African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings
A comprehensive look at the history of African Americans on television that discusses major trends in black TV and examines the broader social implications of the relationship between race and popular culture as well as race and representation.

Previous treatments of the history of African Americans in television have largely lacked theoretical analysis of the relationship between representations and social contexts. African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings fills the existing void by supplying fundamental history with critical analyses of the racial politics of television, documenting the considerable effect that television has had on popular notions of black identity in America since the inception of television.

Covering a spectrum of genres—comedy, drama, talk shows, television movies, variety shows, and reality television, including shows such as Good Times, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Chappelle's Show—this insightful work traces a cultural genealogy of African Americans in television. Its chronological analysis provides an engaging historical account of how African Americans entered the genre of television and have continued to play a central role in the development of both the medium and the industry. The book also tracks the shift in the significance of African Americans in the television market and industry, and the changing, but enduring, face of stereotypes and racism in American television culture.

1132775453
African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings
A comprehensive look at the history of African Americans on television that discusses major trends in black TV and examines the broader social implications of the relationship between race and popular culture as well as race and representation.

Previous treatments of the history of African Americans in television have largely lacked theoretical analysis of the relationship between representations and social contexts. African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings fills the existing void by supplying fundamental history with critical analyses of the racial politics of television, documenting the considerable effect that television has had on popular notions of black identity in America since the inception of television.

Covering a spectrum of genres—comedy, drama, talk shows, television movies, variety shows, and reality television, including shows such as Good Times, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Chappelle's Show—this insightful work traces a cultural genealogy of African Americans in television. Its chronological analysis provides an engaging historical account of how African Americans entered the genre of television and have continued to play a central role in the development of both the medium and the industry. The book also tracks the shift in the significance of African Americans in the television market and industry, and the changing, but enduring, face of stereotypes and racism in American television culture.

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African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings

African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings

African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings

African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings

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Overview

A comprehensive look at the history of African Americans on television that discusses major trends in black TV and examines the broader social implications of the relationship between race and popular culture as well as race and representation.

Previous treatments of the history of African Americans in television have largely lacked theoretical analysis of the relationship between representations and social contexts. African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings fills the existing void by supplying fundamental history with critical analyses of the racial politics of television, documenting the considerable effect that television has had on popular notions of black identity in America since the inception of television.

Covering a spectrum of genres—comedy, drama, talk shows, television movies, variety shows, and reality television, including shows such as Good Times, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Chappelle's Show—this insightful work traces a cultural genealogy of African Americans in television. Its chronological analysis provides an engaging historical account of how African Americans entered the genre of television and have continued to play a central role in the development of both the medium and the industry. The book also tracks the shift in the significance of African Americans in the television market and industry, and the changing, but enduring, face of stereotypes and racism in American television culture.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780275995140
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 04/23/2013
Pages: 455
Product dimensions: 6.50(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

David J. Leonard, PhD, is associate professor and chair in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies at Washington State University.

Lisa A. Guerrero, PhD, is associate professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies at Washington State University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: Our Regularly Scheduled Program David J. Leonard Lisa A. Guerrero 1

1 Consciousness on Television: Black Power and Mainstream Narratives David J. Leonard 16

2 An Interview with John Amos Tammy L. Brown 34

3 Looking for Lionel: Making Whiteness and Blackness in All in the Family and The Jeffersons Lisa Woolfork 45

4 What's Your Name? Roots, Race, and Popular Memory in Post-Civil Rights America C. Richard King 69

5 More Serious than Money: On Our Gang, Diff'rent Strokes, and Webster Jared Sexton 82

6 Post-racial, Post-Civil Rights: The Cosby Show and the National Imagination David J. Leonard 114

7 A Different Sort of Blackness: A Different World in a Post-Cosby Landscape David J. Leonard 141

8 Just Another Family Comedy: Family Matters and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Shiron V. Patterson 159

9 Single Black Female: Representing the Modern Black Woman in Living Single Lisa A. Guerrero 177

10 The Black Family in the New Millennium: The Bernie Mac Show, My Wife and Kids, and Everybody Hates Chris Qiana M. Cutts 191

11 Blackness and Children's Programming: Sesame Street, A.N.T. Farm, and The LeBrons David J. Leonard 207

12 "Black" Comedy: The Serious Business of Humor in In Living Color, Chappelle's Show, and The Boondocks Lisa A. Guerrero 229

13 Selling Blackness: Commercials + Hip-Hop Athletes Hocking Products Regina N. Bradley 251

14 The Queen of Television: Oprah Winfrey in Relation to Self and as a Cultural Icon Billye N. Rhodes Kristal Moore Clemons 263

15 Tyler Perry Takes Over TV Bettina L. Love 282

16 B(l)ack in the Kitchen: Food Network Lisa A. Guerrero 299

17 Ratchet Responsibility: The Struggle of Representation and Black Entertainment Television Kristen J. Warner 314

18 White Authorship and the Counterfeit Politics of Verisimilitude on The Wire Michael Johnson Jr. 324

19 Representations of Representation: Urban Life and Media in Season Five of The Wire Bhoomi K. Thakore 342

20 La-La's Fundamental Rupture: True Bloods Lafayette and the Deconstruction of Normal Kaila Adia Story 358

21 Can the Black Woman Shout? A Meditation on "Real" and Utopian Depictions of African American Women on Scripted Television Rebecca Wanzo 373

22 Scandal and Black Women in Television Kwakiutl L. Dreher 390

23 "Get a Crew…And Make It Happen": The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl and New Media's Potential for Self-Definition Phillip Lamarr Cunningham 402

24 Performing "Blackness": Barack Obama, Sport, and the Mediated Politics of Identity Michael D. Giardina Kyle S. Bunds 414

Epilogue: "New Normal" in American Television? Race, Gender, Blackness, and the New Racism Paula Groves Price 434

About the Editors and Contributors 443

Index 449

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