What Are The Racial Stereotypes In Freaky Friday

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In today’s music industry, the convenience and custom of using racial stereotypes are still ubiquitous. Whether it be obvious stereotypical depictions of minority races or the reliance on numerous racist tropes, these race issues can be found in a considerable amount of songs. The song "Freaky Friday" by Lil Dicky plays into the overused stereotypes of Asian Americans, African Americans, and even White Americans. In the midst of all the humor and parody, "Freaky Friday" shows that race is still a joke and should continue to be made fun of as it is good material for a song and a music video. Barely into the first ten seconds of the music video, an uninspired and cringe-worthy joke is made about how the Chinese waiting staff does not speak English. In that same scene, Lil Dicky asks the two Asian waiters what he should order. “So I’m pretty torn between the General Tsao’s chicken and the chicken lo mein. What is your preference between the two?” One of the Asian waiters simply responds …show more content…

Moments after Lil Dicky and Chris Brown switch bodies, the song begins. The first couple lines of the song, Lil Dicky realizes he is Chris Brown’s body. Chris Brown is an African American rapper, so Lil Dicky wonders and asks “Wonder if I can say the n-word (wait for real?) / Wait, can I really say the n-word?” (11-12). Lil Dicky takes advantage of being in Chris Brown’s body in order to use the n-word in a song. The desire of wanting to use the n-word is wrong because it ignores the historical context of the word and how it is still a demeaning word for African Americans. Lil Dicky apparently believes that there are no repercussions for reappropriating a hateful slur. This misuse and misunderstanding of the n-word is something as a civilization we see all too often; there is no sense of sensitivity in this

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