SESSION FIVE: Blackness Controlled

The power of stereotypes to maintain (or even encourage!) racial AMBIVALENCE lies in their pervasive presence across multiple media outlets. A few instances will not maintain AMBIVALENCE, yet a daily bombardment, despite contrary personal experience, will. This means that a Caucasian person may view her non-violent, non-poor African-American friend as an exception rather than a rule. The rule is, of course, outlined by education and media outlets, such as network news stations broadcasting nightly images of violent African-Americans or poverty-stricken Africans. As with any rule, this definition of "Blackness" is constructed and learned, and while stereotypes often arise from fact, they do not tell the "whole" truth. What is left out of the picture is just as important as what lies inside its frame.

There are numerous instances of mediabites defining a people or a place for decades to come. Ethiopia in the 1980's is a great example. Images such as those presented by Save the Children (Sally Struthers) leave lasting definitions - as if a pathway burned in the brain, many continue to define the "African" as a "skinny, starving kid with diarrhea and flies swarming around her head" Today, we add high HIV statistics and genocide to the impoverished images we ingested in the 80's, leaving us with even bleeker definitions of Africa. As media creators, we now must ask ourselves, how many positive or contrary images will it take to re-define the "Blackness" constructed by these repetitive and extreme stereotypes of poverty and violence?

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Chapters 7 and 8 -
"Affirming Discord" and "Black Power"
PROJECT: LAP worksheet, proposal and annotated bibliography
MEDIA: Please view the following media examples for next class.
Darfur
The One Campaign
Save Africa's Children
Save Africa from Aids
Save the Children International
The Secret to Really Helping Africa

- JOURNAL FIVE - Compare and contrast two of the images presented in the above media clips. What definition of "Blackness" do they offer? Do the different humanitarian organizations construct a single notion of "Blackness"? Or, do they support racial AMBIVALENCE or even ANIMOSITY? How? Do humanitarian campaigns have the right to raise funds and awareness by any means necessary? Or do they have a responsibility to create coherent, consistent images of those they hope to help?

SESSION FOUR: Defining Blackness

Now, we begin to examine more closely the construction of AMBIVALENCE and its place in American society. Multiple images (sometimes contradictory, sometimes similar) converge to create contemporary notions of BLACK and WHITE. And, while these images are disseminated by media outlets, there is no singular source overseeing their construction. The authors (Entman and Rojecki) consider the media as a "model of racial communication" outlined by five factors: 1) mainstream culture; 2) media personnel and their organzations; 3) market demands; 4) political pressure; and 5) the economy overall. All of these factor into the prototypical thinking involved in defining and categorizing people by skin color.

FOR NEXT WEEK...
READING: Chapters 5 and 6 -
"Violence, Stereotypes and African-Americans in the News"
and "Benign Neglect in the Poverty of the News"
PROJECT: Begin the LAP worksheet. Come to class with your idea!
MEDIA: Please view the following media clips for next class.
Jackson Five
Bill Cosby
Fat Albert
Oprah Winfrey
Eddie Murphy
OJ Simpson Trial
The Watts and Rodney King Riots

- JOURNAL 4 - Select two or three of the media samples above and explain how they define "Blackness." Do the clips present an accurate depiction of African-Americans? Do they present consistent or contradictory images? What do these examples tell us about contemporary racial categories?

SESSION THREE: Race, Racism and Representation

Today, we attempted to clarify contemporary notions of race ("the racial chameleon") by outlining a spectrum of racial sentiment: RACISM < ANIMOSITY < AMBIVALENCE < COMITY. While Entman and Rojecki correctly categorize contemporary racial sentiment as predominantly AMBIVALENT, the circumstances generating ambivalence are numerous. To adequately account for today's racial climate, a more varied and detailed spectrum is needed. IGNORANCE, SEGREGATION, ASSIMILATION and HARMONY are just a few of the necessary (sub)categories.

(Above is an advertisement from Amos 'n' Andy - a show relying heavily on a minstrel stereotype known as "blackface.")

FOR NEXT WEEK... READING: Chapter 4: "The Meaning of Network News" PROJECT: Complete an annotated bibliography (5 sources). MEDIA: Please view the following media clips for next class.
Scrub me Mama with a Boogie Beat
All This and Rabbit Stew
Jungle Jitters
Al Jolson
Hattie McDaniel

- JOURNAL 3 - Select one of the media examples given and write a brief reaction. Consider yourself in the AMBIVALENCE category of racial sentiment. How might the piece you've chosen alter your racial understanding? Should the clips presented be BANNED as offensive or PRESERVED as historical documentation? Why?