Contents Acknowledgment ?xi Series Foreword ?James A. Banks ? xiii Part I: White Screens, Dark Theaters Introduction: Evaluating the Worth of a Motion Picture ?3 Setting the Stage ?3 1,000 Words? ?4 Judgment Day ?6 Beware Black Engineers ?8 Whose Fault? ?9 Whose House? ?10 The Black Guy Really Does Die First ?12 Doing the Math ?13 1. ? Have We Seen This Movie Before? ?17 WDF?! (Why Die First?!) ?17 But What Is a Mainstream Movie? ?20 Take It From the Top ?21 Mainstream Racism in Black and White ?29 Racism: Now in Living Color ?31 2. ? Value and Visibility ?35 Nothing New to Report ?35 Introducing the HARM Theory Rubric ?38 Sixth Sense: I See White People ?41 Seeing (White Hot) Stars ?44 The Curious Case of White Women ?45 Coming Soon ?46 Bottom Line #1 ?46 Part II: Color Me Bad: Archetypes and Prototypes 3. ? The Angel Figure Archetype ?49 30-Second Spot ?49 Trailer ?49 Main Feature Analysis ?49 Black Mirror ?56 Angel Figure Archetype Examples from the Top Ten ?57 4. ? The Background Figure Archetype ?61 30-Second Spot ?61 Trailer ?61 Main Feature Analysis ?61 Black Mirror ?63 Background Figure Archetype Examples from the Top Ten ?64 5. ? The Comic Relief Archetype ?67 30-Second Spot ?67 Trailer ?67 Main Feature Analysis ?68 Black Mirror ?69 Comic Relief Archetype Examples from the Top Ten ?70 6. ? The Menace to Society Archetype ?75 30-Second Spot ?75 Trailer ?75 Main Feature Analysis ?75 Black Mirror ?76 Menace to Society Archetype Examples from the Top Ten ?77 7. ? The Physical Wonder Archetype ?81 30-Second Spot ?81 Trailer ?81 Main Feature Analysis ?81 Black Mirror ?82 Physical Wonder Archetype Examples from the Top Ten ?82 8. ? The Utopic Reversal Archetype ?87 30-Second Spot ?87 Trailer ?87 Main Feature Analysis ?87 Black Mirror ?88 Utopic Reversal Archetype Examples from the Top Ten ?89 9. ? The Assumed Affluent Prototype ?95 30-Second Spot ?95 Trailer ?95 Main Feature Analysis ?95 Black Mirror ?101 Assumed Affluent Prototype Examples from the Top Ten ?101 10. ? The Family Tied Prototype ?105 30-Second Spot ?105 Trailer ?105 Main Feature Analysis ?105 Black Mirror ?106 Family Tied Prototype Examples from the Top Ten ?106 11. ? The Hero Prototype ?109 30-Second Spot ?109 Trailer ?109 Main Feature Analysis ?110 Black Mirror ?110 Hero Prototype Examples from the Top Ten ?111 12. ? The Intellectual Prototype ?115 30-Second Spot ?115 Trailer ?115 Main Feature Analysis ?116 Black Mirror ?116 Intellectual Prototype Examples From the Top Ten ?117 13. ? The Manipulator Prototype ?119 30-Second Spot ?119 Trailer ?119 Main Feature Analysis ?119 Black Mirror ?120 Manipulator Prototype Examples From the Top Ten ?121 14. ? The Romantic Prototype ?125 30-Second Spot ?125 Trailer ?125 Main Feature Analysis ?125 Black Mirror ?126 Romantic Prototype Examples from the Top Ten ?127 Bottom Line #2 ?128 Conclusion: What the Black Guy Dying First Means ?131 Using Logic With Emotion Pictures ?132 But It's Just a Movie, Right? ?134 Adding Up the Bottom Lines ?135 Appendix: My Non-Horror Top Ten Movies for "Why Die First?!" ?137 Glossary ?145 Watchdog Guide ?154 References ?158 Index ?164 About the Author ?173
Talking about race does not have to be incredibly awkward. In this book, Gooding offers twelve clear, cogent, and concise racial rubrics to help users of mainstream media more readily discern patterns hidden in plain sight. The text primarily leverages popular movies as the medium of analysis-since they are unparalleled in their cultural significance-but the rubrics apply to other forms of media, such as television, print, and social media. "Why does the Black guy die first?" is a well-known rhetorical question that challenges the disparate treatment of non-White characters onscreen. This subtle statement about the representation of persons of color within mainstream movies has remained largely unexplored until now. Race and Media Literacy, Explained provides concrete concepts and a uniform vocabulary with which to recognize and further analyze these formulaic images. After participating in this dynamically interactive experience, readers will never see media the same way again! Book Features: An interdisciplinary approach to teaching race that draws on cinema and forms of popular media that most students know. Guidance for honing media literacy skills with middle, high school, and undergraduate college students. A HARM Theory Rubric that identifies 6 consistent patterns for depictions of non-White characters and 6 consistent patterns for White characters within mainstream movies. Questions for Questing sections provide critical questions for further exploration. Concrete vocabulary/glossary terms to engage with the subject matter more precisely. Innovative analysis of depictions of race and ethnicity in the top ten highest-grossing films of all time.
Frederick W. Gooding, Jr. is associate professor of African American studies and the Dr. Ronald E. Moore Professor in Humanities in the Honors College at Texas Christian University.