Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

Abstract

Some types of hateful speech may be called commercialism or entertainment. Yet, this speech disguises hate. This speech seems to be harmless entertainment, as harmless as doves or feathery birds. However, in reality this speech drowns out the truth in the marketplace, as individuals appear to become more gullible in watching film and other commercial speech. This essay explores this quandary by asking, and attempting to answer, four questions. First, is there any possible negative influence from commercial media, especially film, in the marketplace of ideas about nonwhites (i.e., has the truth about race and about nonwhites already won out making the points of this essay not critically necessary)? Second, what are the race messages in the film, Avatar, which will be used here for illustrative purposes? Further, in giving corporate political speech the same protection as individual political speech, the majority and the dissent in Citizens United overlooked critical First Amendment jurisprudence, as it failed to distinguish corporate commercial speech from corporate political speech. So the third question asks what is the likely, or feared, impact of Citizens United on corporate commercial speech, and how does this relate to the film Avatar? And, fourth, what can those in unity with the justice-filled messages of the Pursuit of Justice Conference do to help the truth to prevail?

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