"Don't worry, about a thing." Can we worry about a certain Snapchat filter, Bob?

                                                                                                                     Alexa DiFilippo

                                                                                                                           May 7, 2016

                                                                                             Advanced Mass Comm Theory

                                                                                                                                     Blog 3

                                                                                                           

                                                “Don’t worry, about a thing.” 

         Can we worry about a certain Snapchat filter, Bob?

            Nowadays, most people in my generation have an iPhone or at least some form of cellular device. If you happen to observe the Merrimack College campus when class is getting our, you will see almost everyone leaving one of the academic halls with a phone in his or her hand. If you happen to see me without my phone in my hand and go onto my iPhone and click onto my “Social Media” folder, you will see three little apps. These three little apps are basically my social life on the Internet, which is terrifying yet, accessible to speak to my friends that go to school far away. The first one is the famous blue and white “F” that stands for Facebook, then the tiny brown camera showing that the app is Instagram and then white ghost making a mischievous face representing Snapchat. Snapchat is an extremely popular app that most people have on his or her phone at any age. I know some moms that have Snapchat, which is adorable yet extremely scary at times. For my last blog (sad) I am going to dissect a certain “lens” or “filter” Snapchat let its users see. On April 20^th 2016, or known as the famous “4/20 National Weed Day” Snapchat had a “Bob Marley” filter that raised multiple eyebrows in the sense of, “is this racially insensitive because it is basically black face”?

Snapchat allows anyone to send a picture or video of himself or herself or people they are with, for one to ten seconds to either one person or many individuals. One can also set a “story” which can be a video or a photo and it stays there for 24 hours then gets automatically deleted. You can add as many people as you want and can even follow your favorite celebrities on it (I am guilty of following the famous Kylie Jenner and Jeffree Star for their makeup brand releases)! A cool part of Snapchat is all the unique filters you can use on your face! They sometimes change depending on the Holiday or even day but some filter are the dog filter which gives you ears and a tongue like a dog when you open your mouth, sometimes you can turn into a Panda, an old man, or see yourself with no nose! One day while I was sitting next to my friend and was scrolling through my Snapchat filters, she said, “Hey! Have you seen the Bob Marley filter?” I looked at her puzzled and she then said, “it is 4/20.” I guess by her saying that, it was supposed to click in my head that the two topics of “Bob Marley” and “marijuana” go together all the time. Upon seeing the filter while she said, “it is 4/20” I got a weird feeling about it, something seemed a little wrong with this filter to me. The filter was just Bob Marley’s face with some dreads, a Rasta hat and in the corner of the photo in black writing it stated, “BOB MARLEY” with a Jamaican flag coming through the “O” in “BOB.” However, according to money.cnn.com “Snapchat hasn’t addressed the controversy and said in a statement to CNNMoney that the lens was built ‘in partnership with the Bob Marley Estate.” The article goes on to say that Snapchat stated, “Millions of Snapchatters have enjoyed Bob Marley’s music and we respect his life and achievements. “[The lens] gives people a new way to share their appreciation for Bob Marley and his music.” Did Snapchat want to show their appreciation for Bob Marley on National Weed Day or was it to show their appreciation for National Weed Day and put Bob Marley’s name and face on it to make a subtle hint. If they wanted someone as a filter for 4/20 maybe try Snoop Dogg? He is alive and well and would either consent or say no. I am not sure how Bob Marley would feel about this Snapchat filter in regards to all of his accomplishments and activism but before anything, lets give a brief background on the famous, Bob Marley.

As many of you may or not know who “Bob Marley” was, here is some information on this talented and influential man. He was born on February 6^th, 1945 (my birthday is on the 5^th just saying) in St. Ann Parish, Jamaica. Growing up in poverty, Marley lived with his mother in a place called, “Nine Miles.” Marley and his childhood friend Neville Livingston both persuade music however, their group the “Wailing Wailers” though popular in Jamaica, failed and Marley moved to the United States of America. Marley and the Wailers made great progress and gained popularity in the United States and Britain in the 70’s. After a failed assassination attempt, Marley produced more hits, including political ones; biblical ones and songs surround the topic of Africa and later visiting Ethiopia and Kenya, which were deemed “Rastafarian homelands”. However, Marley was facing hazardous health issues. According to biography.com, “it soon became clear that Marley didn’t have much longer to live, however, so the musician set out to return to his beloved Jamaica one last time. Sadly, he would not manage to complete the journey, dying in Miami, Florida, on May 11^th, 1981”. I could go days and days about his man but seemingly though he was so famous back then, he is still that famous. His legacy is one of the most talked about and respected to this day.

Here is my honest opinion, I think Snapchat was not aiming to make the Bob Marley Snapchat filter seem racially insensitive because it is in fact, black face. “I see these shifts in gender and race representation as located within the struggles between generations so that representations itself becomes an arsenal in a kind of cultural territory war. Within this particular battlefield, the struggles of the past to represent women and people of color are read through a nostalgic lens as an “old school” kind of politics” (Banet-Weister, page 205). I found this quote to be perfectly fitting for this topic. Blackface was used hundreds of years ago as white people would paint their faces black to portray African Americans in plays or in movies. Shocking and sad yet true however, I do not think this is what Snapchat was trying to get at. I do think they should have thought this one through and through. Snapchat reaches hundred and thousands of people so most likely, everyone that has Snapchat, saw this filter. Snapchat has a multitude of cool and fun filters, I think they should have done something more creative for 4/20 or ignored the holiday as a whole. If Snapchat wanted to honor Bob Marley because the anniversary of his death is right around the corner, they should have a filter that celebrates his life and achievements. Bob Marley is a legend lets be real here. On almost every college dorm room wall, there is a picture of Bob Marley. When I think of an image of Bob Marley in my mind, I think of a super chill and cool man with a Rasta hat on a hammock looking over the ocean, playing one of his catchy songs and smoke surrounding him. I do not think Snapchat meant any harm but reducing Bob Marley’s accomplishments and talent to a Snapchat filter on 4/20, there are better ways to celebrate Bob Marley. However, as I have gained more knowledge about Bob Marley, I realized he was more than just a talented musician; he was a man of wisdom. One quote that I love that I found and seemed appropriate for the conclusion of this blog is, “Overcome the devils with a thing called love”. I feel as though Marley would not have taken this offensively and instead of bashing Snapchat, he would have embraced it.

Works Cited:

4/20, To Acknowledge. "Snapchat's New Bob Marley Lens Sparks 'blackface' Outrage." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 20 Apr. 2016. Web. 06 May 2016.

"Bob Marley." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 06 May 2016.

“137 Bob Marley Quotes on Life, Love, and Happiness.” KeepInspiringme. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2016.

Banet-Weister, Sarah “What’s Your Flava” page 205