{"id":72580,"date":"2024-05-23T17:14:03","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T17:14:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essays.homeworkacetutors.com\/black-masculinity-and-manhood-in-film\/"},"modified":"2024-05-23T17:14:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T17:14:03","slug":"black-masculinity-and-manhood-in-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/black-masculinity-and-manhood-in-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Masculinity and Manhood in Film"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nBlack Masculinity and Manhood\n<\/p>\n

\nIntroduction<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\nMainstream Hollywood films often encompass masculinity as a carefully crafted performance. Including scripts, physical pomposity and impression management which focus on male characters striving to fulfill the single critical role of power.\u00a0 However, masculinity and manhood in the African American community are imprudently rooted from displacement. Black masculinity similarly to white manhood focuses on the journey of striving to fulfill the roles of benefactor, breadwinner, procreator, and guardian.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0However; black manhood in the US is regrettably rooted in the slave experience. During the institution of slavery, Film often showcased the image of Black males, as docile characters. Embodying images of the \u201cPassive Slave\u201d which included \u201cthe buffoonery, blissful ignorance and juvenile angst which were the primary traits portrayed of enslaved Blacks\u201d \u00a0(Pilgram, 2000). Even after the emancipation of slavery, mainstream media\u2019s representation of black males served as the interests of \u201cWhite America\u201d. Preventing black males to have access to forms of political and economic power. As an alternative, Hollywood pushed the \u201cMythical Black Brute\u201d, relying on the two concepts of violence and sexuality to push this image. For instance, D. W\u2019s \u201cBirth of a Nation\u201d (1915),\u201d used adverse images of African American males to promote a racist political agenda which threatened white female purity.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0This approach ignores the complexity of the black experience, instead of focusing on ways to shift the attention away from the problems inherent with the federal government. Instead, the film industry focused on getting the dominant white class to garner their full support. The provision of white Americans caused mainstream Hollywood to monopolize on films that endorsed the negative characterization of black males. Which either included being characterized as criminals or drug addicts. White America\u2019s perception of blackness caused black communities to suffer, fracturing the structure of the \u201cblack family\u201d. For instance, by the 1960s \u201cover 40 percent of black children living in the United States are born into the two-parent household (Novak,1968). Fatherless young black males constructed their own form of masculinity from the negative images that were perceived in American media. Thus, creating a destructive cycle of the black manhood. However, after the 1960s civil rights era, black independent filmmakers turned to Black indie cinema to satisfy the craving that the Black community had for screen representation. One influential filmmaker we can discuss is Spike Lee.\n<\/p>\n

\nFilms either written or directed by Spike Lee contain issues regarding racial indifference and the constant battle for equal supremacy. Through his own experiences living in Brooklyn, New York, Lee either blatantly or subtly demonstrated the \u201cmale black identity\u201d in America. Lee culturally critiques black manhood insisting that film can \u201ccollectively reconceptualize and reconstruct black manhood while challenging the prevailing negative representations of black men\u201d \u00a0(Holt & Jackson, 2004).\u00a0 Lee discusses the undeniable role film has had shaping America\u2019s national consciousness about protest and resistance by focusing on giving a voice to the alienated and rageful Black youths. Contrasting the differences between Lee\u2019s two films \u201cDo the Right Thing\u201d and \u201cClockers\u201d, the following paper will attempt to discuss the reconfiguration of black manhood outside of its current and historical particularizations regarding Rap music and the criminalization, offering a lens for viewing black manhood differently.\n<\/p>\n

\nBlack Masculinity in Gangsta Rap Music<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cRap music has served as a vehicle of protest among Black America in the late 1980s addressing the discontent of police harassment\u201d \u00a0(Gibson, 2017). Rap\u2019s initial role was to invite listeners to increase their awareness of the sociopolitical realities of Black communities. Highlighting both class differences in low-income black families vs the white middle class. In addition, to representing a counter-cultural movement that acknowledged Black Youth. For instance, we can understand this \u201ccounter-cultural movement by looking at Spike Lee\u2019s, \u201cDo The Right Thing as an example.\n<\/p>\n

\nDo the Right Thing is a stylistic tragedy that focuses on the intergenerational relationship between the members of Bedford-Stuyvesant. This film examines the relationship between race relations, ambition, urban survival, economics, violence, and liberty. In the film, we understand how rap is used in response to civil unrest. For instance, the character Radio Raheem playing \u201cFight the power\u201d a song that \u201csymbolizes the embracing of hip-hop as a cultural rejection of Anglo-American popular music and culture of earlier decades that his forefathers of the Black Power era rejected before him\u201d \u00a0(Gibson, 2017).\n<\/p>\n

\nHowever, even though rap\u2019s initial voice was to appeal to black audiences, rap achieved greater commercial credibility and wider circulation through the white youth. Increasing the lucrative sums of money being generated from the white and middle-class. (Because of this) rap groups further pushed the \u201cghettoized pathology of a rapper (drug selling, gangbanging, violence, pimping, etc). Regrettably facilitated an important link between the reconfiguring of black youth and music\u201d (Gibson, 2017).\u00a0 Between the late 80s to early 90s, this shift reconstructed black men\u2019s masculinity reasserting it as extreme toughness, invulnerability, violence, and domination.\n<\/p>\n

\nFor instance, in Spike Lee\u2019s \u201cClockers\u201d, the protagonist Strike and his crew have an impromptu debate on Rap. Half the crew has the belief that the only \u201creal rappers\u201d are the ones who glorify extreme toughness, immunity, violence, and domination. While the others believe that rap needs to return to its roots of spreading out a more positive constructive change. Spike Lee cuts this exchange short, however, he indirectly asks the audience a question of \u201cHow should rappers deal with the inner city\u201d? Clockers problematizes the thug exterior because there aren\u2019t positive father figures are not present in the movie, these young black men look up to these rappers to explain to define masculinity. Some of Strike\u2019s crew realize that in order to mend the \u201cblack family\u201d, rap must showcase positive ways to improve the structure of low-income neighborhoods.\n<\/p>\n

\nDemonetization and Criminalization of Black Males in America<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\nSynonym of Blackness with criminality is not a new phenomenon in America. The film has continually shown the myth, stereotypes and racist ideologies of black males. During the \u201cRadical Reconstruction\u201d, filmmakers argued that without slavery, A.A(African Americans) would revert to their animalistic ways. To construct this concept, Hollywood pushed the \u201cMythical Black Brute. \u201cA caricature that portrayed black men as innately savage, animalistic, destructive, and criminal that deserved punishment\u201d (Pilgram, 2000). Hollywood\u2019s racist political agenda forced the White Middle Class to fear black males. \u201cEven focusing primarily on the discrimination policies and court rulings. Many rulings fueled racial violence in a post-Reconstruction era and culminated the exponential increase of Black male incarceration\u201d (Smiley & Fakunle, 2017).\n<\/p>\n

\nFor instance, we can understand the response of the A.A community by looking at an example of Spike Lee\u2019s \u201cDo the Right Thing\u201d.\u00a0 Even though the heat of \u201cDo the Right Thing provokes the tensions between the members of Bedford Stuyvesant and the police. Lee claims the movie was \u201cinspired by the racism that the riot purports, creating a dialogue about race in America that is real and illustrates a call for dialogue among U.S citizens\u201d (Meta G et al,2017). Instances in the film which focused on the police\u2019s relationship with the Black youth in the. For example; \u201cRadio Raheem\u2019s death is an act of injustice, breaks silence on matters of police brutality and address the effects of racism in the rising genocide\u201d (Gibson, 2017). Lee exemplifies and maintains the critical valuation of racial tensions within the Black Community.\n<\/p>\n

\nAdditionally, even after the increasing interest of black culture from white teens. Black culture achieved greater commercial credibility and wider circulation. An increase of lucrative sums of money being generated from the white and middle-class causing the introduction of the \u201cGhetto film cycle\u201d. \u201cGhetto Action film cycle was timely and problematic cycle that shaped by the social and economic dislocations of poor inner-city youth\u201d (Watkins, 1996). Examples of; young African American gangbanging and slinging (dealing drugs) become staple images.\n<\/p>\n

\nEven Spike Lee\u2019s \u201cClockers\u201d focuses on the same subject matter as many hood films. Lee still presents the pressure male adolescents must conform to a set of distorted notions of masculinity. For instance, in \u201cClockers\u201d, Spike Lee depicts a society infused with violence. Lee follows the traditional Hollywood genre formula of building the film around a tight, fast-paced narrative filled up chase-sequences, however, he depicts the film as pensive and restrained rather action-oriented style. Lee wants to turn his adolescent audience away from violence, rather than be attracted by the fast-edited scenes of cop chasing scenes. Instead, Lee focuses on the \u201ccoming of age story\u201d of the main protagonist \u201cStrike\u201d. He focuses on making Strike more approachable and sympathetic. Concentrating on his interactions with authority figures making him more inarticulate and child-like. Additionally, Lee\u2019s representation of the police demonstrates how morally balanced and free the Clockers can be. Lee characterizes the cops as corrupt, cynical, contemptuous, and casually racist who don\u2019t have any concern for the people in the neighborhood. Instead the police roast and insult the clockers, being more interested in making them a case stick than in serving justice. Although the cops don\u2019t extend to the community. Lee\u2019s vision of the police this time is so reasonable that he showcases one of the few men in a position of power a sense of justice. Its Rocco, the main detective who comes the closest to offering a glimmer of hope to Strike and the inner-city adolescents\n<\/p>\n

\nConclusion<\/em>\n<\/p>\n

\nMasculinity and manhood in the African American community are ill-advisedly rooted from displacement. From the negative symbols of black males in film from the \u201cPassive Slave\u201d to the \u201cMythical Black brute\u201d. Mainstream Hollywood film constitutes success by monopolizing on films that endorsed the negative characterization of black males. However; with the use of both \u201cClockers\u201d and \u201cDo the Right Thing, we can understand that black males must seek self-liberation from Hollywood\u2019s destructive cycle. Both films focus on different ways to view \u201cblack masculinity and black manhood\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u00a0Focusing primarily on rap music and the criminalization of black males, Clockers and \u201cDo the Right Thing\u201d still present the pressure black male adolescents must conform to a set of distorted notions of masculinity. Spike Lee follows the traditional Hollywood genre formula of building the film around a tight, fast-paced narrative. However, Spike Lee reconstructs \u201cblack masculinity\u201d. Instead, Lee focuses on the convergence of diverse black manhood. Both films discuss the issues of unemployment, single-parent families and a crippling nihilism among youth in two separate ways. However, Lee focuses on a reconstructed black manhood. Which frees up black men from the divisive and hurtful rips of the Hollywood film industry. Instead of healing the \u201cblack family\u201d, increasing the active involvement of black fatherhood. \u201cLee asserts that politics of difference and intolerance to rebuild and sustain our communities\u201d (Meta G et al, 2017)\n<\/p>\n

\nBibliography
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    \n
  • \nGibson, C. (2017). \u201cFight the Power\u201d: Hip Hop and Civil Unrest in Spike Lee\u2019s Do the Right Thing. Black Camera<\/em>, 183-207.\n<\/li>\n
  • \nHolt, E., & Jackson, W. (2004). RECONSTRUCTING BLACK MANHOOD: MESSAGE AND MEANING IN SPIKE LEE\u2019S \u201cGET ON THE BUS\u201d. CLA Journal<\/em>, 409-426.\n<\/li>\n
  • \nMeta G. Carstarphen, Kathleen E. Welch, Wendy K. Z. Anderson, Davis W. Houck, Mark L. McPhail, David A. Frank, Rachel C. Jackson, James Alexander McVey, Christopher J. Gilbert, Patricia G. Davis & Lisa M. Corrigan (2017) Rhetoric, Race, and Resentment: Whiteness and the New Days of Rage, Rhetoric Review, 36:4, 255-347, DOI: 10.1080\/07350198.2017.1355191\n<\/li>\n
  • \nPilgrim, D. D. (2000, Nov). Ferris State<\/em>. Retrieved from The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia: https:\/\/ferris.edu\/jimcrow\/brute\/\n<\/li>\n
  • \nSmiley, C., & Fakunle, D. (2017, Jan). From \u201cbrute\u201d to \u201cthug:\u201d the demonization and criminalization of unarmed Black male victims in America.<\/em> PubMed. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC5004736\/\n<\/li>\n
  • \nWatkins, S. .. (1996). Representing: Hip Hop Culture and the Production of Black Cinema. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Black Masculinity and Manhood Introduction Mainstream Hollywood films often encompass masculinity as a carefully crafted performance. Including scripts, physical pomposity and impression management which focus on male characters striving to fulfill the single critical role of power.\u00a0 However, masculinity and manhood in the African American community are imprudently rooted from displacement. Black masculinity similarly to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5845],"tags":[9739,9790,9789,9738,9787,9788,9737],"class_list":["post-72580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-film-studies","tag-affordable-academic-writing-services-usa","tag-assignment-help-for-masters-students","tag-online-class-and-exam-help","tag-thesis-and-dissertation-writing-uk","tag-uk-college-assignment-writing-help","tag-write-my-homework-essay-today","tag-write-my-paper-services-cheap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colapapers.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}