swagger wagon on Youtube. He said no, and having no idea what was in store, he watched the screen over my shoulder as I clicked my way to the swagger wagon! 😈 As the first 20 seconds of the “music video” played, his visage twisted into one of those E-40 “practice looking hard” scowls.
I knew it was on then, and I’d get some interesting insights from a child who drinks hip hop like an alcoholic drinks Night Train. This child has got the smell of hip hop oozing from his pores! The Boy is straight sick wid it! And he can’t stand it when anybody dares to fake da funk!
So I went on my Devil’s Advocate offensive. “Why can’t Toyota use hip hop for their campaign, hip hop belongs to the world, don’t it?” “What black people tryna buy a Toyota Sienna?” “Some black people are trying to fit in with that kind of car, Boy!” “Aint no black people tryna have no Toyota Sienna. Anyway I’m sure Toyota’s not even trying to SELL it to us!” Me: “Did you see how they used the baby teething ring keys to represent the way they floss their keys in those rap videos? Did you check how they said ‘there’ll be no mother-father swearing?’ See how the pacifier is swinging slow like that? Supposed to be a gold chain!” Mad funny how the dad was rolling those dice….on to a backgammon board!!! ” “Even funnier how dad says ‘I roll hard through these streets to the cul de sac’ LOL, right?”
I was pouring it on to get the maximum result. (To those who feel I was manipulating my son, 😛 ). Then it happened, and my son dropped some science on me that even I hadn’t thought of. He said that the video is mocking those negative aspects of the hip hop–the commercialized, destructive, and lifeless lie that is being force fed to the youth today. Not even the TRUE and vital reality of the culture.
He hates the video because it holds up and mocks everything false and flamboyant about hip hop culture to sell their regular non flamboyant style car to regular suburban white folks. The Boy doesn’t believe that this campaign is aimed at black people at all. He really hates that it’s in a music video format as well. It hurts him that this representation isn’t even what hip hop is truly about! My child has issues with this type of blatant black culture appropriation. Mad issues.
For me though, I’m not so sure where I stand with it. I tend to see it as a parody of hip hop, but I don’t feel insulted the way my son does. I can see many things going on here. Like brother Godheval said, “it’s the selling of the black/white dichotomy”. Here are a few of the things I see going on in this video: 1.We white people don’t waste our money buying big expensive cars as they do in the black community. 2. We white people may not be “cool” but we can still have swagger” 3. We white folks dont have to mimic hip hop culture or feel outside of this culture mix. We’re OK to want the simple things in life. 4. We are cool white folks, also a part of hip hop culture and know all about it, but now it’s time to get serious because we’re building a family and cant be blinging no more, but we still are cool.
I don’t know, but there’s alot going on in this one. How do you feel about it?
You Are Leaders! 
I just like it because it is funny. If you think the hip hop culture is IMMUNE to PARODY then you need to get a more serious attitude towards life. It’s just an ADVERTISEMENT.
I’m not a fan of funk fakery either… so your son’s point is well taken. Sure the ad gets laughs & chuckles, & maybe it even makes the point that white people CAN have swagger. We didn’t INVENT it, we just know how to roll w/ it mo betta than others. (smiles) There are white people w/ legit swagger & it doesn’t depend upon hip-hop culture or gangsta lean into stealing bits & pieces of blackness along the way. If I had to think of a FEW, let’s see… ummm…. (Jeopardy music plays):
Who is Johnny Depp, Alex?
One.
“There are white people w/ legit swagger & it doesn’t depend upon hip-hop culture” Well said! I like Pink myself!
I think most hip hop is begging to be mocked. I mean how can anyone really take commercial hip hop seriously these days? Lil’ Wayne? Ludacris? Rick Ross?
So I’m not mad at Toyota for mocking hip hop. Hip hop is its own worst enemy.
What happens, and this is why some like my son are so upset with this, is that the powers that be always promote the negative aspect, and encourage it even–far above those underground hip hop artists who are rapping about the beauty of our culture, black love, reponsibility, self respect in the face of racism. We can’t take commercial hip hop seriously. But we also can’t define hip hop by commercial rap artists, who are simply in it for a payday, which I can’t fault them for.
I know the hip hop is not its own worst enemy, because there are too many artists who are struggling and creating beauty. Georgia Ann Muldrow is one, and I did a post on her. She raps and produces, and have worked with Erykah Badu. She’s very opinionated about who she is as an artist and won’t sell herself out.
I just found out about an Afro-Columbian hip hop group called Choc Quib Town, and they spit hot fiyah in Spanish, and it’s obvious that they are promoting their black culture and beauty.
We black folks are our own worst enemy when we accept what the dominant culture feeds us without digging deeper–without question. We should always question whatever they present to us and seek for ourselves. We then will always find the truth about who we are–and it’s always beautiful.
And here we go…
I have always felt obliged to draw the same kind of line that KRS-One drew concerning ‘hip hop’ and ‘rap’. The line has become blurred, not because it is blurry but because of the incandescence with which rap burns. That people apropriate and mock a superficial level of a superficial culture irrates cats like your son. He is in a little deep and cannot apprieciate some of the unfortunate truths about his culture being made light of. For profit.
That is something that gets me. Whenever there is a profit to be made, everyone seems to run and get their black face and do their ‘smile, shine… smile’ thing. I know that it was a turn off for me and the entire campaign by Toyota and their crap family lacks imagination. Funny how it took this commercial for them to get notice. I have seen these stupid ads where the woman acts as if a policeman (a BLACK police man, which in this case is VERY important… you will NEVER convince me of someone sending a subliminal something in with that situation) when she very ‘Mom-ishly’ left a bag on the roof of her van.
Yeah, it is funny in the same way you feel that Dr. Laura has kickstarted her career with her inappropriate and indelicate (notice I am not saying she was WRONG) use of the N-word. By ‘blackening up’ the commercial in a lame attempt in contrast, they have a lot of attention, attention that moves away from all the recall troubles and the like. Whoo hoo, Toyota!! Oho, what a feeling!!(felt like showing my age!!)
As far as MY blog goes… sometimes I am present in the stuff I talk about, other times, not so much. I may make comments about things in the media but they are often subjective and more than a little half baked!! Thanks for stopping by and I am sure I will be through your parts in the future!!
L&R
Mark
Much Respect to your son! When will we stop being the butt of their jokes? What does your son plan to do about stopping these types of occurrences?