Essay Plan

1. Give introduction to the themes surrounding representation of Black People in Media. Explain that you are going to investiagte the representation of black people, with SPECIFIC REFERENCE to young black people.

i) Mention the fact that Hollywood began producing movies in the 1910's - a mere 80 years after the abolition of slavery.

ii) Mention also the fact that 'The Golden Age' of Hollywood took place before the civil rights movement of the 1960s, meaning most of Hollywood's classic movies were made before black people were truly seen as 'equals'.

2. Talk about examples of how things used to be in the early days of film (1910's-1950's). There was very littlle representation at all in early British film! You must mention Bogle's '5 stereotypes'. Outline what he meant by this and give examples. 'Stepin Fetchit would be a great example. There are many others. Read the article on racist roles in Hollywood which I have posted.

3. Mention Alvarado 'Ethnicity Theory' which outlines that there are 4 main concepts in the representation of ethnic minorities - Exotic, Dangerous, Piteous, Humourous.

4. Link this to the portrayal of black people in 1970's British TV shows (Love thy neighbour, Rising Damp, 'Til Death us do Part'. These shows attempted to ridicule racist behaviour, but ended up being racist themselves as they drew in racist supporters from people who didn't get the irony, but also because they portrayed the black characters as EXOTIC or HUMOUROUS (you must give examples here), which stereotypes them and makes them a mere point of interest due to their skin colour.

5. Introduce ideas of Stereotyping, Fetishization and Countertyping. Talk about how this is shown in the more modern era. Remember that 'Save the last dance', 'Bullet Boy' and 'kidulthood' are more than 5 years ago, and so can't be included as 'modern' texts. However, they have A LOT in common, and so can be compared really easily as texts with a 'similar direction' from both sides of the Atlantic. Talk about each of these movies and talk about the characters portrayed in them. STLD has more of a selection of 'positive' characters. Tie this in to the idea of Race as a 'Floating Signifier' (Stuart Hall). Derek sees no significance in race and is able to better himself dispite his social situation, whereas Malakai is almost 'punished' for being a stereotype. Talk about how this compares to Kidulthood where fewer of the black characters are making the effort to escape the criminal lifestyle - in fact white characters are 'passing' (Narrative of passing). Those who do not attempt to 'pass' as black (Katie) end up bullied/dead. What does this say about black culture?

6. Go into 'modern era' - first stop 'Adulthood'. How are characters different? White theory - Richard Dyer? Is white shown as a distinct race or just 'otherness' Is Marxism/Floating signifier theory any different? Are charcters still punised for 'passing'?

7. Work chronologically through your 'texts'/ Comment on what the themes are in each text. Talk about how the main characters are presented, and how these representations relate to the theories we have looked at. At the end of each paragraph, give your view on how this represents the social group in question.

Are the representations getting more positive? Negative? Are they simply varying? Do any of the old maxims (Alvarado/ Bogle) still apply today? Has this social group managed to free themselves of stereotype or are they still there?

8. The only problem may arise when you comment on the 'real life' TV clips of David Starkey and Darcus Howe. You have two agendas here. A. How do their views represent real life opinions of black youths? B. How have the BBC chosen to depict this on television?

To sum up: Starkey shows a very negative image of black youths, apparently blaming them for anti-social behaviour. However, it is not all quite so negative. He definitely concurs with the 'floating signifier' way of thinking. It is the how these youths act which makes them anti-social, not their skin colour. When Starkey said that black youths should 'act white', whilst extremely racist in the way he worded it, actually shows that he does not attach importance to skin colour with regards to anti-social behaviour. He believes that this behaviour is learned and conditioned.

What about Darcus Howe? He believes there is a DISTINCT difference between Black and White youths. Link this to White theory - Richard Dyer. He believes that riots were a direct response to the treatment of black youths by the authorities.

Interestingly, whilst both were censored, it was Starkey who was apparently 'shut up' to a greater extent than Darcus Howe. What does this shwo us?

Neither incident were repeated on televison.


Simply make sure you cover a variety of texts (you do not need to mention every single character I have given you a profile for!). And move chronologically through the years, commenting on how black youths were represented in each era. IT DOES NOT MATTER IF TEXTS FROM THE SAME ERA CONFLICT. JUST POINT THIS OUT IN YOUR COMMENTS.

It is also VITALLY IMPORTANT that you balance film and television as equally as possible!

I will try and get a full essay on here in a bit.

NW