Ninth Chapter … Jon Austin, “The Unbeatable Whiteness of the iPod”

Okay, when I heard part of the discussion about this chapter (again before I received my copy) I was questioning whether this was being expressed humorously or as a significant race issue. Reading through the chapter I am still somewhat perplexed by how far to take the thought.

Appearance – yes, some of the first iPods were that pristine white, my iPhone is white (but it is protected within a black leather case). But subsequent versions, especially of the Shuffle were every color imaginable.

Users – the developers and initial purchasers of iPods may have been primarily of Caucasian descent, but when I look around for those infamous white cords, I see a diversity of ethnic, social, religious and financial backgrounds. Much like my take on commodification and reification from Chapter 4, some of these perspectives are more difficult for me to see being immersed within this specific primarily white, very capitalistic, geographically isolated population. Is there really “an unthinking assumption of superiority claimed by and ascribed to the white West”? (page 103). Is there an implied connection between goodness and morality – or was the color selection a marketing decision and advertising campaign selected with minimal consideration of epitomizing or degrading any racial or ethnic population (Wolfenstein’s “epidermal fetishism” or racism page 110)? Whoever developed and marketed the first “skins” may not have been as neutral in their attitude, but without researching that extensively, I don’t believe Apple was involved directly – more likely Griffin or an independent, but in my isolated white world, I pictured skins as the tiger and zebra striped wraps I noticed; not as an ethnic jab.

I did like some of the word selections Austin employed, cognoscenti, simultaneous consumption, lifestyle transfusion apparatus, imaginative geographies, politics of representation, etc.

One thought regarding the final subtitle, Playlisting the iPod: White Soul – since I was not familiar with any of the titles Austin mentioned, I wanted to mention that since the original iPods that did not show album covers, videos or anything other than audio and text which may have helped expand the audience and acceptance for a whole generation. I appreciated the music of several individuals and groups that had clever or catchy names for their tracks that I would never have listened to had I seen their cover art or their pictures. I am prejudiced when it comes to excessive tattoos or piercings or inflammatory graphics and being ignorant of the artist’s appearance and background I listened with an accepting attitude to the actual music and judged it according to those standards, not preconceived appearance based expectations.