Dante Carver – political pundit?
November 5th, 2008 by James
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?
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. )
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Why the hell, you ask?
He’s a perfect fit, at least on the surface.
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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.
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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!).
I’m with you on this James. Completely absurd and shows poorly on NTV.
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Yes, but he’s photogenic. What else counts? It’s TV, people!
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Me!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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He’s black and American. That’s as far as Japanese TV producers think.
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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.
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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?
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At least it’s not Bobby Ologun, although, he’s not American.
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Everyone looks credible in a suit.
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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!
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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.
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They should have got Khatzumoto.
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I wish I would have seen this on TV. Hilarious. Dante in 2012!
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What about Jero????? He is African American and speaks Japanese.
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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.
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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!
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