Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Difference between revisions

The most common form of this is likely just trying to imitate an accent. The most notorious form is middle class [[Suburbia|suburban]] white kids imitating the urban black culture. Note that it's the middle class culture, not the race, that determines whether someone's a poser. You can be Asian, Native American, Latino, or even African American, and still not be able to imitate the urban culture (and besides, the term "acting black" is chock full of [[Unfortunate Implications]]). The end result of this usually sounds [[Totally Radical]] to natives of said culture. These people are sometimes called "wiggers" combining the words "white" and a certain racial slur that [[N-Word Privileges|white people generally avoid using]]. This version of the character, which was especially prevalent (and mocked) in [[The Nineties]], is likely to become a [[Discredited Trope]] soon, as [[Genre Motif/Hip Hop|rap music]], like [[Rock and Roll|rock 'n' roll]] decades before, has become mainstream enough so that white people who enjoy it aren't automatically labeled as posers. However, as long as there are [[Subculture|subcultures]] associated with particular ethnic or socioeconomic groups, new versions of this trope will likely exist until the end of time.

 

 

 

This trope has some similarities to [[Blackface]]. The difference is that blackface is done to mock black people while this trope is done out of admiration or fetishization of black culture. However, if it's not done carefully, this trope can appear just as insulting as blackface. Also see [[Modern Minstrelsy]].

 

{{examples}}

 

** Brian, due to his racist upbringing, barks angrily at a black man. Trying to smooth things over, Brian says how much he liked ''[[Benson (TV)|Benson]]''.

* Phineas of [[Phineas and Ferb]] tries to sound "street" in one episode by peppering his speech with the word [[Gosh Dang It to Heck|dang]]. He comes off sounding more like a hillbilly than a gangsta. Ferb on the other hand raps pretty good considering the constraints of a Disney cartoon and the fact Ferb is usually [[The Silent Bob]].

* ''[[The Boondocks]]'' presents [[Girl Scouts Are Evil|Cindy McPherson]]. A blonde haired little white girl that [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZyYVDte1sw runs her girl scout cookie fundraiser like a drug ring] and will quote rap artists as inspiration for her behavior.

** Ed Wuncler III and Gin Rummy from the same show. Both are white and come from affluent families (Ed in particular being the grandson of the wealthiest man in Woodcrest.) Both speak in [[Jive Turkey|copious amounts of jive]], own lots of firearms that they are willing to whip out with the least excuse, rob convenience stores and banks despite having no pressing financial reason to do so, break into people's houses at night for burglary, and generally act in a over-the-top stereotypical "gangsta'" fashion. Ed and Gin even have African-American voice actors (Charlie Murphy and [[Samuel L Jackson]] respectively) to complete the image.

[[Category:Sublime Rhyme]]

[[Category:Pretty Fly For A White Guy]]