SESSION TEN: Documenting Race Today

Tonight, we will examine contemporary methods of documenting race. As a class, we will attend Colors of New York City, a performance/event exploring race, color and representation in the five boroughs of New York City. The event will include photographs, audio recordings, films and poetry performances. A diverse group of multimedia artists and audience performers will be present. I encourage you to take advantage of this great opportunity to conduct interviews for your Life Arts Project. Experienced documentary artists and audio/video equipment will be available. You just need to come prepared with your questions!

To learn more about the event visit the Colors of NYC website.
Or check out our online gallery at Viovio.
View a map to the event location here.
Or view the eVite.

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Chapter 10, "Advertising Whiteness"
PROJECT: LAP background research is due. (2-3pgs)

- JOURNAL 10 - For your final journal, evaluate the Colors of New York City performance. Describe one aspect of the event that was inspiring, intriguing or promising. Then, discuss a problematic detail, an aspect that needs improvement.

SESSION NINE: Black, White or Colored - Race in Hollywood

Hollywood is one of the most influential stereotype factories in the world. For over a century, it has mass-produced many prototypes: the ideal woman; the ideal man; the ugly duckling; the villian; the prodigal son; and on and on and on. Yet Hollywood's power lies in its ability to employ powerful visual arguments both indirectly and repetitively. These arguments are often hard to dissect; we are just too darn busy enjoying ourselves to see the ugly messages underneath many of our favorite films.

Tonight, we take a look at one of my personal favorites, a gorgeous film that catapulted Josephine Baker to stardom. And while Siren of the Tropics could be adored for its fiesty, sexy starlet and witty dialogue, we must also keep our eyes peeled for the prototypes it reveals. The "sex-crazed, dark-skinned native" is a key type personified in the film and, even more so, by Baker herself. This type is a key way of identifying and justifying a powerful Black female in the 1920's and beyond.

FOR NEXT WEEK...
FIELD TRIP: COLORS OF NEW YORK CITY
READING: None
PROJECT: Work on LAP background research.

- JOURNAL 9 - Analyze the impact of Josephine Baker's performance in Siren of the Tropics by comparing and contrasting her role to that of a contemporary African or African-American female. Your contemporary example can be an actress, singer or performer currently working in Hollywood, on television or Broadway, or in the music industry.

SESSION EIGHT: Difference and Distraction in Network Television

Network television is a key method for shaping culture and its many stereotypes. An important way this occurs is through the construction of ideal types (or prototypes). Any look at Primetime television programming quickly reveals prototypes at work on the American psyche. This is most evident in its presentation of the ideal American family. For decades, American television families did not reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of real American people. This is slowly changing. In tonight's class, we examine the history of this change presented in Marlon Riggs 1991 documentary Color Adjustment.

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Chapter 11 "Race at the Movies"
PROJECT: Submit final research paper (7-10pgs)
MEDIA: Your choice.

- JOURNAL SEVEN - Select any television show (preferably one you watch regularly or are somewhat familiar with). Analyze two of the show's regular characters - ideally, you will want to choose two characters of different race, gender or economic backgrounds. Compare and contrast how these two characters are depicted in the show. What racial or ethnic stereotypes are present? Does race or ethnicity inhibit any character from evolving or changing during the show? What does this comparison indicate about racial or ethnic representation?

SESSION SEVEN: Representing History

This week we will explore how visual rhetoric shapes contemporary media experiences. THERE IS NO CLASS SESSION TODAY!! Students will instead attend and analyze a public media event - either Dreamgirls or New York Divided. Come to class prepared to discuss your experience!

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Chapter 9 "Prime-Time Television: White or Whiter"
PROJECT: Work on research paper and LAP interview.
MEDIA: Dreamgirls or New York Divided

- JOURNAL SEVEN - Analyze the visual argument presented in your selected media event (Dreamgirls or New York Divided). What methods of rhetoric are employed? How are soundbites, iconic visuals and stereo/prototypes used to tell the story? What is "left out" or altered to make the story more appealing to audiences (conflict, romance, etc.)? How does this framing alter the "truth" of the historical events depicted?