Rebooting the Politics of the Sports Melodrama: Creed vs Rocky

Film Reboots ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 143-156
Author(s):  
Chuck Tryon
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Sexual Politics ◽  
Political Narrative ◽  
African American Athletes ◽  
The Way

This chapter describes Creed as a sequel-reboot which functions as a politically ambivalent, but textually reverent, reboot of the Rocky franchise (1976–90). It asserts that Creed is a film that at one and the same time celebrates the franchise’s deployment of the tropes of the boxing picture and male melodrama, while also updating the racial and sexual politics of the series. Developing ideas on the way film reboots mediate the tension between familiarity and novelty, the chapter demonstrates how Creed rewrites aspects of the original Rocky films so as to create a new political narrative, one that explicitly challenges stereotypes of African-American athletes.

Conclusion and Continuation

2018 ◽  
pp. 159-168
Author(s):  
Steven Loza
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
The World ◽  
Black Man ◽  
The Way

In this chapter, the author reflects on Wilson's impact on music and the world, and the way in which he accomplished this. Wilson passed away on September 8, 2014. The author describes Wilson as a mosaic. He came from a very African American context, a place, a heritage—something that molded him and that he proceeded to mold into life. Wilson never stood still, always seeking change and renewal, challenges and learning, innovative newness and tradition. Wilson's art can also be described as mestizo as well as cosmopolitan But there remains a dimension of his ideology that dominates the above labels and analytical concepts. And that is his primal identity as a black man.

The Kinkiness of Turquoise

Groove Theory ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 182-223
Author(s):  
Tony Bolden
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Sexual Politics ◽  
Alice Walker ◽  
American Poetry ◽  
Black Feminist ◽  
Vocal Technique ◽  
Black Feminists ◽  
Bessie Smith ◽  
Critical Methods

This chapter showcases Betty Davis’s transposition of women’s blues into rock-inflected version of funk. Bolden advances two key arguments. First, Davis reprised the sexual politics and rebellious spirit exemplified by singers Bessie Smith and Ida Cox, for instance, and reinterpreted those principles in modern America. Second, Davis’s eroticism and sui generis style of funk, which she expressed in her recordings and onstage, reflected a sexual politics that served as a counterpart to those of black feminists writers such as Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and many others who were publishing coextensively. But whereas black feminist writers often wrote about black women in previous generations, Davis not only addressed contradictions that black women encountered in contemporary street culture; she also represented such X-rated sexual desires as sadomasochism in her songwriting. In addition, the chapter provides biographical information that contextualizes Davis’s route to the music industry, and Bolden uses critical methods from scholarship on African American poetry to illuminate Davis’s vocal technique. 

Initial Success in Italy

2019 ◽  
pp. 103-117
Author(s):  
Michael E. Lynch
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
The Other ◽  
Combat Experience ◽  
Personal Tragedy ◽  
The Way

After more than a year of training, Almond and the 92nd Infantry Division deployed to Italy, . where it initially performed well. The 370th Infantry Regiment led the way to Italy, and paired with the 1st Armored Division for its introduction to combat. The regiment acquitted itself well in its initial combat experience, but the other two regiments did not fare as well. Along with the arrival of the rest of the division and the nondivisional units that would support it, Almond gained the 366th Infantry Regiment, another African American regiment that had been used to guard airbases. The addition of this unit, and its own lack comprehension proved to be a disruptive influence in the division. This chapter also carries the story of personal tragedy, as Almond discovers that his son in law has been killed in combat.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Kotex Advertising and the Introduction of the 'Negro Market'

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-65
Author(s):  
Adriana Ayers
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Women's Magazines ◽  
American Women ◽  
The Way

Adriana Ayers studies the evolution of kotex advertising, focusing specifically on the way in which African American women were figured into changing advertisers’ conceptions of womanhood. The article analyzes images featured in various women’s magazines to examine how ideas surrounding menstruation were packaged and sold to women.

Cultural Effects: Attributions following Ruminations of Success and Failure

1997 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. McGowan ◽  
S. Jeffery McGowan ◽  
Ademola Omifade
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
West African ◽  
Black Athletes ◽  
Related Literature ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Effects ◽  
African American Athletes ◽  
Successful Outcomes

Attributions of 93 native West-African and 63 African-American athletes following ruminations (conjuring thoughts about the past) of success and failure are juxtaposed. Related literature suggested that culture tended to exert a significant effect on attributions While successful outcomes were attributed similarly across African and American cultures amongst black athletes, attributions of failure varied significantly.

African American Scholars and the Margins of DH

PMLA ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-158
Author(s):  
Howard Rambsy II
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Real Estate ◽  
Toni Morrison ◽  
Digital Humanities ◽  
Literary Studies ◽  
Graduate Study ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Marginal Status ◽  
The Way

Let's Cut to the Chase: African American Scholars Occupy the Margins of this Expansive Realm Known as Digital Humanities. Do well-intentioned people want more diversity in DH? Sure, they do. Do black folks participate in DH? Of course, we do. But we've witnessed far too many DH panels with no African American participants or with only one. We've paid close attention to where the major funding for DH goes. Or, we've carefully taken note of who the authors of DH-related articles, books, and bibliographies are. We've studied these things closely enough to realize who resides in prime DH real estate and who doesn't. We could speak defiantly about our marginal status the way Toni Morrison once did when she quipped, “I'm gonna stay out here on the margin, and let the center look for me” (87). Yaasss!At the same time, though, it's worth thinking about some of the reasons why African American scholars dwell on the margins of the DH field. The processes by which we pursue graduate study and become participants in the field of African American literary studies account for why we are slow or reluctant to embrace DH. There's also the matter of segregation—our persistent exclusion from projects and opportunities that are ostensibly open to all but invariably involve primarily white scholars. Immersion in the field of African American literary studies and conversations with senior and emergent scholars reveal some of the reasons why we stand so far from the center of the DH community.

scholarly journals African-american female stereotyping in The Secret Life of Bees

2013 ◽  
pp. 327
Author(s):  
Carolina Pallín López
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Business Owner ◽  
African American Female ◽  
Women Directors ◽  
Female Characters ◽  
American Women ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Interdisciplinary Inquiry ◽  
The Way

The film that is being analyzed in this article, The Secret Life of Bees, offers a unique piece to work on. This motion picture is based on Sue Monk Kidd’s novel with the same title published in 2003, and was directed by one of the very few African-American women directors, Gina Prince-Bythewood. This story puts forth an unusual depiction of the way African-American women have traditionally been portrayed. One of the key elements that contributes to this rare representation is the «Magical Negro» character in the movie, which has a tradition of being represented by men.The aim of this article is to analyze the way the «Magical Negro» character (August Boatwright) is introduced in The Secret Life of Bees, together with the other female characters (Lily Owens, Rosaleen Daise, June Boatwright and May Boatwright). I will also analyze how these representations contribute or shatter female African-American stereotypes. This film introduces a wide range of icons that go from the illiterate slave to the independent business owner, offering in this way a great piece to examine. This article will constitute an interdisciplinary inquiry which will take into account Gender Studies, Stereotyping, Cultural Studies and African American Studies.El filme que se analiza en este artículo, The Secret Life of Bees, nos ofrece una obra única para examinar. Dicha película está basada en la novela con el mismo título escrita por Sue Monk Kidd, publicada en 2003, y dirigida por una de las pocas directoras afroamericanas, Gina Prince-Bythewood. Esta historia nos muestra una imagen inusual de la mujer afroamericana si se compara con la forma en que tradicionalmente se ha escenificado dicho colectivo. Uno de los elementos clave que contribuye a tal representación es el personaje «Magical Negro» en la película, el cual tradicionalmente ha sido personificado mediante personajes masculinos. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar la forma en que el personaje «Magical Negro» (August Boatwright) es presentado en The Secret Life of Bees junto con el resto de personajes femeninos (Lily Owens, Rosaleen Daise, June Boatwright, May Boatwright). También analizaré las formas en que tales iconos contribuyen o crean una ruptura con respecto a los estereotipos femeninos afroamericanos. Esta cinta muestra una amplia gama de representaciones que van desde la esclava analfabeta hasta la mujer independiente dueña de su propio negocio, ofreciéndonos de esta forma una obra excepcional con la que trabajar. El presente artículo constituye un estudio interdisciplinar que tendrá en cuenta los estudios afroamericanos, de género, de estereotipia y culturales. 

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