Negotiating new racism: ‘It’s not racist or sexist. It’s just the way it is’

Abstract

Comic books are being adapted into film and television series, encouraging underrepresented voices to become more prominent in comic book culture. White men continue to dominate the culture as creators and principle characters. Yet, women and people of color are consuming comic books and films at increasing rates prompting fans to use social media outlets and online forums to engage in conversations about race in pop culture. Employing a qualitative content analysis of an online forum tailored to comic book culture, this research investigates how fans negotiate their continued fandom of comics amid claims that the industry is discriminatory toward people of color. Findings reveal forum discussion is adopting framings of new racism when accounting for a lack of diversity in comic book films. Specifically, this research shows how fans rely on White racial framings throughout discussion. Central themes indicate most forum participants suggest only overt discrimination implies that race matters and minimize the effects of historical processes. Moreover, few fans challenge traditional representations normalizing White dominance. This study contributes to research on new racism and the prevalence of White racial framings in contemporary American society.

Girls being Rey: ethical cultural consumption, families and popular feminism

“…Indeed, Barnet et al (2010) suggest we attend to the ways ethical consumption has reoriented, and continues to shape, what it means to 'be political', with consumers becoming aware of their social responsibilities and obligations as 'consumer citizens' (Banet-Weiser, 2007). While consuming culture may involve a consideration of exploitation or inequality within a chain of production in the media industry (Cocca, 2016;Hunt, 2018), our research responses suggest that this not the only, or even primary, way to ethically consume culture. Instead, ethical cultural consumers understand themselves among an imagined audience who are the beneficiaries of ideologically 'good' representation.…”

“…By this we mean that 'better' more diverse, more positive, more informedrepresentations of a range of previously under-or poorly-represented identities is seen as having the potential to do individual and social 'good'. Of course, this principle does not come without often aggressive resistance from consumers who would prefer the status quo to remain uncontested (Hunt, 2018;Blodgett and Salter, 2018). If articulated at all, the work that representation is claimed to do ranges widely, including anything from improving the self-esteem of audiences (BBC America and Women's Media Centre, 2018), to providing 'role models' that will model pathways into fields of education or work (Gill, 2016;Wood & Litherland, 2018).…”

Twitter as the Teacher: What the Digital Afterlives of Hollywood’s Sports Films Tell Us That the Motion Pictures Don’t

“…The dominant racial ideologies of today derive from the effects of slavery that North American society decides to either ignore or acknowledge (Hunt, 2019). In her examination of Glory Road (2006), Schultz (2014) uses the term "new racism" (p. 211) -an understanding from sociologist Patricia Hill Collins that she contextualizes while studying the film.…”

‘Difference Is the One Thing That We Have in Common’

“…At the same time, LGBTQ+-friendly television can either challenge or reinforce heteronormativity (Chambers, 2009). This process is amplified by trans-media engagement that allows for conversations about the representation of race and gender to continue on social media after consumption (Hunt, 2019). Simultaneously, narrowcasting makes it increasingly challenging for a single network or TV show to reproduce a specific set of beliefs to a broad audience, and more difficult to recognize who the audience is composed of (Kuipers, 2012;Lotz, 2007).…”