Why Is Antoine Dodson A Celebrity & What Does It Mean?
Antoine Dodson has become the latest internet phenom after Huntsville, AL news station WAFF captured Dodson describing a failed rape attempt on his sister. Dodson’s delivery of lines such as “They rapin’ everyone out here” has thrust him into the national spotlight. The video has been shared on social networking sites and blasted off to numerous email addresses. But while Dodson’s delivery is laugh inducing, you have to wonder what this means on a broader scale.
Aside from the fact that many have completely overlooked the fact a rapist nearly claimed his prey, what we have here is yet another situation where an individual gets notoriety by doing something utterly clownish—intentionally or unintentionally. Although I’m quite sure he never anticipated garnering this kind of attention, we as a society have found Dodson’s anger to be humorous. Dodson now has a Web site dedicated to him and fresh MySpace and Facebook pages in his honor. He even has a t-shirt line and a ring tone as a result of this video. A YouTube clip surfaced where Dodson was signing autographs for “fans.” Really?
But here’s the scary thing: We are the ones who made Dodson a star. We are the ones who made rape secondary in favor one man’s unintentionally funny plea to “Hide yo’ kids, hide yo’ wife.” The media surely could have optioned to leave Dodson out of their broadcast. Perhaps they didn’t find it to be as humorous as everyone else did? I doubt the Alabama news station had no clue what it was about to air.
Make no mistake about it, this isn’t about Dodson as a person. We don’t know him or his situation and I’m quite sure he didn’t ask for this attention. This is also not about race—even though many African-American’s can attest to being sick of black folks looking like fools on television. This is about is what we deem important in our day-to-day lives. This is about how we create celebrities out of individuals who act outrageous or ludicrous. We made a star out of Latarian Milton (the little boy who stole his grandmother’s car) and we are doing the same for Dodson. But why we do it is downright baffling.
Dodson may not even know we are laughing at him. His sister may not understand how her almost being raped made her brother a star. All they know is that they’re getting more attention than they ever have before—for better or worse. All I know is this attention has nothing to do with the severity of the situation. We make stars out of ignorance rather than intelligence, and that is a scary thing.
Who knows what will become of Dodson after this video. When the joke is over and the shock value is gone, where do we go from here? I guess we’ll have to wait for the next act of unintentional humor to be broadcast over the internet to see. Just know, the time we as a society—or our media—spend focused on the Dodson’s of the world, there is a more important story—like somebody being raped—getting pushed to the wayside.
Oh Andreas, If you don´t laugh at life your going to be an old miserable nitpicker!!
Sorry, but you are way off base. Your judgmental attitude against Antoine is puzzling. You say that “African-Americans” (wasn’t aware anyone still used this term, but ok) are sick of black folks looking like fools on television? Yes. Yes how VERY foolish. A man tries to RAPE his sister, he SAVES her from that rape and then expresses his RIGHTFUL ANGER on a newscast and that’s foolish? Yeah. If anyone ever tries to rape me or someone I care about, I sure do hope there’s an Antoine Dodson around to “act a fool up in here.” He was pissed off. Cut him some slack. Did you bother to view his follow-up interview where he was much more calm? You are saying the rape got pushed to the side, but how about you think this through to its logical conclusion. The MORON who perpetrated this atrocious crime is almost certain to be caught given the amount of attention that Antoine’s interview generated. And kudos to Kelli Dodson for standing up for herself and not wilting away like a terrified victim.
I think you’re the one who’s a bit off base, Amy. I can understand what you’re saying, but these sites and ringtones aren’t lauding Antoine as a hero. They’re laughing at what is percieved to be foolishness in his delivery of his anger. That is what is so disappointing about our society as it stands. We very easily could have lifted him up as a hero. Did we? No. We laughed at his anger, found humor in his natural response to protecting his sister. And if that is something to be laughed at, then who would want to emulate his protective behavior? When I was shown this video, I didn’t even know an attempted rape had occured. All I was told, was that “this negro is acting so crazy, you gotta watch this!”
The point, I think, was missed when he referenced Latarian Milton, who deserved, if nothing else, to be punched in the face. I will agree with you, though, I’m glad the victim fought back and resisted.
Jesus, people. Relax. It was funny. At least Antoine has a sense of humor about it. Let the guy enjoy his 15 minutes. Who knows, maybe he is gifted enough to turn this into something positive for his family. If not, it was still hilarious. Amy has it right.
You seem depressed.
Amy has it right. Just downloaded song from iTunes whose proceeds help the Dodson family.
Andrea is growing old and drying up. Stop the hate Andrea.
OH please, it’s stuff like this that makes the internet great! The guy who wrote this article needs to take the stick out of his ass and realize black people are funny.
“Aside from the fact that many have completely overlooked the fact a rapist nearly claimed his prey, what we have here is yet another situation where an individual gets notoriety by doing something utterly clownish—intentionally or unintentionally.”
Oh, come on. Clownish? He’s human, he’s angry, he’s real.
Maybe some people need to increase their valium dosage so they’re not so upset by viewing normal, unscripted human behavior.
Kudos to the news station for airing the interview. They very easily could have tossed it into the rubbish bin.
Good for this guy and his sister that they sent the guy running. If we all get a laugh and they make some money, then good for everybody. They’re not acting clownish and they’re not “runnin around cryin and actin sad”, and why should they. We’re all cheering for the guy who’s ‘singin’ “We gon find you!”
Just let Antoine be a human being please. So sick of all the lables and stereotypes. Whether people are embarrassed by him or not……… I appreciate the fact that he is “simply real” and is a prime example of the realities of living in poverty with limited opportunity….. the Nation’s hidden secrets that they want to always overlook. Well, guess what, they are human beings that have feelings and emotions like everyone else regardless of how they express them. Stop being so ashamed black folks of who you are….stop trying to prove and just “Be.” Stop disecting the man. He saved his sister from being attacked, and yes his interview was humorous. Thank goodness something good did come out of this for him and his family.
To be honest, I admire him for his bold statement that was neither abusive or threatening. He called the perp “so dumb” which to me, in the tone it was said, sounds no much more offensive than using profanity. I love him. He attends Virginia College, working on an associate degree in business administration, works as a hairstylist and is the oldest of six children. He is also a rape victim.
“In our family we don’t running around crying and acting sad; we just dust our shoulders off and keep on moving.” -Antoine Dodson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKsVSBhSwJg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Dodson