Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
This is an interesting essay I stumbled upon today about how "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" challenges stereotypical depictions of black families on TV by placing one in an upper-class atmosphere. There's a pretty great clip on the second page of the essay as well. Check it out!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This essay poses a great question through the character Carlton: whether black identity is largely performative or inherent. If black identity is "not just about performance but it is about the internal struggles [black people] must face throughout their lives", where do these internal struggles come from? Are they externally imposed or inspired by expectations from non-blacks, by other members of the black community, from internal desires to adhere to some standard of blackness? What (if anything) makes them inherently 'black' struggles?
ReplyDelete