Blackness in Postmodernity:

Race and Representation

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 Postmodernity according to Hall
1. It is ambiguous depending on where you are in the world; the meanings
change, but in terms of pop culture, there is ³always an ambivalent
relationship to European high culture.´ (This would include the art and
literature of the so called ³dead white men.´) This means that meanings are
³historically contingent.´

2. A global phenomenon that has ³shifted the terrain of culture toward the
popular´ or culturally dominant which tends to ³decenter or displace´ grand
narratives and old hierarchies.

3. Difference is fetishized. Multiculturalism«..

Ä Example: 2
 in developing countries««.  India
-Is this similar to Collins¶ and Anderson¶s idea of colorblindedness?

4. Matched by backlash, ³the aggressive resistance to difference . . .´

‡ Example: Obama as ³race´ and Clinton as ³gender´ candidates. What is
McCain then? (Why isn¶t he the ³age´ candidate? Why isn¶t Palin¶s gender
a big deal?)
In   India magazine, a
child from a poor family
modeled a Fendi bib, which
costs about $100.
 A man modeled a Burberry umbrella in   that costs about $200.
Marketers need to ³create brand awareness´ in India, said Claudia D¶Arpizio, a partner with the
consulting firm Bain & Company, who is based in Milan.
 Ideology

Ä  !Ideology can refer to a systematic body of ideas

articulated by a particular group of people¶ ± e.g., the ideology of the
Republican Party or the Catholic Church

Ä "#$%%#& %'(: beliefs that form

the structure of social relations making certain behaviors appear
³normal´ and ³acceptable.´ Ideological beliefs often cloud our
awareness of how social relations are structured to privilege few, while
oppressing many
â Examples: welfare queen versus overcommitted professional mom; Obama¶s
terrorist fist jab

Ä  )$" *$%%&# %'(!'the mental frameworks²the

languages, the concepts, the categories, imagery of thought, and the
systems of representations²which different classes and social groups
deploy in order to make sense of, define, figure out, and render
intelligible the way society works¶
„
   

 luestions to Ask Yourself about Representation

X What is being represented?

X How is it represented? Using what codes?

X How is the representation made to seem 'true', 'commonsense' or 'natural'?

X What is foregrounded and what is backgrounded? Are there any notable

absences?

X Whose representation is it? Whose interests does it reflect? How do you know?

Ä At whom is this representation targeted? How do you know?

Ä What does the representation mean to you? What does the representation
mean to others? How do you account for the differences?

Ä How do people make sense of it? According to what codes?

Ä With what alternative representations could it be compared? How does it

differ?
XWhat is being represented?
XHow is it represented? Using
what codes?
XHow is the representation
made to seem 'true',
'commonsense' or 'natural'?
XWhat is foregrounded and
what is backgrounded? WHY?
 Common Stereotypes
(based on the work of Donald Bogle)

%$+, %$+,

Ä The Tom Ä The Tragic Mulatto

Ä The Coon Ä The Mammy
Ä The Brutal Black Man Ä Sapphire
Ä Jezebel
Now in other forms««.
Ä Diva
Ä Evil Bitches
Ä Bitter Black Women
 Hegemony

Ä Concept derived by Italian Marxist  |"$#+ - .  ./01

Ä Describes the way dominant classes (genders, nations, etc.) maintain

their power ± not by (just through) brute force but by $+23'
%' $+(, 4'5+# 6$$,' 2"")%
$77$"+##"#7%(5 24$( 2'#$"6

Ä Hegemony is maintained (and must be continually maintained: it is

an ongoing process) by dominant groups and classes 'negotiating¶
with, and making concessions to, subordinate groups and classes¶ ±
hegemony doesn¶t imply oppression (although oppression might be
present); it depends upon negotiation, stability, consensus

Ä Popular culture comes to be viewed as the terrain upon which

hegemony is secured or contested

Ä Constant battle between hegemonic and counter-hegemonic forces