What's Fufu?

I came across some really interesting video clips on the Internet the other day and they have also been shown on TV, it was a mini-series called Raw Cuts which was a 4talent/NSPCC competition where teenagers could create a short video to have aired on Channel 4. The first What’s Fufu? Was an animated short narrated by a teenager describing what she went through being adopted into a White British family and trying to find her Nigerian cultural identity. The second is called Home Country where a teenager talks about acceptance of his heritage and culture regardless of the opinions of others.

This just goes to show that young people today, even though they can be lumped together as being very similar, (especially in the media); cultural heritage and a sense of belonging is important to the majority and is hardly ever forgotten. Click on the links to watch.

NATALIE KING

World Cup time again

So it's kicked off... 4 weeks, 64 games, 32 of the world's best teams and one gleaming golden Jules Rimet trophy.  Expectations are high amongst every nation hoping that maybe, just maybe, this will be the year that they win the World Cup.  In the case of the England fans, add a second star to that lonely little star that sits just above the England badge.

If you've seen Sky's World Cup ads, you'll know that they have the strapline about "50million England fans" supporting them.  Incidentally Sky aren't showing any matches, so why exactly are they advertising?  National pride, or just another corporate jumping on the bandwagon.  Anyway the point I wanted to make is that if there are 50 million England fans, who are the rest of the UK supporting?  If you take out the 3million Welsh, 5.5million Scots and 2million Northern Irish, there's still around 10million people who aren't following England. Having sat in Wembley stadium a couple of weeks ago for the England v Mexico friendly, I couldn't help notice the sheer volume of Mexicans attending the match.  Now I've never met a Mexican in London, but here they were, around 5,000 of them.  Similarly when Brazil play their annual fixture at the Emirates Stadium (In London to the uninitiated), they fill the entire 60,000 seater stadium.  The truth is that there are representatives of 189 of the 192 United Nation member countries living in London, and most of these are not  flying the St Georges Cross on their cars. If World Cups were awarded to the most multi cultural country, we'd have at least 5 stars.

JAY "INDIAN BUT ENGLAND FAN" RAI

Come on England!!

Well....this afternoon most men (and some women!) in the UK will be trying to sneak a peek at the opening game between South Africa and Mexico.  Although the many nationalities living here favour their team, this sport galvanizes not just generations but different races too.  As we celebrate the “beautiful game” we should celebrate the multicultural diversity that makes it a fantastic spectacle.  But, if you will, allow me to be a bit partisan – COME ON ENGLAND!

KAREN "ENGLAND TILL I DIE" NEEDHAM

Black Princesses and Ad Gurus

Within the space of 10 minutes TV viewing last night (29.01.10) I was reminded of what I do for a living – is it increased awareness, or is it just a sign of the times?  The opening of “The Empire Strikes Back” at the Saatchi Gallery followed by a Walt Disney trailer for The Princess and the Frog.  In fact, one of my colleagues, who BTW is Asian, said that her daughter asked her “mummy, why is the Princess black?”

So ex advertising guru’s who know how to create hype and studios who have always relied heavily on the white Western dollar are succumbing to the pulling power of reaching out to our increasingly diverse community.  What are you doing to include this growing population?

KAREN NEEDHAM

So much for Assimilation

Last night’s episode of The Family disproved the widely held belief that 3^rd and 4^th generation Asians choose Western culture over their own.  Tindy (23), single, drives a BMW, chooses for his entertainment, a venue that played Asian music and encouraged traditional Asian mixed with contemporary Western dancing.  So much for Kiss FM et al.  If you missed the show…..here’s the link.

KAREN NEEDHAM