Comments

Posts

Dante Carver – political pundit?

With all due respect, why the hell is NTV using the model/actor from the Softbank commercials as a political commentator for its live 2008 election coverage?

dante carver

I understand the desire to have an African American voice represented, but are you seriously telling me that this is the most qualified ~~Japanese-speaking~~ African American they could find? (Update: All his comments are being given in English. )

—

Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

21 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - November 5, 2008 at 10:21 am

Categories: Foreigners in Japan, Japanese TV Tags: token black man

kabocha

Why the hell, you ask?

He’s a perfect fit, at least on the surface.
Neut

If you ask –

name another, more qualified person, then, besides those in the military, besides those who have lived in Japan on a military base in the past.

http://www.japanprobe.com James

It should be the job of NTV and their journalists to find a qualified commentator. They could have checked:

- the JAFA http://www.jafa.org/english/index.php
-foreign media organizations in Japan
-members of the foreign business community in Japan
-American academics and researchers teaching, researching, or studying at Japanese universities

Instead, they picked some guy who is just an actor in commercials (and one that can’t even speak Japanese!).

http://www.chirimotsumoreba.net/ Jordan

I’m with you on this James. Completely absurd and shows poorly on NTV.
Marco Polo

Yes, but he’s photogenic. What else counts? It’s TV, people!

http://www.blacktokyo.com Zurui

Me!

ST

James, yes, there are other qualified and knowledgeable people out there that could do the job far more credibly than Carver. Welcome to Japanese TV where image is everything and qualifications mean nothing.

You do realize that the people on the news shows are not professional journalists, don’t you? When you realize that these talking heads are really media workers and not journalists, you’ll have a better understanding of the beast called Media in Japan.

In short, TV here is an act. All of it.
http://whatjapanthinks.com Ken Y-N

Choose one or more from the below:

* Oto-san was already booked on the other channel
* Dave Spector refused to put on blackface and an Afro
* Bobby was lined up, then they realised he was Nigerian, not Kenyan
* He complements the 小浜さん from 小浜市 they have lined up for the second half

PS: Obama as African-American really grates on me, perhaps as I am from the UK where Afro-Caribbean is the usual term for slave descendents. In the UK I think he’d either be described as “of Kenyan/African extraction”, rather than double-barrelling him.

PPS: I’m OK with Black, however, as it’s a self-identifying label, and IIRC I saw a stat that about 75% of US halfs identify as white, according to census data.
The Overthinker

TV anywhere is an act, for the most part.
In this case, I can see two (legit) reasons why this guy is just what they want:

1, He’s black, so can give the views of a black person to a black person becoming President.

2, He’s precisely the sort of non-expert who make up the vast bulk of American voters.
andrew

He’s black and American. That’s as far as Japanese TV producers think.

_kovert

Well since Barack is half black and half white they could have also gotten a white commentator. Or a half black, half some other race. Or even a half white, half other race would have been fine.

Neut

OK OK OK –

all of you make valid opinions and put forward some good thoughts –

but please –

NAME ANOTHER AFRICAN-AMERICAN WHO CAN SPEAK JAPANESE!!!! AN ALTERNATIVE!!!!!

Please.

Buehler?
Tonio

At least it’s not Bobby Ologun, although, he’s not American.
me

Everyone looks credible in a suit.
Rated R

I’m surprised they didn’t get Je-Ro…. derrrp.

If it was like 6 years ago, I’d expect to see Bob Sapp doing it.

Dante Carver in 2012!
Gaijin Panic

If that dude is rich then he is qualified. If he an English teacher then not qualified. It must be great day for Americans to know that Americans elected a black dude who spent 500,000,000 Dollars on advertising.
phauna

They should have got Khatzumoto.
http://gabuchan.wordpress.com gab

I wish I would have seen this on TV. Hilarious. Dante in 2012!
Tina

What about Jero????? He is African American and speaks Japanese.
Gaijin Panic

Obama is Kenyan. Most Blacks in US are from the other side of Africa. They might as well have had some rich marathon dude from Kenya.
http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

Why didn’t they have an old white man to cover the McCain-side of the coverage, too? Someone who served in the army in their youth…can’t stand the idea of communist leaders…I’m thinking…CHARLES JENKINS!

Dante Carver – political pundit?

Recent Comments

Further Reading

Babies Born on March 11th Receive Special Present

Washington Times Freelancer Slams Former Employer, Fails to Ethically Disclose Relationship?

Christopher Johnson Attempts to Silence Criticism of His “Gaijin Gulag” Article (Legal Threats!!!)

Tabloid Reports About Yu Darvish’s Love Life: Kirara Asuka & Miho Koga?

Does K-Pop Group KARA Have Ties to North Korea?

Tokyo Gate Bridge

Sara Errani Admits She Avoided Tennis Tournament in Tokyo: Feared Radiation

Chinese Workers Who Survived March 11th Tsunami Return to Tohoku

Why’s Zippei So Quiet? TV Dog Had Vocal Cords Removed

UN: Fukushima Radiation Health Effects Will Be Relatively Small / Not At All Comparable to Chernobyl

Categories

Archives

Subscribe

Japan Blogs

Korea Blogs

Linkroll

Other Asia Blogs