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Page 3
AND ADVERTISING
A&M professor explores African-Americans' roles in 'Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben and Rastus
By Jeremy Keddie
The Battalion
r -irn
ji
The vast history of politics ex
hibits the manipulation of
how racial, religious and gen
der images are manipulated
in the face of the masses; the
equation is no less different in the histo-
ry of advertising. It just hasn’t been
documented as fully.
Texas A&M associate professor of
journalism. Dr. Marilyn Kem-Foxworth,
explores the stereotypical images of
African-Americans in advertising and
provides insight into a national icon and
former resident of Heame in her book
“Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus:
Blacks in Advertising, Yesterday, Today
and Tomorrow.”
Starting with slavery and demon
strating how various symbols led to ear
ly stereotypes and contemporary por
trayal in advertising, Kem-Foxworth
said that the book will serve African-
Americans as another source to find
their heritage.
“Prior to this book no single literary
work has provided a comprehensive re
port on the history and status of blacks
in advertising,” Kem-Foxworth said in
the preface.
The late Alex Haley, author of “Roots”
and other books dealing with African-
American culture, wrote the forward for
Kem-Foxworth’s book. Haley said the
book is timely because African-Ameri
cans have begun to “reexamine, investi
gate, analyze, and scrutinize” their her
itage now more than ever before.
“This book provides a mirror to our
past,” Haley wrote, “a past that has
been ignored or overshadowed for too
long.”
Kem-Foxworth, the first African-
American woman to earn a Ph.D. with a
concentration in advertising, found in
terest for the book while working on her
Master’s at Florida State University.
She further developed her research
while attending the University of Wis
consin and analyzed magazine adver
tisements which portrayed African-
Americans.
“I was surprised that there were not
any books on blacks in advertising and
took interest in the issue,” Kem-Fox
worth said.
However, Kem-Foxworth said there
were several difficulties in publishing
and writing the book which made the
process difficult. During the early
stages of the project, Kem-Foxworth
was working toward her tenure, concen
trating on research and publication.
“Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Ras
tus” also contains several examples of
advertisements which Kem-Foxworth
took painstaking steps to acquire
through obtaining written permission
from the copyright owners.
“It took over two years before I heard
anything from Quaker Oats,” Kem-Fox-
worth explained.
Aside from providing African-Ameri
cans another aspect of their history,
Kem-Foxworth’s book also helped pro
vide Heame, a city north of Bryan-Col-
lege Station, with a better understand
ing of a nationally acclaimed celebrity
from their hometown - Rosie Lee Moore
Hall, a.k.a. Aunt Jemima.
From 1950 until her death in 1967,
Hall was the Quaker Oats Company’s
Aunt Jemima. She departed Heame in
her late 20s and moved to Oklahoma
City, working for the Quaker Oats Com
pany. There she learned of the compa
ny’s search for a new Aunt Jemima.
“Most people don’t know Aunt Jemi
ma was a real person, assuming that all
of the faces on the pancake boxes are
composites like Betty Crocker,” Kem-
Foxworth wrote in an article on Aunt
Jemima.
“Because of this assumption, many
Heame residents aren’t aware that a
nationally acclaimed celebrity was bom
and raised in their town.”
Kem-Foxworth is currently working
on her next book, devoted solely to Aunt
Jemima. She said she discovered a
chapter in the original manuscripts of
Haley’s book “Malcolm X” that was not
included in the publication. The chapter
mentions Malcolm X’s opinions toward
Aunt Jemima.
The Quaker Oats Company continued
to use live models for composites of Aunt
Jemima until Hull’s death during the
civil rights movement, which made her
the last “live” Aunt Jemima used.
Unmarked until 1988, Hall’s grave
eventually received a national historical
marker with the effort of Hall’s sisters
and the Heame Heritage League.
With the coordination of Kem-Fox
worth, The Heame Heritage League and
Jane Matthews, the wife of the mayor of
Heame, plans are now being made to
build a replica of Hall’s home and a mu-'
seum which will be dedicated to Hall’s
life - before and during her Aunt Jemi- ;
ma years.
“We are hoping to provide a place of ‘
cultural exchange with our people to
make us proud of our history,” I,
Matthews said.
The project is pending on funds, and
Matthews said more definitive plans
will be made this fall by Founder’s Day,
October 8. Although Matthews said she
is not expecting difficulties with fund
raising for the project, and a tribute will
be constructed.
AT
VIE REVIEWS
Bam to be an Aggie
€ True entertainment
By William Hamson
The Battalion
“True Lies”
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Jamie Lee Curtis and
Tom Arnold
Directed by James Cameron
Rated R
Playing at Post Oak Cinema HI
After three films together,
there's nothing else to expect
from a film starring Arnold
Schwarzenegger and directed
by James Cameron.
But that’s not necessarily a
bad thing; the same for these
two is unpredictability and ex
citement.
Cameron (Terminator I and
II, The Abyss) is the movie
business’ premier action direc
tor. No one commands better
scenery and action pacing as
well as he does.
Yet, with all the emphasis
on technical marvels, a mas
terpiece of story-telling eludes
him, as in “True lies.”
Schwarzenegger plays
Schwarzenegger again, this
time as U.S. spy Harry Tasker
in a top-secret nuclear
counter-terrorism agency.
However, because
Schwarzenegger plays
Schwarzenegger, the spy is
also a family man. Since mar
riage and fatherhood have en
tered his life, Schwarzenegger
takes only roles with a limited
amount of senseless violence
which must be coupled with a
strong sense of morality - a
“true lie,” perhaps?
The plot, which in this film
is only a nuisance, begins as
Tasker finds his way out of a
fashionable, James Bond-es-
que party, where everyone is
dressed to kill. He dances the
tango and then starts blowing
things up and shooting people.
After this initial foray,
Tasker and the movie audi
ence are briefed on the story
line for the rest of the movie.
But Tasker’s worst prob
lems come at home, when he
returns to his family, which
doesn’t know his real profes
sion and has fallen out of
touch with him.
The hero is surrounded by
problems on all fronts, and it
could only be a miracle if he
sets everything aright...
Yeahright. Mail this one in
before you go to see it
However, no one accom
plishes more outlandish, visu
ally daring stunts than
Cameron. His direction makes
an otherwise mediocre film
riveting and entertaining.
Just try to ignore the plot -
the real “true lie” of the film.
Photo by William Harrison/THE Battalion
The Spirit of Aggieland is spelled out on T.K. Kirkpatrick’s barn, located in Reagan, Texas,between College Station and Waco on Highway 6.
A&M tribute begins tradition for Class of '24 Aggie's barn
Christ! Erwin
The Battalion
© he subject of countless pictures
and much attention over the
years is none other than a
bain in Reagan, Texas, with
the words “Gig ‘Em Aggies”
painted on its side.
This bam, located approximately 50
miles north of Texas A&M on Highway 6,
is owned by T. K. Kirkpatrick, Class of ‘24.
Kirkpatrick said in 1980 while repairing
his barn, he decided to paint “Gig ‘Em” on
the side.
Soon after the barn was painted, Kirk
patrick received a letter from a man who
warned him of the attention he would re
ceive.
The man was right, Kirkpatrick said,
but he enjoys the attention.
“I’m glad so many people are interested
in the bam,” he said. “I like them to want
pictures of the barn.”
Kirkpatrick said people often leave him
gifts, and he returned home once to find a
framed picture of the bam on his porch.
Throughout the years, the Aggie land
mark has attracted many A&M visitors.
In 1982, Jackie Sherrill and his football
team stopped on the way to Dallas to take
a picture in front of the bam.
In return, Kirkpatrick said Sherrill sent
him an autographed copy and a football
jersey.
Janet Mitchell, owner of Mitchell’s
Exxon in Reagan, said her gas station at
tracts many visitors who are interested in
the barn.
“We enjoy the attention that the bam
brings,” she said. “And last year we got
permission from A&M to sell shirts with a
picture of the bam on front.”
The Mitchells said they did not attend
A&M, but they are fans and enjoy visiting
with A&M students.
Kirkpatrick said he also enjoys visiting
with A&M students, and in the past, Ag
gies have helped him keep the bam in good
shape.
In the fall of 1993, 30 men and women
travelled from A&M to paint the bam, and
when they left, “Class of ‘94” was painted
above the “Gig ‘Em,” he said. But other
additions have appeared as well.
“Who put ‘Class of ‘97?’” he said. “I don’t
know.
“I can’t find out who did it. They must
have come at night.”
Kirkpatrick said he asked a neighbor,
Kevin Vader, Class of ‘97, who lives three
miles from his house, if he knew who wrote
“Class of ‘97.”
Vader said he did not know who was re
sponsible.
“I have no idea who did it,” he said, “but
I can’t say I’m disappointed.”
In contrast to the good-natured fun of
A&M students showing their class spirit,
Kirkpatrick said vandals have tried to cov
er up the writing, even by airplane.
“A Baylor-ite tried to pay a cotton
duster to throw paint on the bam,” Kirk
patrick said, “but it turned out the cotton
duster was an A&M boy.”
‘Home alone’ again Wiiitesnake’s Greatest Hits’ reveals a band that
\ ' y A: A _ _ - . ———
By Warren E. Mayberry
The Battalion
“Baby’s Day Out”
Starring Joe Mantegna, Brian
Haley, Lara Flynn
Boyle Joe Pantoliano,
Directed by Patrick Read
Johnson
Rated PG-13
Playing at Hollywood USA
Norby (Joe Pantoliano), a
kidnapper in “Baby's Day
Out,” sums up the film as fol
lows: “Working at Burger
King is easier than kidnap
ping a baby.”
How true this is, as a nine
month-old baby leads three
half-witted thieves through
the torture of their lives.
Eddie (Joe Mantegna), Nor
by and Veeko (Brian Haley)
hatch up a wild idea to kidnap
Baby Bink, the son of one of
the wealthiest families in
Chicago.
The three bank robbers
(turned kidnappers) attempt
to secure $5 million by kidnap
ping the child. But, while
reading Bink a bedtime story,
the dim-witted Veeko falls
asleep, Bink crawls out a win
dow, and thus, the chase be
gins.
During the pursuit across
Chicago, the trio falls victim to
various bumps, bruises and
annihilations; while tracking
Bink through parks, tunnels,
the zoo and a high-rise con
struction project.
It is painfully obvious as
you watch the film that its cre
ators are the same geniuses
who brought us the block
buster film “Home Alone.”
The only difference is the cute
Macaulay Culkin is replaced
by an even cuter drooling
baby. But the antics and
laughs are exactly the same.
While this film is no “Al
addin” or “Ghostbusters,” it
keeps its audiences in stitches
as the predictable, yet silly
gags unfold.
If a corny but cute flick is
what you are looking for, take
time out to go see “Baby’s Day
Out.”
never reached its prime
By William Harrison
The Battalion
Whitesnake
“Whitesnake’s Greatest Hits”
Hard rock
Geffen Records
Assuming one were to release a greatest hits al
bum, by definition the band should have - A: some
hits and B: some great ones.
The sad thing is, Whitesnake
has some, but the band should
have made more before releasing
a “greatest hits” compilation.
Not that the band didn’t try -
there are four new releases. But
one of the new tracks, “Here I Go
Again,” is a re-mix of the original.
It’s so pop-oriented and bouncy,
Daryl Hall and John Oates would
be at home singing on this version.
Led by singer David Coverdale
and guitarist Adrian Vanden-
berg, Whitesnake seemed well on
its way to fame after its 1984 release “Slide It In”
and the 1987 self-titled “Whitesnake.”
With a sound mirroring Led Zeppelin’s,
Coverdale’s bluesy love balladry matched with Van-
Coverdale
denberg’s dizzy, schizophrenic guitars created then
several of the band’s best tracks - “Still of the
Night,” “Love Ain’t No Stranger,” “Slow and Easy,”
and “Fool for your Loving.”
But an image-conscious band fell apart, pigeon
holed after a series of sex- touting music videos with
a voluptuous red head. Coverdale admitted the
band’s success became a stigma it couldn’t overcome
until its recent reunion for the release and a tour.
So Whitesnake’s greatest hits may be yet to
come. Maybe.
Home out to pkj
The second annual
Summer Shakespeare Fes
tival, sponsored by ‘magi-
nation Station and The
Shakespeare Factory, will
kick off with “The Tempest,”
running between July 22 -
August 14.
“As You Like It” will be
gin August 19 and run
through August 28.
Performances will be
held at the ‘magination Sta
tion theatre in Bryan on Fri
days and Saturdays at 7
p.m. and on Sundays at 2
p.m. with all seats costing
$5.
For more information,
call 268-ARTS.