Double negative : the Black image and popular culture / Racquel J. Gates.

Author/creator Gates, Racquel J., 1980- author.
Format Electronic
PublicationDurham : Duke University Press, 2018.
Copyright Date©2018
Description1 online resource (xii, 236 pages) : illustrations
Supplemental ContentEbook Central
Subjects

Contents Eddie Murphy, Coming to America, and formal negativity -- Relational negativity : the sellout films of the 1990s -- The circumstantial negativity of Halle Berry -- Embracing the ratchet: reality television and strategic negativity -- Conclusion: Empire, a false negative?
Abstract From the antics of Flavor Flav on 'Flavor of love' to the brazen behavior of the women on 'Love & hip hop', so-called 'negative' images of African Americans are a recurrent mainstay of contemporary American media representations. Racquel J. Gates examines the generative potential of such images, showing how some of the most disreputable representations of black people in popular media can strategically pose questions about blackness, black culture, and American society in ways that more respectable ones cannot. Rather than falling back on claims that negative portrayals hinder black progress, Gates demonstrates how reality shows such as Basketball Wives, comedians like Katt Williams, and movies like 'Coming to America' play on negative images to take up questions of assimilation and upward mobility, provide a respite from the demands of respectability, and explore subversive ideas. By using negativity as a framework to illustrate these texts' social and political work as they reverberate across black culture, Gates opens up new lines of inquiry for black cultural studies.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Access restrictionUse copy Restrictions unspecified star
Reproduction noteElectronic reproduction. [S.l.] : HathiTrust Digital Library, 2011. MiAaHDL
Technical detailsMaster and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL
Action note digitized 2011 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve
Source of descriptionPrint version record.
Issued in other formPrint version: Gates, Racquel J., 1980- Double negative. Durham : Duke University Press, 2018 9781478000419
Genre/formElectronic books.
LCCN 2017061591
ISBN9781478002239 (electronic book)
ISBN1478002239 (electronic book)
ISBN(hardcover ; alkaline paper)
ISBN(hardcover ; alkaline paper)
ISBN(paperback ; alkaline paper)
ISBN(paperback ; alkaline paper
ISBN1478000546
ISBN9781478000549