Since the last large migration of people from the Caribbean and Africa, there have been various attempts to provide a voice for and by these groups of people via print media. Some of these publications were born in response to direct racism and the need for wider society to take notice and make steps to implement justice.
Black is a loaded word. It may work on some level politically, but less so culturally; what exactly is Black and more insidiously ‘Black culture’? Using this terminology to define people with a little colour plays into the idea that they are from one homogenous jelly-mould with no variation in language, customs and traditions. Then there are Asian communities who have their own vibrant publications: should they be included here?
This is certainly a large area to cover and one which can only be touched on here. It is important to investigate the contextual issues that this complex subject area presents. This article will primarily focus on the discussion of people of African/Caribbean, British-born descent. In this overview of the titles which dominate what is a niche market, we’ll try to examine some of the history of Black publications. We’ll investigate how new media has injected life into the sector, and try to answer some ideological questions.
from MediaMagazine 22, December 2008.
The BBC’s new crime drama Luther is the first major drama series to have its eponymous hero played by a black actor. DCI John Luther, played by British actor Idris Elba, is familiar from his role as ‘Stringer’ Bell the drug lord with business acumen in The Wire. He was also in the US version of Extras. A dark psychological crime drama star.
In this psychological crime drama the strong man maverick detective John Luther is brought back into the serious crime unit because he is intuitively capable of solving difficult crimes, and his female boss (Saskia Reeves with a terrible London accent) believes in him although he is known as a loose canon. Luther has paid a heavy price for his dedication and has recently suffered a mental breakdown.
On his return to duty, Luther struggles to balance the psychological demands of his work at the same time as trying to save his marriage to his wife, Zoe. Luther is not able to stop himself from being consumed by the darkness of the crimes he deals with and this has pushed his wife away. He wants to get back with his wife, but she is having and on/ off relationship with Mark (Paul McGann). With Luther, the job always comes first and his...
CODES AND CONVENTIONS of Crime Dramas
- These dramas are constructed realities that depict constructed versions of reality that appeal to audiences.
- They encode hegemonic values and ideologies.
- They represent current societal responses to crime.
- They use formulas.
- They employ stereotypical representations.
- They make iconic use of hand guns, cars, banks, police and explosions.
- The reconstruction of realism is at the forefront of their appeal to audiences, particularly in their use of media language.
Recruiting diversity
Through extensive research we now know that many people from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds would not consider a career at the BBC, largely because of the perception that the organisation is not for them. We are working hard to try and change that. Greg Dyke has set targets for the employment of Black and Asian people within the BBC that have to be met by the end of 2003. Overall, 10% of our total workforce should be from Black, Asian or other ethnic minority backgrounds. This does not include cleaners, security or catering staff; as all these services are contracted out, staff working in these areas are not BBC employees and therefore cannot be included in the 10% total. In Senior Management (i.e. the top jobs) the target to be reached is 4%. Our current figures are 9.1% and 3.3% respectively.
In order to spread the word that you don’t have to be white, male, middle-class and Oxbridge educated to work at the BBC, we have been targeting schools, colleges and universities with a diverse, multi-ethnic student body. This is nationwide, not confined to London alone. Among other things, it involves attending careers fairs, more specific outreach work, and the centralisation and broadening of our work experience scheme, making it fairer and more accessible.
We have put a number of schemes into action, several in partnership with another BBC department, SkillXchange. For instance, we have run a project with the From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation in Camberwell, working with Black teenage boys who are excluded from school, or who are at risk of being excluded. The boys made a short film, Moving Forward, about people’s attitudes towards them as young Black men and the effect this has had on their lives.
Through extensive research we now know that many people from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds would not consider a career at the BBC, largely because of the perception that the organisation is not for them. We are working hard to try and change that. Greg Dyke has set targets for the employment of Black and Asian people within the BBC that have to be met by the end of 2003. Overall, 10% of our total workforce should be from Black, Asian or other ethnic minority backgrounds. This does not include cleaners, security or catering staff; as all these services are contracted out, staff working in these areas are not BBC employees and therefore cannot be included in the 10% total. In Senior Management (i.e. the top jobs) the target to be reached is 4%. Our current figures are 9.1% and 3.3% respectively.
In order to spread the word that you don’t have to be white, male, middle-class and Oxbridge educated to work at the BBC, we have been targeting schools, colleges and universities with a diverse, multi-ethnic student body. This is nationwide, not confined to London alone. Among other things, it involves attending careers fairs, more specific outreach work, and the centralisation and broadening of our work experience scheme, making it fairer and more accessible.
We have put a number of schemes into action, several in partnership with another BBC department, SkillXchange. For instance, we have run a project with the From Boyhood to Manhood Foundation in Camberwell, working with Black teenage boys who are excluded from school, or who are at risk of being excluded. The boys made a short film, Moving Forward, about people’s attitudes towards them as young Black men and the effect this has had on their lives.
The ethnicity of the ensemble cast and the representation of black youths is a point of note. There is the argument that the race of (most of) the cast give it an air of realism and there is cultural stereotyping for the purpose of entertainment (for example, use of slang, reference to the ‘black’ ‘monsters’ – see below). On the positive side, John Boyega (Moses) was nominated asOutstanding Actor and Outstanding Breakthrough Actor for the Black Reel Awards. These comprise of 50+ voters (based in Washington DC, USA) who select performances featuring African-American as well as people ‘of colour throughout the African Diaspora’.Attack The Block was also given a special mention at the 2011 Black Film Critics Awardsas it had a primarily black cast “portraying each character each character with a dignity seldom seen on screen and even more rarely in a science fiction film”
Representations are subject to change, both historically, politically and socially – this analysis focuses on the changing representations of masculinity in film and how these representations are mediated, selected, constructed and encoded with preferred meanings for audiences. For the purposes of G325 Section B: Collective Media Identity, students will study two media.
Representation defines the way a social group, e.g. masculinity is constructed for audiences while a collective media identity implies that homogenous groups all behave the same way and have common representations that are recognised and identified by audiences. To explore this notion of masculinity in film theoretical frameworks are of assistance e.g. Baudrillard and hyper realism as are ideas of hegemonic and more pluralistic representations. Key theory and the work of key theorists such as David Gauntlett and David Buckingham will allow for a more balanced analysis.
Historical representations are subject to more hegemonic cultural stereotypes reflecting changes in society – Adorno suggests in this regard audiences are more subject to, or are more likely to be subject to passive consumption in terms of the act of recognition. Film has the habit of leaving strong mental images on the memory and as a result, neuronal connections are strengthened.
Male representations are normally iconic whether in the field of sport, entertainment or technology. ‘Man of the Year’ reinforces this appeal with a better than average chance that the target audience could not come close to the degree of success represented. The iconic males often appear in advertising images for fragrances like Hugo Boss or Beckham, Watches, (which very much seems to saturate advertising copy in Men’s Magazines) Clothing Ranges and Computer Games. With FHM the high end branding will be just within the reach of the reader but not as high end as other up market magazines like GQ.
Consumerism and aspiration work hand in hand within Men’s Magazines with the manifest desire to improve and better oneself driven by products and services. Brands will on occasion be ‘downmarket’ e.g. Puma reflecting the change in the demographics of the magazine (age and social class). The ratio of advertising copy to editorial copy in Men’s Magazines like FHM is still significant as is their heightened role in paying for the production costs because of falling circulation but is still less than Women’s Magazines at approximately 50:50. As the demographics of the magazine decline (in terms of so called upmarket and downmarket trends) then so will the advertising with advertisers like Rolex not wanting to waste their time with an audience who can only aspire to their products – watches and advertising images of watches carry with them connotations of upmarket social class which now found more within the covers of GQ than FHM.
Young men from ethnic minorities are the main social group represented in both films. Each film has a young black male protagonist: Rocket in City of God and Hubert in La Haine. The American ‘hood’ film sub-genre often has a character that is trying to reject a life of crime and escape the trappings of the ‘hood’ in which he lives (see also Boyz N The Hood and Menace II Society). Rocket and Hubert both conform to this archetype, and reject crime as a way of life. Rocket flirts with crime but cannot go through with muggings and hold-ups due to his compassionate nature. He tries working at a supermarket but is fired for his connections to the favela. By the end of the film he has become a successful photographer because of his access to the gangs and knowledge of the favela. Similarly, Hubert rejects the rioting of the other youths on his estate. He runs a gym that he worked hard to get a grant for, and promotes boxing as a sport for young people to get involved in. The audience first meets him in the ruined gym after the rioters have trashed and burnt it in the previous night’s riots. The film ends with Hubert sucked in to potentially committing the murder of a police officer (or being murdered himself) as retaliation for the shooting of his friend. Characters who try to escape the ghetto life are often stopped from doing so by circumstances out of their control – or even by death (see also Bullet Boy and Benny in City of God).
These representations of young black males are life-affirming and positive. However, other characters confirm the more negative stereotypes of youths from ethnic minorities. For example, Lil Ze in City of God and Hubert in La Haine are both drug dealers. Lil Ze is a typical crime film villain; the audience watches his rise to the top, followed by his subsequent decline and death. He is violent and psychotic, with no remorse for his actions or sympathy for his victims. He is a cocaine dealer, rapist and gang leader; out of control, hungry for power and desperate to control the favela. On the other hand, Hubert’s drug dealing is only glimpsed in one scene; elsewhere, we see him giving money to his mother for food, and to pay for his sister’s books. He deals hash to help his family; and the film-makers do not judge him for this. The scene in which he makes a transaction is done very matter-of-factly and the audience does not even hear the conversation between Hubert and his customer because the audio highlights the conversation of Hubert’s friends, who are standing in the background of the shot. Dealing is seen as just a typical fact of life rather than dangerous or immoral.
Bullet Boy was written and directed by Saul Dibb (as a first time director) in 2006 who then unusually went on to direct the high production value historical drama The Duchess two years later. The narrative focuses on gun and gang crime in Hackney, east London and stars Asher D from the urban musical collective, So Solid Crew from south London and explores multiculturalism as a key narrative theme, violence and the idea and effect of ‘learnt violence’ within an urban setting.
Asher D is a classic social realist, frustrated angry central protagonist who has recently been released from prison who has a young brother (Curtis) who looks up to him as an aspirational role model but who is ultimately killed in a violent attack – the narrative involves Ricky’s (Asher D) involvement with gangs and as in many social realist film offersmoral closure showing Curtis throwing a gun he has been hiding into the river signifyinghim turning his back on gun crime. This is England offers similar closure with Shaun throwing a George Cross flag into the sea symbolising his turning his back on racism.
Male Order: Unwrapping Masculinity http://www.amazon.co.uk/Male-Order-Masculinity-Rowena-Chapman/dp/0853156905/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385046931&sr=1-6&keywords=black+male+representations
A new edition of our ground-breaking collection of articles exploring the meanings of masculinity, at work, at home, in politics and in love. Looking at fashion, images of black men, heterosexuality, feminism, the new man and families, it examines some of the growing uncertainties about what it means to be male today. A feature of all the contributors is that they refer as a constant touchstone to popular culture - in film, television, fiction and daily life. This book sets out to unwrap the myths that have surrounded masculinity and men's power, and argues that we need an understanding of masculinity if we are to make sense of politics and change in the 1990s. 'Here are insights which spring from the page, piercing the mists which surround the subject' Emmanuel Cooper 'This volume presents an agenda for the left which it neglects at its peril' Stuart Hall Contributors: Jim Brewsher, Rowena Chapman, Cynthia Cockburn, Jack Dromey, Isaac Julien, Inez McCormack, Kobena Mercer, Suzanne Moore, Frank Mort, Jeff Rodrigues, Jonathan Rutherford, Lynne Segal and Vic Seidler.
Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art
The popular image of African-American men has gone through several transformations since the rise of the Black Power movement in the late 1960s. This book, which is the catalogue of an exhibition that opened at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, in November 1994, chronicles these changing perceptions of African-American masculinity as interpreted in painting, sculpture, photography, and mixed-media work, as well as in film and video. More than 70 works have been selected, by 29 leading artists of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Hammons, Robert Mapplethorpe, Adrian Piper, Andres Serrano, and Lorna Simpson, among others, explore such issues as personal identity, sexuality, and social history. The catalogue includes six essays by leading voices in African-American art criticism and cultural studies: Elizabeth Alexander bell hooks, Isaac Julien and Kobena Mercer, Tricia Rose, Andrew Ross, and Greg Tate. The film and video section is the work of five scholars in African-American studies. Herman Gray, Ed Guerrero, Philip Brian Harper, Valerie Smith, and Clyde Taylor each curated a film and video programme, and their essays examine critical and theoretical points of view concerning mainstream and independent film and video as well as commercial television. Essays by Thelma Golden and John G. Hanhardt present overviews of the problems and challenges confronted by representations of black masculinity in the various forms of artisitc expression.
Black Masculinities and Schooling: How Black Boys Survive Modern Schooling
The author's ethnographic study of an inner city boys' comprehensive school reveals the positioning of Afro-Caribbean students by their teachers, peers and white students. School standards, along with the influence of the music/fashion culture outside of school, have led some boys to reappropriate sexist and racist perceptions of black masculinity. The influence of these multiple pressures on a sample group of Afro-Caribbean boys is the focus of this book. This focus can provide an understanding of the complex, contextual and shifting sites that we call 'school' and argues for more sophisticated notions of pluralism.
Looking for Leroy: Illegible Black Masculinities http://www.amazon.co.uk/Looking-Leroy-Illegible-Masculinities-Postmillennial/dp/0814758363/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385047050&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=black+mascunlinity
Mark Anthony Neal's Looking for Leroy is an engaging and provocative analysis of the complex ways in which black masculinity has been read and misread through contemporary American popular culture. Neal argues that black men and boys are bound, in profound ways, to and by their legibility. The most "legible" black male bodies are often rendered as criminal, bodies in need of policing and containment. Ironically, Neal argues, this sort of legibility brings welcome relief to white America, providing easily identifiable images of black men in an era defined by shifts in racial, sexual, and gendered identities. Neal highlights the radical potential of rendering legible black male bodies - those bodies that are all too real for us - as illegible, while simultaneously rendering illegible black male bodies - those versions of black masculinity that we can't believe are real - as legible. In examining figures such as hip-hop entrepreneur and artist Jay-Z, R & B Svengali R. Kelly, the late vocalist Luther Vandross, and characters from the hit HBO series The Wire, among others, Neal demonstrates how distinct representations of black masculinity can break the links in the public imagination that create antagonism toward black men. Looking for Leroy features close readings of contemporary black masculinity and popular culture, highlighting both the complexity and accessibility of black men and boys through visual and sonic cues within American culture, media, and public policy. By rendering legible the illegible, Neal maps the range of identifications and anxieties that have marked the performance and reception of post-Civil Rights era African American masculinity. Mark Anthony Neal is Professor of African & African American Studies at Duke University. He is the author of several books including New Black Man and Soul Babies: Black Popular Culture and the Post-Soul Aesthetic and the host of the weekly webcast Left of Black.
Black Masculinity and Sexual Politics (Routledge Research in Race and Ethnicity) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Masculinity-Politics-Routledge-Research-Ethnicity/dp/041564609X/ref=sr_1_40?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385047210&sr=1-40&keywords=black+masculinity
African American males occupy a historically unique social position, whether in school life, on the job, or within the context of dating, marriage and family. Often, their normal role expectations require that they perform feminized and hypermasculine roles simultaneously. This book focuses on how African American males experience masculinity politics, and how U.S. sexism and racial ranking influences relationships between black and white males, as well as relationships with black and white women. By considering the African American male experience as a form of sexism, Lemelle proposes that the only way for the social order to successfully accommodate African American males is to fundamentally eliminate all sexism, particularly as it relates to the organization of families.
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