Asmau Diallo

Film & New Media Production

Professor Pilarski

7 December 2020

Awkward Is the New Black

The history of Black film in the United States is a long and grueling one. Since

the 1920’s Black actors, actresses, and filmmakers have been fighting for the right to

participate in cinema and to tell their own stories, separate from the racist stereotypes

perpetuated in traditional media. Black people are often misrepresented in the media,

and these misrepresentations are used as a way to keep the narrative around Black

identities unchanged. This misrepresentation has led to numerous movements such as

the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement, and the LA Rebellion (Clark, A.).

Throughout history, the strength of these movements has oscillated, and since the

2010s Black cinema has been on a rise with independent filmmakers like Ava DuVernay

and Ryan Coogler leading the way. One particular filmmaker that stands out is Issa

Rae. Issa Rae’s ​Insecure first aired in 2016, and it has since been recognized for its

saucy drama, refined music, and compelling character developments. Issa uses her

show as a way to share the story of a group of Black women, but also to promote and

amplify Black voices and businesses. Issa Rae’s use of the “awkward black girl” trope

helps to paint Blackness in a new light and is the beginning of Black filmmakers taking

control of their portrayal in the media.

Throughout American history, Black people have faced many negative

stereotypes in film and TV, and these stereotypes can be crippling to Black youth racial
identity. In their 2014 journal article, Adams-Bass et al. describe Cultivation Theory, the

belief that television viewing is the primary source of storytelling in American society,

suggesting that higher rates of TV exposure will lead to higher internalization of these

stories as representative of reality. This suggests that if Black youth have a higher

preference for Black TV shows, “that youth will accept Black character portrayals and

media images as valid models of acceptable and expected behaviors for Black people”

(Adams-Bass et al., 369). The results of the study found that variables such as Private

Regard, Age, and Gender were significant predictors of the internalization of negative

media messages, with men being more likely to internalize negative stereotypes and

younger children being more likely to identify positive messages in the media

(Adams-Bass et al., 383-389). This is indicative of the instrumental role that the media

plays in shaping race perceptions and racial stereotypes. What makes the result of this

study extremely concerning is that some Black filmmakers continue to adopt these

stereotypes in their work, ultimately reinforcing negative images of Black people and

impacting youth racial identity.

There are many Black stereotypes in film and television. Black women have

historically faced stereotypes such as the Mammy, Jezebel, and Sapphire stereotypes

(Woo, E.), and Black women continue to face these same stereotypes today. For

example, First Lady Michelle Obama was characterized as a Sapphire, the stereotype

of “the Sassy Woman or the Angry Black Woman” (Woo, E.) during the 2008 election

campaign. Also in 2008, the series ​Girlfriends aired its last season. While the show

broke many barriers, it fed into the crippling stereotypes created in the early 1900s. The

show’s main character Joan portrays the Mammy stereotype, “an idealized figure of a
caregiver, amiable, loyal, nurturing, non-threatening, obedient, and submissive” (Woo,

E.) by always catering to her friends’ needs and placing them before her own. Her best

friend Toni represents the Jezebel, the “seductive, alluring, worldly, beguiling, tempting”

(Woo, E.) woman, often using her sexuality as a means to gain expensive gifts from her

suitors. Even Joan’s assistant Maya fits into the Sapphire stereotype “which stems from

a belief that women of color are not only more expressive, but more opinionated, harsh,

have bad attitudes, are loud, and generally negative and rude.” As a popular show, it

may have impacted the belief of many Black women who watched it. The show,

considered a classic sitcom, addressed many culturally relevant topics such as the

Black family dynamic. As the seasons progress, the characters develop like fine wine,

and we explore the depth of these Black women beyond the stereotypes that are put on

them. Mara Brock, creator of Girlfriends, did a great job at creating dynamic characters

and showing the complexities of identity. In the show, each character was able to grow

outside of the original assumptions placed on them.

Similarly, Issa Rae revolutionized Black media when she introduced her web

series ​The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl in 2011 by introducing a new type of

character to the screen. There is no concrete definition for the “awkward Black girl”

stereotype, but I have come up with a definition based on some observations I have

made of this character in modern television. The “awkward Black girl” character has

interests that deviate from activities or mannerisms usually characterized as “Black.”

She may be seen as other or on the outside because of her unique interests or unusual

personal characteristics. For example, this character may like watching anime, could

enjoy rock music, or may have grown up in an upper-middle-class suburb. In the TV

Show ​Insecure, this manifests as Issa being asked why she “talks white” in the first

episode, and in ​Black-ish​, Zoe Johson is almost ridiculed for not knowing that BSU

stands for Black Student Union. In a world where “main protagonists are

overwhelmingly white,” (Woo, E.) Rae’s character J in ​The Misadventures of Awkward

Black Girl is a much needed perspective. I believe that the intention of the awkward

trope is to break the mold of the limiting stereotypes that are usually projected onto

Black people. It is meant to say that Black people are multidimensional beings and

cannot be confined to limiting, negative stereotypes. Unfortunately, as new positive

stereotypes are forming, so are new negative stereotypes. One prominent stereotype in

film and television is the Black woman who struggles with relationships because of her

career, something that Molly struggles with in ​Insecure and Mary Jane in ​Being Mary

​ s the number of Black filmmakers increases, it is important to be conscious of

Jane. A

the ways we choose to represent Black stories in the media and the impact this could

have on future generations’ impressionable minds.

Not only did Issa Rae redefine Black roles, but she also represents women with

darker skin and is always styling her 4C hair, hair that has a long way to go to being

accepted culturally, professionally, and in the media. Rae is a trailblazer and this is the

beginning of a strong era for Black filmmakers and artists. Since 2011, TV shows have

been experimenting with what it means to be Black. The “awkward Black girl” trope has

broken barriers by encouraging Black filmmakers to explore different notions of

Blackness. For example, Black-ish explores the Black family dynamic in a new way,

rejecting the notion of the absent father or the drug addicted mother, and representing a

strong family unit. This is important because of the way that media shapes impressions
of race (Adams-Bass et al., 2014). If Black filmmakers control the narrative and tell new

and compelling stories, they can change the way Black people are perceived and

shatter the stereotypes we have been chained to for so long.

 Works Cited

Adams-Bass, V. N., Stevenson, H. C., & Kotzin, D.S. “Measuring the Meaning of Black

Media Stereotypes and Their Relationship to the Racial Identity, Black History

Knowledge, and Racial Socialization of African American Youth.” ​Journal of

Black Studies,​ Vol. 45, No. 5, Sage Publications Inc, July 2014, pp. 367-395.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/24573089

Clark, A. “A Short History of Black US Indie Cinema.” ​British Film Institute, 17 July 2018,

https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/short-history-black-us-indi

e-cinema​. Date Accessed: 10 October 2020.

Woo, E. “6 Facts That Prove That The Oscars is More Racist Than You Think.”

Venngage,​ 23 February 2017.

https://venngage.com/blog/oscar-racism-interactive-infographic/​. Date Accessed:

7 October 2020.