Soaring to new heights

 Race and ethnicity play a major part of our pop culture, especially in film or TV. A lot of the time, minorities in these shows or films play a stereotypical role based on their race which has led to stereotypes about people in our society. There are instances, especially more recently in the 21st century, of these types of stereotypes and racial roles being broken in TV and film. A great example of this would be Sam Wilson (Falcon) from Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The show does a great job of applying a possible real world scenario of how a Black superhero could be treated by society and also how Sam breaks through all of the subtle racism and stereotypes to become the next Captain America.

The show has numerous scenes in which depict how Sam, who has done everything right, is treated by society. Despite being an Avenger and saving the world several times, he is refused a bank loan to save his family business and it is heavily implied that the reason the bank will not approve the loan is because of his race. There is also another scene in which Bucky and Steve are arguing in the middle of an urban street about Sam giving up Captain America’s shield to the US Government, and two police officers pull up and are ready to arrest Sam until they realize who he is. They continually ask Bucky if he is alright and if he feels threatened, to which he shuts down. Then at the conclusion of the show, the US Government doesn’t want to give Sam the shield and the identity of Captain America because of the perception of Captain America being black. Despite all of that racism working against him, Sam defies it and takes ownership to the Captain America title becoming the face of American military might.

This character is portrayed to defy previous stereotypes about black Americans and black superheros. He breaks through that Uncle Tom type stereotype and instead pushes the boundary for what a black superhero can be by becoming Captain America (Black-face.com). He does this by being proactive and vocal on where his standing should be and how he deserves the title of Captain America and the shield as Steve chose him to be his predecessor. At first he gave into the wishes of the white generals by handing over the shield and feeling as though he is not worthy of taking on the mantle of Captain America. But throughout the show he finally realizes that becoming Captain America is his true calling and to not just settle for being who he is as Falcon but to be more.

I drink and I know things, overcoming what you are born into.

This was a tough one. I don't watch a lot of TV and couldn't think of a stereotype defying character from anything other than an animated film. Though he's not necessarily another race or ethnicity, Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones is "other." Though physically he id depicted differently in the show vs the book, the accomplishments remain the same. This is more astonishing if you are familiar with the books. Tyrion is a little person, a person with dwarfism. In the time of Game of Thrones, I imagine not many of his kind lived, and those that did, did not lead lives anyone would envy. Tyrion was fortunate to be born to a wealthy, powerful family. Still, little people at the time were thought to be stupid, inept, and were often the jesters and the butt of jokes. Tyrion was useless on the battlefield but he was not stupid. He spent much of his time drunk and in brothels, but also had a sharp mind. He read constantly and knew everything going on, as he was often ignored. He had a good heart and won the love of a beautiful woman and a place of power none would have thought possible.

This video is a compilation of his best moments. WARNING: These clips contain R rated content. 
A character to compare him to, or more contrast, is Loc Dog from Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. According to the stereotypes, he was exactly the perfect example of a young inner-city black man. If Tyrion had become who everyone thought he was, he would have been one of the jesters/players at Geoffrey's wedding. He would have become a bumbling idiot. Though at times, much to his advantage, many characters perceived him as such. Though I do believe his name alone at times won him favor, and saved his life, his own good deeds and effort also led to his successes.

Module 5: Eminem

        Eminem is an individual who has been breaking racial stereotypes his entire career. For almost two decades now, he has created such a difference in rap culture. Rap culture being predominantly black, it was unheard of to have such a successful white rapper in the rap game. At the start of his career, Eminem was an underground rapper who was ridiculed by black people and called "rabbit". Black people called him "rabbit" because he was white and all primary public bunny figures were white rabbits such as the Easter Bunny and Peter Cotton Tail. Another stereotype this comment "rabbit" contributes to is that Eminem could be considered a white feminine man because it is a stereotype that white men in the rap game are more feminine.

   

      He has mentioned numerous times in his songs the struggle of being or becoming a rapper as a white man in the industry. For example, in his song "Without Me" he states, 

Though I'm not the first king of controversy

I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley

To do black music so selfishly

And use it to get myself wealthy

Hey, there's a concept that works

Twenty million other white rappers emerge

But no matter how many fish in the sea

It will be so empty without me

These lyrics show how others used to or might still see him as using black music to make money. Similarly, as referenced in the lyrics, Elvis Presley's hit song "Hound Dog" was originally sung by a black woman. Both Elvis and Eminem used black music to further their career. Eminem despite the criticism he received, continued to write and perform music, and above all break the stereotype that only black people are able to be successful rap performers. No matter the criticism he received/receives, he's always been very favorable in his craft and is a bestselling artist. 

Module 5 - Olivia Pope

When presented with the challenge to think of a character who breaks racial stereotypes, the choice was fairly simple for me. I instantly thought of Olivia Pope from the TV show Scandal. Olivia is the epitome of a character who breaks down these stereotypical walls, in my opinion. Pope runs her own crisis-management firm in Washington D.C. She works with fixing political scandals, hence the name of the program. 

What makes Olivia Pope so special is that she is a black woman in power. She runs her own company and is in charge of fixing the problems of mainly white male politicians. This clip from Season 4 shows complete power to me. As a black woman, she is a minority, but in this clip she is telling off a white male who also happens to be the vice president. 

Pope is such a significant character, especially for black women. In the media, black women are portrayed as unintelligent, uncivilized, and angry. Pope is viewed as strong, smart, and intelligent. I think it is especially important for young girls to see how powerful they can be and that there is no superior color or gender.

Video Source:

“Scandal - Season 4 Episode 9.” ABC.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jq4xU90Q8w)

Aunt Viv: Smashing Racial Stereotypes

           This week, we looked at different representations and misrepresentations of race and ethnicity in American popular culture. Culturally and historically, there are hundreds of years worth of scientific and cultural dehumanization of African Americans. Often the butt of jokes, African American people have served as high entertainment. This all makes the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air no different. However, instead of offering an outlet to laugh at the expense of African Americans, the show allowed audiences to laugh with African Americans and see them in a more flattering light. The family of Judge Philip Banks is flipped, turned upside down when his wife’s nephew, Will, comes to live with them after being in an altercation in his hometown of West Philadelphia. Phil’s wife, known as Aunt Viv, is caring, yet no nonsense, and loving, yet firm. Her presence on the show is tremendous. The audience is led to believe that she is just a housewife that reaps the benefits of her husband’s work, but thats not true. It is revealed in episode 21 of season 1, that she had struggles herself. Coming from a family that relied on her to succeed and do well, she dropped out of high school and had to work days to go to school at night. Then, she was able to earn her PhD, become a teacher, and carry out the success her family expected of her. After seeing how hard she worked to achieve all that she has, she becomes a role-model for everyone. Her depth and revelation showed that everyone is deserving of a second chance, and that being at the bottom doesn’t mean that you’ll never make it to the top. 

          Aunt Viv’s struggle in her life can be paralleled to that of African American’s life in America. Showing that despite what is given you, you can rise above and make things better for yourself, if you want it to be. Her representation in the show is the opposite of the stereotypes put out. She was educated, a hard worker, and influential. All things that would be unseen had this episode not been aired. She shows the importance of not judging a book by its cover, because she is more complex than what is initially portrayed. 


TheAntiIntellect. "Jasmine Guy Guests on Fresh Prince In One of The Most Powerful Episodes Ever." YouTube. YouTube, 30 Mar. 2014. Web. 

Module 5, Race and Ethnicity

Luke Cage is an African American superhero, also referred to as “The only Black superhero”. Cage is a bulletproof superhero, protecting the streets of Harlem from serious trouble. His bulletproof skin is not his only asset, though, Cage refers to so much wisdom of his understanding of black history and achievements. Throughout the series, Cage does his best to protect both citizens as well as the city of Harlem from bad guys, who reside on both sides of the law. Luke Cage shows the side of the black and Latino community that many people don’t commonly see today in society, as most of the time only negative stories are shared, somewhat corrupting peoples views on other cultures. Similar to what we learned in this weeks module, if you’re taught, or your mind is shaped to believe that a certain culture acts the same, rather than an individual, that’s what you will expect out of that culture. Sure, Cage has unmatchable strength, and can absorb bullets with his skin, but Luke Cage’s biggest asset is devotion to cultural and ethnic history, and his pride to share the knowledge of what Harlem once was, and why it should be a safer place. 
Attached is a clip from Luke Cage where Cage provides his understanding of work ethic, setting the right example for the future, and his definition of what Harlem truly is.

Secret Agent Woman

On this redemption blog post week I would like to take a shot at week 5's blog topic of characters who break ethnic stereotypes. I admit that this was tough for me to think of a character strong enough to use as an example, but I came back time and time again to the exhilirating lead actress of Quanitco: Priyanka Chopra as Alex Parrish.

I cannot wax peotic enough about just how majestic and enchanting this show really is. It begins with our main character Alex Parrish laying in the ruins of a destroyed Grand Central Station - with no recollection of how or why she is there. She is instantly picked up by a group of senior FBI agents who waste no time in pinning the blame on her. It is instantly apparent to her, and to the audience, that she is being framed. The rest of the season works its way backwards as she must recall every other agent and mentor she met and worked with in FBI boot camp to figure out who the real culprit is.

The background of the character, and the actress, is Indian. There is a heavy side-dish of tragic backstory to the character of Alex, though they do not try to change her real-life heritage. Alex's father was a top FBI agent who died suddenly during her childhood, a fact that is covered up by all parties. Alex is sent to live in India with extended family after this event, but soon returns and joins the FBI in hopes of finding out more about what he did while he was an agent.

Alex Parrish is an extremely strong, intelligent, and resilient character - a far cry from the stereotype of dumb and cheap or poor Indians owning convenience stores or the like. Though her heritage has very little to do with why the character is so enjoyable to watch, it could be said that if the character of Alex was any other race, the show might not have the same tone. There's a note of exotic wonder to Alex, because even the white characters in the show are painted as a bit boring and typical. (Caleb, who's parents are both agents and very powerful and rich, and also Shelby who comes from a rich southern family and enjoys plenty of privilege.)

Quanitco's varied cast of characters also includes many other races and backgrounds, including the character of Nimah Anwar, a woman of Arab descent who values her privacy above all. Though she on the surface appears to be a conservative muslim, more secrets are revealed about her as the show progresses. The character of Simon Asher fills both the Jewish and gay roles, though again, he is not all he appears to be. Finally, one of th emost notable presences in the show is that of Miranda Shaw, who also seeks to openly destroy the stereotype that blacks cannot have important jobs, etc. She is one of the few characters who remains static about her outlook and reason for being there, where the others may be hiding things or embellishing the truth at times.

I encourage anyone who has not seen Quantico to watch at least the first season, as I fear I cannot say much else without giving away much of the reveal. You will not be disappointed with the plot, I promise!

Master of Representation

Aziz Ansari's Netflix original series, Master of None, premiered in 2015 to rave reviews from critics and general audiences alike. In the show, Ansari plays a 30-year-old actor named Dev who is struggling to find satisfaction amid post-modern ennui in New York City. Episodes touch on a variety of subjects, from Plan B, to street harassment, to the lack of ethnic diversity in television casting.

 

 A particularly striking episode comes in the form of Parents, wherein Dev and his friend Brian take their first-generation immigrant parents out to dinner in an effort to bond with them. They use this opportunity to ask their parents about their unique experience as immigrants, like what life was like when they first came to New York. Their mothers bond over an early fear of answering the telephone because of their heavily accented English. This is interesting because it acknowledges the differences in each individual's immigration experience while also highlighting similarities that people from totally different cultural backgrounds may encounter. Both Dev and Brian find it difficult to make time for their parents because of their busy lives, and because of the deep generational divide between parent and offspring. Dev's parents are from India, and Brian's parents are from China, so they all come from cultures much more conservative than modern-day America, providing different sets of frustrations for the parents and the children. This dynamic is especially authentic and effective because Ansari's real-life Indian immigrant parents play his parents in the episode.

Dev is an important, complex character who juggles his own identity as a modern American with his familial roots. Most notably, Dev is not constricted by any Indian stereotypes seen in commercials, film, and television (taxi driver, IT tech, etc.) Brian and his parents show that, contrary to the 1942 Superman clip that depicts little to no difference in its Japanese characters, Eastern Asian people have identities unique to their ethnic background and personalities. Master Of None is a wonderful show that tells the rich stories of people so often overlooked by television.

The African American Cowboy

A famous aspect of American culture is the myths of the taming of our wild west. Another famous although less fortunate aspect of our culture would be our spoiled past with the slave trade. When combined these two faucets of American culture make for quite the breaking of stereotypes. DJango: Unchained, a film by Quentin Tarantino is a breaker of such stereotypes.

In the mythological American West most cowboys were white men, sometimes you would have an occasional Mexican or Native American, but the majority of the heroes of the wile west had pale skin.

Django turned that all around. As a former slave he becomes a bounty hunter, hunting down white men for the bounties placed on their heads. Instead of him being the one running from the white man, he is the one chasing them down. An ironic scene in the movie is when Django is hunting down a group of brothers who are hiding out on a plantation. Well Django takes the opertunity to show one of the brother just how much the leather whip hurts. He turns the tables on slavery and takes charge.

Django is doubly surprising because he is an African American cowboy. The towns people are all shocked and confused when they see him riding about on top of a horse. At the plantation they visited, the owner even mentioned that it was illegal for a black man to ride a horse. Django didn't care, he was a cowboy and he had earned his freedom. He had just as much a right to be a top a horse as any man.

Spike Lee, the director of Bamboozled, would probably appreciate the originality of Django. He would like how the character strikes back against his oppressors and how he does not get used. Django fights against his suppressors and a society that sees him as a lesser. Django does not give up although the odds are against him, he keeps moving on because he must accomplish his goal and free his wife from the same oppression he so luckily escaped. Django is the image of a strong black man far from the bumbling buffoonery of minstrelsy, Spike Lee would definitely approve with pride.

Oliver Wendell Jones: Scientist, Hacker, Genius

A character that I think defies racial stereotypes is Oliver Wendell Jones, a character from the comic Bloom County by Berkley Breathed. It was very popular in the 80s but Breathed is now publishing new strips with the same characters. Oliver is an African American boy who is, within the comic, the genius character who is into chemistry and computers rather than what could be considered typical of a young black child. His parents, however, feel he needs to have a more “normal” hobby.  His father wants him to give up computers and play football while his mother would have loved it if he had emulated Michael Jackson. Oliver just ignores them.

Instead he spends his time inventing things, hacking into the New York Times computers or into the IRS computer system in order to get his parents a massive refund or working for the defense department on a missile defense system.

Oliver's character resembles Pierre Delacroix in Bamboozled. He was a Harvard educated TV executive who produced shows with black characters which did not conform to stereotypes. His boss, like Oliver’s parents wanting him to conform to racial expectations, wanted Pierre to produce a show which he felt was a more realistic representation of black culture. Also, both Pierre and Oliver spoke in a smart manner as oppose to stereotypical trendy lingo.

Module 5 Example: Race and Ethnicity Under Six Feet

Prompt
Given what we have covered this week in regards to race and ethnicity in popular culture, find a strong example within popular culture of a character that breaks racial or ethnic stereotypes.  In your post, you should

• Identity the popular culture (if it is a show or film, include maybe a relevant clip from YouTube; if it is a comic, maybe show a panel or two).
• Explain the character you are exploring and how the show presents the character as a complex character.
• Compare the character's portrayal with the potrayal of a racial or ethnic minority in one of the readings/views of the course. 

For this assignments, students should steer clear of European ethnicities and races and focus more on non-Western ethnicities and races.  This is not to say there are not stereotypes of Western peoples, but that with regard to American popular culture these groups and peoples tend to have a richer and more diverse representation.  

Relevant Tags:  Race, ethnicity, [specific popular culture being explore]

Example:  Race and Ethnicity Under Six Feet

For me, one of the most fascinating depictions of African American has been Keith from the series, Six Feet Under.  The show is a bit older and some may not be familiar with it, but it is a fantastic show in general.  The show provides with the character, Keith, an African-American gay male who is romantically involved with and eventually married to one of the main family members that the show focuses on.  In many ways, the show presents Keith as multi-faceted and explores it in interesting ways.  We learn early that he is a police officer, who is not only out but also part of a community of out and open police officers.  He goes to church regularly and expresses emotions in varying degrees about his life and his relationship with David.  Though there are elements of his life that could be stereotypical (his sister is an addict), these plot devices serve to make Keith more human in how he deals with them.  He recognizes the problem and tries to find support for the sister while taking care of his niece.  He has anger issues but works to overcome them rather than give into them.  Historically, Keith could have been easily rendered as an Uncle Tom or Buck type character but the show makes him a much more dynamic and interesting character.

The show also explores Latino identity in the character, Federico.  Hereto, they play with audiences' perceptions of stereotypes around Federico's background, his language abilities, his sexuality and such.  Often, the show sets up one of the Fishers (the main family) to make the assumption about Federico and leave Federico to explain or show wherein their assumptions are wrong.  It provides many moments of enlightenment and understanding.  In both cases, the show doesn't always represent the subordinate group perfectly, but many times, they show these characters as real people with complex lives.