Representations of Black Womanhood on Television: Being Mara Brock Akil

by Shauntae Brown White (Editor), Kandace L. Harris (Editor), Imani M. Cheers (Contribution by), Kandace L. Harris (Contribution by), Tina M. Harris Louisiana State University (Contribution by)

Overview

Being Mara Brock Akil: Representations of Black Womanhood on Television examines the body of work of Mara Brock Akil, the showrunner who produced Girlfriends, The Game, Being Mary Jane, and Love Is__. The contributions to this volume are theoretically anchored in Patricia Hill Collin’s Black Feminist Thought, with a focus on how Brock Akil’s shows intentionally address Black humanity and specifically provide context for Black women’s lived experiences and empathy for Black womanhood by featuring woman-centered characters with flaws, strength, and complexity. Shauntae Brown White and Kandace L. Harris have compiled a volume that analyzes themes that define Black womanhood and examines audience reception of and social media interaction with Brock Akil’s work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498592680
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	07/06/2021
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	6.07(w) x 8.58(h) x 0.58(d)

About the Author

Kandace L. Harris is special assistant to the president and associate professor of mass communication and media studies at Shaw University.


Shauntae Brown White is coordinator of the Women's and Gender Studies program and associate professor in the Department of Mass Communication at North Carolina Central University.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Being Mara

Chapter 1: ‘Girlfriends - There, Through Thick and Thin!’: African American Female Sisterhood and the Quest for Happiness

Chapter 2: Professional Success, Personal Turmoil: The Black Working Woman Image in Girlfriends

Chapter 3: Real, Respectable, or Both: Respectability on Being Mary Jane through the Words of Mara Brock Akil

Chapter 4: ‘Girl, You Know I Got You:’ The Ideology of Sisterhood on Being Mary Jane

Chapter 5: What Love Is and Is Not: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Chapter 6: Navigating The Game of Life: Women Viewers & The Game

Chapter 7: Social Networks, Television and Black Women: An Analysis of Facebook Representations of Being Mary Jane

Chapter 8: Social TV and Stereotypes: The Social Construction of #BeingMaryJane on Twitter

Chapter 9: @MaraAkil: An Analysis of the Mara’s Balance of Life, Family and Production on Instagram

Afterword

Editorial Reviews

In Representations of Black Womanhood on Television: Being Mara Brock Akil, Shauntae Brown White and Kandace L. Harris present an exquisite collection of scholarship—both critical interrogations and audience analyses— that not only examines Mara Bock Akil’s creative oeuvre, but also details how this media tour de force locates and makes accessible Black women’s humanity. The strength of this carefully curated volume of edited work is that the authors consider both creation and depiction to provide readers with new insights into what authentic representational inclusion means.

Robin R. Means Coleman

Representations of Black Womanhood on Television: Being Mara Brock Akil is a powerful collaboration of Black female scholars shining light on a storyteller that has centered Black female voices for more than two decades. This text is both a picture and celebration of a Black woman who dared to dream. As such this volume marks its place in history and is guaranteed to be a resource for scholars and creatives interested in shining light on people in the shadows.

Omotayo Banjo

In Representations of Black Womanhood on Television: Being Mara Brock Akil, Shauntae Brown White and Kandace L. Harris present an exquisite collection of scholarship--both critical interrogations and audience analyses-- that not only examines Mara Bock Akil's creative oeuvre, but also details how this media tour de force locates and makes accessible Black women's humanity. The strength of this carefully curated volume of edited work is that the authors consider both creation and depiction to provide readers with new insights into what authentic representational inclusion means.

--Robin R. Means Coleman, vice president and associate provost for institutional diversity & inclusion and the Ida B. Wells and Ferdinand Barnett Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University

Representations of Black Womanhood on Television: Being Mara Brock Akil is a powerful collaboration of Black female scholars shining light on a storyteller that has centered Black female voices for more than two decades. This text is both a picture and celebration of a Black woman who dared to dream. As such this volume marks its place in history and is guaranteed to be a resource for scholars and creatives interested in shining light on people in the shadows.--Omotayo Banjo, University of Cincinnati

From the Publisher