Page 65 - Purchasing Power Black Kids and American Consumer Culture

50 . The Shadow of Whiteness

Tanisha in her room. Note that the paper over her head reads "Certificate of Merit."
Photograph by Suzanne DeChillo/NYT Pictures; reprinted by permission of The New
York Times Company.

insolent, repellent decadence of Manet's Olympia, and Tanisha is depict-
ed as both whore and handmaiden to her consumer desires. The article
continues:
Tanisha's $120 gold dental caps glinted and her huge, gold-hoop ear-
rings swayed as she sat on her bed. Decked out in Esprit shirt, Guess
jeans and Timberland boots, she said Shaul was like a best friend to
her. Asked where he got the money to buy her $95 Nike Airs, and
other gifts, she said, "He was robbing people."
It is hard to doubt that Tanisha is reprehensible and selfish. Indeed, from
the article it is hard to conclude otherwise. What is striking is the seam-
lessness of the characterization, a seamlessness that suggests the picture
drawn of Tanisha is constructed so as to eliminate contradictions and
complexities in her (or similar) situations. Though the article describes
in detail the magazine ads that decorate the wall above her bed, making
sure to mention any name brand depicted, the author fails to make any
note of a school achievement certificate that is equally prominently dis-
played on the same wall. One has to wonder why. One wonders, also,
whether the particular array of famous models and brand-name adver-
tisements differs significantly from what might be found on any other