How and why does the
representation of black
youths differ from the representations of the older black generation in contemporary
historical dramas such as the The Butler and Straight Outta Compton?
Media
Text Articles (primary text) 3 articles
for each
Media
Text Articles (secondary text)3 articles for each
Other
Media Texts 5 other films or media text
Youtube
and Documentaries
Academic
books/ 5 exp
Magazines
3 examples
online
text 6 examples
Internet
links 22 examples
Theory
and evidence 3 exmples
Female
black youths?
MEDIA TEXT ARTICLE
(THE BUTLER)
1) ‘What
could have been a powerful story of race politics set in the White House is
held back by the whiff of Downtown Abbey’
“It is based on the life of
Eugene Allen, a black butler in the White House whose human-interest story was
recounted by Washington Post reporter Wil Haygood as part of his paper's Obama
victory coverage in 2008”
“A black man was in the White
House – in a position other than menial”
“he movie (fictionally) claims
for Cecil a victory concerning black servants' pay in the White House”
‘”admire Gaines's endurance and everyman heroism”
·
This film discusses the issues in the film about
black people in a white dominated society
·
The connotation is the misrepresentation of
those black people and ways they could overcome it.
·
Connotation is the impact that all those social
conflicts and even change can have on a person’s life.
·
the
denotation for the movie was man which was an average mundane obeying person
who questions his faith due to his sons political view and rebellion about the
rights he deserved as a human which happened to be black.
2)
‘‘The Butler’ Fact Check: How True Is This
True Story?’
“one black man who spent nearly
four times that—34 years—in the White House”
“a butler who served every
president from Truman to Reagan and weathered the worst of the country’s brutal
racial history”
“the older son in The Butler and
a Freedom Rider and early member of the Black Panther Party”
“two-hour tour through the
ugliest moments of the country’s history, The Butler concludes with one of
those lump-in-the-throat rousing moments”
3)
‘Lee Daniels's The Butler is an ambitious
sweep through American racial history – and it packs a sustained emotional
punch’
“Their son, Louis (David Oyelowo) – riding a freedom bus to challenge
racial segregation”
“is ready to trade security for liberty, awakening his father’s terror
and disapproval.”
“a superb performance from Whitaker as a man burning with passion
beneath his immaculate, repressed exterior”
4)
‘Lee Daniels interview: 'I told Oprah
Winfrey she sucked' The director of The Butler, Lee Daniels, talks drugs,
racism and giving orders to Oprah Winfrey’
“he witnesses many of the major
milestones of the civil rights movement”
“a tale about child abuse that
outraged some in the African American community for its “clichéd stereotypes”
but went on to attract six Oscar nominations”
·
Oprah was Christianised because people thought
her acting was forced and she was only given the role because of her popularity
·
there are alternative representations of black
people in this film, this is mainly due to the main character Cecile Gaines is
a black butler being treated as a friend by the white president of the united
states
·
the friend role he plays defeats the dominate
representation of black people being worthless and ignored.
5) ‘Let's
Stop Calling Lee Daniels' The Butler the New Forrest Gump’
“African-American White House
butler who waits on eight different presidents”
“multi-decade narrative and its
one-man-sees-American-history”
“social change”
“looks at the timeline of the
Civil Rights movement from both a broader perspective and a more deeply
embedded one.”
·
historical drama set in the 1960s which was a
significant earner for the African Americans due to civil rights movements
·
embarked both political and social arguments
about the role of black people in America
·
Due to its narrative structure and the dicussion
of issues it was compared to forest gump.
·
This shows the traditional representations of
black people being labelled as second class citizens in comparison to the
whites of America.
MEDIA TEXT ARTICLE (STRAIGHT
OUTTA COMPTON)
1)
‘Here's What's Missing From Straight Outta
Compton’
2) ‘The
NWA-backed sweep of the rappers’ rise to success fails to note some important
moments, such as Dr Dre’s violence towards women’
““Eazy-E” Wright (Jason Mitchell)
in a crack house”
“scattering crackheads to the
four winds”
“In 1985, Los Angeles police
chief Daryl F Gates purchased just such a tank and sent it out on to the
streets”
“In April 1989, Gates even
invited former First Lady and anti-drug campaigner Nancy Reagan to spend a
night in his tank watching him bust up crack houses a mere 15 miles from her
Bel Air home”
“DJ-ing in a nightclub”
“I couldn’t believe the things
they were talking about actually happened. I mean,
I’m Canadian- Turner (manager)”
“1989, local police warn them off
playing Fuck Tha Police”
“TV music host he felt had
disrespected NWA by giving Cube’s side of the story”
“historical accuracy here
constitutes a massive cliche”
3)
“STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON IS MISSING ONE
THING: SELF-REFLECTION”
“laughs off an abiding issue
N.W.A”
“police brutality against unarmed
African-Americans”
MORE
ARTICLES FOR STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON
OTHER MEDIA TEXT
1)
12 years a slave (2013 Steve McQueen)
A historical drama about the an older black individual. A free black
man from upstate New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South.
Subjected to the cruelty of one malevolent owner (Michael Fassbender), he also
finds unexpected kindness from another, as he struggles continually to survive
and maintain some of his dignity.
LINK TO MY QUESTION
·
It’s a contemporary historical drama
·
The main character falls under older generation
·
He is presented positively
·
Despite the bad situations he goes through
·
Older generation represented positively
supporting argument.
2)
Hot n*igga (2014 music video Bobby Shmurda)
This is a music video that shows the way young black youths in america
represent themselves, the constant action of pointing a gun, may make them
appear threatening to other members of the public, living up to the dominate
representation of black youths.
LINK TO MY QUESTION
·
Youths miss represented
·
Mainly the way they represent themselves in
music
3)
The American promise
This film looks at the academic process of young black individuals in
america, and how the lack of a safe environment and expectations has led to the
majority of these kids failing. Film-makers Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson
follow their son and his best friend through the U.S. educational system.
Though both boys start out at the prestigious Dalton School, circumstances
later force one into a public high school.
LINK TO PRODUCTION
·
Documentary on how misrepresentations have led
to young youths failing in life
·
Talks about environmental issues and impact on
young black individual’s life’s.
DOUMENTARIES
1) 
Educating black boys (
2013
Tony Harris, presenter of Al Jazeera) talks about how america failed the
black youths and how black youths are the easier target for the police.
2) Walking High (2012 Robin Petgrave) talks about the at risk youths of america
Race riots US, (2015 BBC Reggie Yates)looks at how he death of Michael
Brown (a black teenager killed by a police man), effected the position of black
youth in America.
3) KKK: the fight for white supremacy,(2015 BBC Dan Murdoch) looks at how the
racism on black people are still going on and the reasons for the hatred.
4) Negro soldier (1944 Stuart Heisler) documentaries
ONLINE TEXT
6) ‘Let's
Stop Calling Lee Daniels' The Butler the New Forrest Gump’
“African-American White House
butler who waits on eight different presidents”
“multi-decade narrative and its
one-man-sees-American-history”
“social change”
“looks at the timeline of the
Civil Rights movement from both a broader perspective and a more deeply
embedded one.”
·
historical drama set in the 1960s which was a
significant earner for the African Americans due to civil rights movements
·
embarked both political and social arguments
about the role of black people in America
·
Due to its narrative structure and the dicussion
of issues it was compared to forest gump.
·
This shows the traditional representations of
black people being labelled as second class citizens in comparison to the
whites of America.
The Butler: the real White House butler interviewed, aged 89
In this interview from the Telegraph archives, Eugene Allen
- whose career as a White House butler inspired Lee Daniels's new film -
movingly recalls the presidents he served
History as Drama, Drama as History: a study of three plays
as windows into people and groups in the ‘Niger Area
How does contemporary representation compare to previous
time periods? ... to be a distinct lack of representation of the older generation
of black British .... in the media is an interesting one considering the
history of the British ... Both films reflected social zeitgeist and were
released at a time of social ...
This
is a review on the film, it talks about the struggles faced by young black
people around the 80s to early 21st century by talking about
the highly influential gangster rap group N.W.A., focusing on its
three most enduring members: Eazy E, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.
- " It is the convergence of
the racial tensions that have been brewing in the area"
Jerry
Heller Addresses the Inaccuracies of "Straight Outta Compton", this
article talkes about his opinons on how they were and still are glamorising,
the reckless youth gang lifestyle.
This
is an interview link with N.W.A. lyricist MC Ren speaks on several topics
including the accuracy of the film Straight Outta Compton. MC Ren reveals that
certain aspects of the film were thrown in for entertainment value, and later
added that he’s content with his portrayal in the film.
- "But you gotta realize a few
things in there they threw in there just for the sake of
entertainment"
- "They could’ve showed more
of, but like I said, it’s hard to get everything in two and a half
hours."
- "The stuff we was saying
back then still happens to this day, the police brutality and all of
that"
- "all too reminiscent of
the continued targeting and harassment of black American men and boys over
two decades later"
ACEDEMIC BOOKS
1) Black Youth and the Boys in Blue: Police(2008 Joanna Marie Lee August)
2) Racial stereotypes and child development (2012 D.T. Slaughter-Defoe)
3) Race Identity and Representations In Education(2005 Cameron McCarthy)
4) Black Folklore and the Politics of Racial
Representation (2013 Shirley
Moody-Turner)
5)
Black-Latino
Relations in U.S. National Politics:(2013 Rodney
E. Hero, Robert R. Preuhs)
6)
Backlash
9/11 (2009 Anny Bakalian, Medhi
Bozorgmehr)
·
Young Black Men Counter Negative Media
Representation With Creative ... message to those who are still attacking the
younger generation.
·
Negative
media stereotypes (thugs, criminals, fools, and the disadvantaged) are
demoralizing and
“reduce self-esteem and expectations. Dealing with
negative expectations may also create stress and..”
“drain cognitive resources in some contexts —
leading to the lowered performance associated with”
“Stereotype threat.”
X The most common “role models” depicted in media
(e.g., rap stars and NBA players) imply limited options. Additionally, scholars
have explored the ways in which black males can come to internalize biases and stereotypes
and then, through their words and actions, reinforce or perpetuate those
distortions
·
portrayal
of black boys and young black men in news media may well impact .... Generating
evidence about the production as well as the content of news.
“Systemic
issues shaping the experiences of black young men or boys as
Vulnerable
young people were explored,”
·
How
does contemporary representation compare to previous time ... to be a distinct
lack of representation of the older generation of black ...
·
Young Blacks and the Crisis in African-American
Culture Bakari Kitwana ... battles of the older generation (like the battle
waged over the portrayal of Black men ...
·
The merchants, the older generation, spoke
negatively about the youth in the ... and thus e√ectively destroyed an
idealistic representation of black leadership.
