Madison Maher

Fantasy Theme Criticism

WRRH 333

Professor Ristow

The “Exposing Racism and Classism” Starter Pack

Racism is a completely a socially constructed concept that stemmed from false claims

about differences in physical characteristics among people centuries ago, yet it has had very real

consequences on groups throughout history and still impacts the trajectory of the lives of those

within different racial categories today. Despite the progress that has been made and modern

attempts to rid society of racial discrimination in many institutions, racist ideologies are

seemingly embedded in society to the point where people often do not even recognize they are

letting racism reside amongst them. For example, the “Starter Pack” meme

series that went viral in September 2014 when one woman tweeted a collage

of three photos titled “The ‘I only date black men’ Starter Pack,” can be

considered extremely potent to the stereotypes surrounding racism due to their

ability to reproduce these stereotypes, and essentially validate them through

relatable pictures and text. Since then, Starter Packs have been created for

various cohorts, including different races, and seem much too relatable to possibly be beneficial.

While analyzing Starter Packs that pertain to the differences between “White” and “Black”

people it becomes increasingly obvious that this meme series is heavily responsible for the racial

stereotypes that are subconsciously reproduced and validated in modern society, as they

consistently associate White people with affluence, and Black people with instability. Thus, the
racist ideologies reproduced in this series translate into classist issues as well, as black people are

consistently marginalized for being financially instable, further proving how detrimental and

degrading a seemingly harmless meme can truly be. The worldview that Fantasy Theme Analysis

exposes from this meme series claims that a purely socially constructed mentality (such as

racism) that evolved centuries ago will continue to have very real consequences on all groups

targeted by the mentality if, and only if, people are willing to engage in the reproduction of the

social construction. Because these Starter Packs are extremely relatable, the cyberculture

surrounding memes shares them until they make a viral impact. Thus, meme creators and the

cyberculture surrounding them can be considered responsible for allowing racism and classism to

persist in modern society, even if they do so unknowingly while innocently sharing these memes.

The Starter Pack meme series is able to effortlessly reproduce stereotypes about the

White race that specifically associate whiteness with success and affluence, as revealed through

dissecting the action and character themes prevalent in the series. The reoccurring action and

character themes result in the race as a whole being attributed to having ample opportunities in

life because they are situated within realms of wealth, beauty, education, and overall potential.

For example, despite the fact that each starter pack depicts a different character, each person

displayed in the White starter packs has desirable physical traits and is dressed in brand name

clothing such as Patagonia, LLbean, Polo Ralph Lauren, or Sperry shoes. It is important to note

that the white characters depicted are always happy or smiling in the memes as well, and are

often pictured with their family members or a group of

friends as if to establish themselves as a jovial community.

While the characters themselves are undoubtedly significant,

their actions are perhaps the most stereotypical aspects of the

memes as a whole. Firstly, the text that accompanies some of the memes immediately situates

the white population within realms of opportunity, through titles such as “The white person who

just got back from Europe Starter Pack,” or “My daddy is

a lawyer Starter Pack.” The first title seemingly implies

that only white people are able to afford vacations and

have the opportunity to explore the world, while the

second title implies that they are automatically given the

opportunity to gain educations and secure well-paying careers. The recurring action themes that

connote affluence and opportunity prevail through the images shown in memes as well. Actions

such as skiing and hiking, visiting the Eiffel tower, preparing healthy meals, and attending

Parent-Teacher Association meetings all highlight the versatility and ability that the Starter Park

cyberculture intends to associate the white culture with. Thus, the recurring character and action

themes that are depicted through the text and images associate the entire white population within

realms of opportunity as a whole due to their presumed affluence and stability. The White People

Starter Packs, then, are partially responsible for the stereotypes that society reproduces about all

white people that often result in them being referred to as a superior race. The association

between whiteness and wealth here is not only superficial, but potentially detrimental to non-

white races as well. If a meme series considers affluence a given for the white race, other races

are automatically deemed financially inferior, which means they have to work that much harder

to achieve a status that white people are seemingly assigned. The implied superiority alludes to

the worldview that the meme series intends to convey as a whole, which reveals how socially

constructed mentalities about race, though actually meaningless, have very real consequences
still today in modern society and will continue to have consequences as long as people

participate in the reproduction of stereotypes.

In comparison, the character and action themes that recur in the Starter Pack memes

about the Black race work to associate Black people with financial instability, a lack of

opportunity, and an overall sub-par wellbeing through racism and classism. Thus, the images and

texts in these memes depict a drastically different lifestyle than those memes for White people,

and (perhaps subconsciously) instill the notion that black people are inferior

to white people in the realm of life’s opportunities and financial stability.

Firstly, the characters displayed in the “Black People” starter packs are

significantly less physically attractive than those in the

white memes. The people are both larger in size than

the white people depicted, and are depicted with physical characteristics

such as having little-to-no hair or imperfect teeth. Further, as compared to

the name-brand clothing that all the white characters were wearing, the

black ones are shown wearing clothes too small for them, faux leather

sandals, or stereotypical “department store” outfits. In continuation, the actions of the characters

are drastically different than the engaged lifestyles of the white characters. The Black characters

are situated within realms of financial instability and sub-par wellbeing’s through actions such as

applying to receive welfare at a DMV, or eating fast-food and processed snacks. Further, while

the white population was almost always pictured alongside what appeared to be their families,

two starter packs (one for a black mom and one for a black dad) depict actions of child abuse

through the image of a belt and the text “yo teacher called.” Lastly, the Black characters are

never associated with actions that imply they are educated or involved with any type of
employment like the white ones were. Instead, they’re shown in solely inside environments

doing things that require no money at all such as watching TV. As a whole, then, the black

population is only really depicted as lacking involvement in any type of opportunity or

significant activity in life in the Starter Packs that the Internet world has created for them. Thus,

since communication becomes reality, these starter packs seemingly normalize things like poor

health, unemployment, and broken family dynamics for the black population as a whole when

cybercultures share them and communicate through them. The obvious racial issues displayed

translate into less-obvious classist issues, since non-white races are seemingly just inherently

financially worse off than the white race as depicted in the meme series. The inequalities

depicted result in a total marginalization of the black race, since they are automatically deemed

burdened and unsuccessful due to their skin color. This race, then, is faced with the challenge of

working to achieve the respect and benefits from society that the white race is given. The stark

differences between the Starter Packs for the white race and those for the black race only

emphasize the worldview around starter packs as a whole that essentially condemns them for

their ability to instill and validate racial stereotypes in society, especially those that translate into

harmful, classist mentalities. If these memes continue to be reproduced and shared simply due to

their humor or relativity, racial stereotypes, too, will be reproduced and will continue to have

marginalizing effects on the black population that normalize the inferiority depicted in these

memes.

Lastly, in starter packs that are intended to characterize either white people who wish to be

associated with black culture or black people who wish to be associated with

white culture, there are significant crosses between racial characteristics

depicted through character and action themes, but the memes still very much
emphasize racial and classist stereotypes as a whole. While the starter packs for “only” white

people were drastically different than those intended for “only” black people, starter packs such

as “The ‘I’m black but only date white girls’ starter pack,” or “The ‘I’m white but my kids are

black’ starter pack,” remind cyber cultures of the notion that it is possible for a white person to

be associated with the realms of black culture, and vice versa, but the switch comes with

consequences – of course. For example, the recurring characters in starter

packs for black people who only associate themselves with white people

almost perfectly mirror the characteristics shown in the people depicted in

“white” starter packs: attractive physical appearances, clear skin, brand name

clothing, and an expensive watch. Contrastively, the white characters depicted

in starter packs that associate them with black culture such as one that’s titled “White woman

with black kids starter pack,” displays an image of a white woman wearing a shirt that’s too

small for her and a pair of men’s shorts – much like the aforementioned “department store”

outfits depicted in the “Black people” starter packs. In continuation, the action themes that are

meant to associate black people with white culture are very similar to the stability and affluence

that white people are depicted with in their population’s starter packs. Images such as a suburban

house, a violin, and a book allow a black character to be deemed successful, educated, and

financially stable “like a white person.” In contrast, images such as a cracked iPhone, a rap song

playing, and marijuana allow a “white person who thinks they’re black,” starter pack to

effectively instill black stereotypes that marginalize the culture and deem them unsuccessful.

Ultimately, then, while these “mixed” starter packs certainly convey that racial characteristics are

fluid and can attained by those in other races, they still have the very negative impact of

reproducing the stereotypes that allow racism to reside in modern society. It is important to note
that, even with extensive research, there were no starter packs for black people found that

associated them with success, education, or affluence unless they were somehow trying to be

associated with white culture, similar to how there were no starter packs that deemed white

people as unsuccessful unless they were associated with black culture. The takeaway, then, is

that classist superiority is seemingly assigned to whiteness unless white people make an active

effort to disassociate themselves from it. In conversation, instability is assigned to the black race

unless individuals make an effort to associate themselves with the classist superiority of the

white race. Thus, these starter packs work to accomplish essentially the same goal as the

previously discussed homogenous ones did: To situate white and black people within the

presumed limits of their cultures in relatable and humorous, yet detrimental ways. This humor

and relativity has the potential to create even worse racial discrimination in society though, as the

starter packs work to reveal a world view that understands how social constructions such as race

can have very real marginalizing impacts on groups as long as people engage in the reproduction

of stereotypes as these memes do.

Despite the fact that significant progress has been made in regards to racism, it is

optimistic to believe that modern society has rid itself of discrimination on the basis of race

altogether. Further, people in modern society are even allowing racist ideologies to persist and

reside contemporarily, because stereotypes disguised in forms of humor or relativity, such as

memes, are often reproduced and shared unknowingly or innocently. The Starter Pack meme

series in particular has done a phenomenal job of discreetly reproducing the very racial

stereotypes that marginalize and deem black people inferior, and create a vast status divide

between white and black cultures, specifically in terms of classism. While “White People Starter

Packs” can be analyzed in terms of character and action themes to reveal a message about
affluence and opportunity, “Black People Starter Packs” can be analyzed in the exact same ways

to reveal messages about a lack of education, financial instability, or an overall sub-par

wellbeing. In conversation, there are starter packs meant to specifically characterize white people

who attempt to fit into black culture, and vice versa, and these, too, only reinforce what seems to

be white superiority and black inferiority. As a whole, then, the memes in this series and the

cyberculture that reproduces them via virtual mediums such as Instagram and twitter can be

deemed partially responsible for the racism and classism that still exists in modern society. When

analyzed using Fantasy Theme Criticism specifically, a clear worldview that claims how social

constructions, such as racism, have the ability to compel very real consequences on people (such

as marginalization and presumed financial instability for the black race) as long as communities

and populations reproduce their core ideologies, is exposed. Racism has persisted in societies for

centuries now, and though it may not be as visible as it were historically, it still very much

resides in modern society due to things like memes that promote it innocently or subconsciously,

and make their cybercultures do the same.

Works Cited:

@augustinaa_x. “I’m black but only date white girls starter pack.” Twitter, 16 Nov. 2014.
https://twitter.com/augustinaa_x/status/534129469775441920

@ColdFire86. Things white people like to do in the winter 2017. Reddit,

https://www.reddit.com/r/starterpacks/comments/5n5go7/things_white_people_like_to_do_in_th
e_winter_2017/

@Duccsalt. “The white suburban mom starter pack.” Reddit, 21 July 2017.
https://www.reddit.com/r/starterpacks/comments/6opksp/the_white_suburban_mom_starter_pac
k_i_know_this/

@Itsladinaplis. “I date black guys starter pack.” Twitter, 27 Sept. 2014, https://me.me/i/ladssss-
ltsladinaplis-follow-the-i-date-black-guys-starter-pack-19403087

Reddit. “The black cook out starter pack meme.” Imgur, 07 June, 2016.
https://imgur.com/r/starterpacks/bFGa7aR

Reddit. “White woman with black kids starter pack.” Imgur, 21 Sept. 2017.
https://imgur.com/r/starterpacks/9Xt5Oig

@rfty. “Yo teacher called.” Kappit. N.d. http://www.funnycaptions.com/img/140444/the-yo-

teacher-called-starter-pack/