5. Manufacturing racial stigma

Abstract

The Hollywood Jim Crow creates a resurgence of the Negro Problem previously articulated by W.E.B. Du Bois in which Blackness becomes a race stigma in need of remedy. Black directors’ perspectives and career trajectories are steered in a direction to overcome Hollywood insiders’ presumption of the unbankable label—that movies with Black casts or lead actors do not make enough money and are risky investments. Directors brand their movies as human and universal, stating they are relatable to all moviegoers and not just a subsection of Black audiences. Some directors are pressured to work with mostly white or multiracial casts if they are to have increasing production budgets. This retreat from Blackness undermines the notion that Black directors in Hollywood would necessarily bring more Black movies to the screen.

On the Origin of White Hollywood: The Racialized Space of the U.S. Film Industry

“…In its place, we see the perpetuation of those stereotypical images that have historically been inescapable. For example, the inability for directors of color to access the Hollywood film industry is akin to the kinds of systemic disenfranchisement that was pervasive for Blacks during the Jim Crow Era (Erigha, 2019). Furthermore, actors of color in White Hollywood are limited in their own career opportunities, which carriers with it an emotional toll for being relegated to those essentializing roles that heavily rely on stereotypes (Yuen, 2017).…”

“…In the media scholarship, it has been well-established that people of color have long been left out of the traditional institutions of Hollywood (Erigha, 2019; Kim & Brunn-Bevel, 2019; Sheehan, 2001; Smith, 2013; Thakore, 2016). This has been the case on both the creative side and the performance side, as non-White producers are absent from production and writing, and actors of color are limited to problematic roles based on stereotypes.…”

Unapologetic Blackness in Action: Embodied Resistance and Social Movement Scenes in Black Celebrity Activism

“…For instance, the sociocultural impacts of sport, such as facilitating the socialization process and promoting social roles and expectations date back to 700 BC (Delaney and Madigan 2015). The film industry has served as a dominant form of cultural production, depicting stories, and ideologies since the early 20th century (Erigha 2019). The music industry originated in the 1920s solidifying music and performance entertainment as a prominent aspect of American culture (Kidd 2014).…”

“…To this end, the present study examines the following research question: How do Black celebrities employ unapologetic Blackness as an embodied resistance tactic to challenge anti-Blackness in pop cultural spaces? We specifically focus on how Black celebrities, across a variety of mainstream pop cultural spaces (YouTube, film, sport, music, and television), affirm their Blackness and in doing so, subvert the pervasive white gaze inherent in the entertainment industry (Erigha 2019; Mueller, Williams, and Dirks 2018). While these platforms have been previously interrogated in media and pop culture research, the contemporary Black celebrity activism that occurs within them has not been fully explored.…”

“…American popular culture is racist (Erigha 2019; Kidd 2014; Yuen 2017). Stemming from the legacy of minstrel shows during slavery celebrating problematic caricatures of Black life, the entertainment industry is linked with racial oppression in general and anti-Blackness in particular.…”