Women with Curves: Representations in Media: White Walls and the "Blindside"

Women with Curves: Representations in Media: White Walls and the "Blindside"

White Walls and the "Blindside"

For me, the most significant part in the movie The Blindside was the poem that Michael wrote about his school. He described how he only saw white walls, white people, and white everything. He was the black speck in the white environment that he found himself residing. After taken in by a white Southern lady, Michael finds himself at the center of a rich woman's charity project. However, what turned out as a charity project quickly became a deep relationship between a mother and her adopted son. Their relationship quickly becomes blind of color as their race and gender are hazed as a wonderful story unfolds. My favorite relationship is between S.J. and Michael. S.J. is completely loving and thinks nothing about the color of his big brother's skin. S.J is also Michael's motivation to tackle his opponents in football. Michael is a protector and does not show the stereotypical violent behavior usually associated with his race. Mrs. Tuohy helps him find his inner strength and be a valuable memeber of the football team by reminding him of his loving heart and protective nature. After she tells him that the football is his family, Michael becomes a revolutionary member of the team and goes on to earn a scholarship and a spot playing pro-ball. I cannot read the story about Ferdinand the bulls the same way again. Michael really is the gentle bull.


I found this movie to be a delightful spin on a true movie as it combined a football heart warmer and crossing the racial boundary story. Was it predictable, yes. None-the-less it was a heartwarming story that made me tear up during the trailer.

This unsettling whitness

As I read through Dryer's chapter on white representation in the media and Lott's chapter on white cross-dressing in America, I could not help feeling attacked because I was the demographic in question. For the other readings regarding people of other races, I sat back and analyzed their representation in the media. Because race is a subject I am not comfortable with, I took more of a back seat approach than with gender. However, when my skin color was being analyzed, I suddenly felt like a bug under a microscope. Is this how people of other races feel when they go to the movies? I hated the feeling and often found myself offended on the minute details. Reading the article was like being stung by bees - the first two pinched a little, but then it became overwhelming.

Many times it was difficult to completely understand what Dryer was talking about since I have not seen any of the films he referenced. However, I ran into some arguments about negative stereotypes of white people in my research for my race paper on Pocahontas. On critic described the Native Americans as beautiful people while Disney portrayed the white settlers as grotesque, slothful creatures with disproportional physical features. I observed this myself throughout the cartoon, but for some reason a cartoon seemed more innocent than the portrayals described by Dryer. (Or this could be the assumed 'innocence' of any Disney production). Regardless of the mask of cartoons, white representation is glaringly present in the media, but in a more subtle and at times a more complex depth.

"Playing Indian"

Is reenacting a person of a particular skin color offensive? This is one of the main issues addressed in C. Richard King's article "Arguing over Images: Native American Mascots and Race." One example of racial debate is regarding the Crayola company. The Chestnut Crayon use to be called "Indian Red" or something to that effect. However, there was so much controversy over its racial label that there was a contest to see who could rename the color. The debate of offensive names does not end in a Crayola box. King describes the controversy over sport and University mascots. He poses the question, "Do mascots like Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians and Chief Illiniwek at the University of Illinois perpetuate racist stereotypes?" That is a fabulous question! The problem is, who is being asked? USA Weekend posted a blog for people to state their thoughts on such a subject. The responses varied from accusing people of not being able to "LIGHTEN UP!!!!!!!!!!" to a view that was horrified if someone actually thought it was correct to continue using such mascots. Talk about your polar opposites. Personally, I feel that I cannot properly judge and assess the situation because it is not my ethnicity that is in question. However, I do find some portrayals of the Native Americans are more tasteful than others.

One example would be the two depictions of Native Americans in Disney animated films. Peter Pan has been criticized many times for its insensitivity towards the Native Americans. The song What Made the Red Man Red has caused many controversies over the years.


King points out that images such as dancing, painted faces, dramatized body parts like noses, and wearing feathered headdresses are all ways to convey a negative stereotypical depiction of the Native American race. The gibber language and mannerism are not particularly flattering as well.

Pocahontas is Disney's way of making up for their initial portrayal in Peter Pan. The question becomes is it a fair interpretation that properly apologizes for the previous film? However, the use of the word 'savages' echoes a common adjective associated with the race. On the other hand, Disney uses this scene to portray both perspectives and equally show the savage nature of both races.




So is it correct to use Native American names and images as mascots? Well, I personally believe that is up to the race who is being protrayed.

The White hip hop

Like Jazz, hip hop is a black creation that has been a fad with white people. Kitwana describes in the introduction that hip hop is being musically devoured by white people and has become a part of the American culture. A similar phenomenon occurred with the Jazz era. The practice of jazz music began in the Harlem Renaissance and was adopted by the white citizens. Only when the white people got a hold of it did the music thrive in an economical and financial sense. Now hip hop has become the current generation's version of jazz. White teenagers have participated in the practice of hip hop on many levels. Some enjoy listening to it on occasion while others try to be hard core and break dance to the beat.

In regards to the black influence, hip hop has become a common association with the black race and culture. Kitwana describes an instance where a South Carolina student leader sponsored a Hip Hop Day. The purpose of this event was to cross racial boundaries. Here both groups could come together and appreciate an aspect of the black culture. On our campus, there was a hall who created a ghetto day activity. One girl on the hall commented that she felt the label was inappropriate and portrayed negative connotations about the black race. For Ghetto day, many students dressed in baggy clothes and tried to act black. I am sure many students found this offensive and not a a flattering portrayal of the black culture. The title Hip Hop Day would have been a more appropriate approach to this idea.

Back to how white teenagers love hip hop, I was intrigued by Kitwana's section describing the participation of whites and hip hop music. I believe her underlying theme was that one could not truly excel in hip hop if he or she was not black. In her article she said referred to a dialogue between a group of friends. "Wow you guys are really good. Too bad you're not Black." In high school a group of friends and myself organized a Christian hip hop group. The entire group was all white, but we thought we were the coolest thing hip hop had ever seen. Remember this was high school. The entire time we attempted to act ghetto and imitate dance moves that would be found in a black community. This was quite comical since the demographics of my home town was all white. We dressed like black kids practicing hip hop and tried to imitate their moves and incorporate them into our hip hop ministry. It was fun, but I am sure everyone could tell we were not black!

Representation of gender in color

Bell Hooks does not hold back in her interpretation of how Black men and women are being portrayed in media. I was offended by her frank description of how Black females are dehumanized in the media. For my thesis at Eastern University, I studied the male gaze and the objectivity women faced in art. However, I found that Hook's study does not have the scholarship and tact of Laura Mulvey. Mulvey does not sugar coat how women are positioned and adorned to attract the male gaze, but I felt her writing had more class. Hook also discusses the Western fantasy of the black female body. Many authors have examined the interactions of early settlers and the "exotic" women. In my post-colonial class, we read an excerpt about the mistreatment of black women by Christopher Columbus and his men. Though this was centuries ago, the attitude towards these women has not greatly improved. As Hook's article points out, Black women are very much still sexualized and objectified for the male gaze. She incorporates very suggestive images of the nudity that is associated with Black women in media. She emphasizes how they are commonly in a pornographic setting with emphasis on the black "butt." Though there are many photographs to display this aspect of Black female representation, I could not bring myself to support such images on my blog.

In her chapter analyzing on Black masculinity, Hooks describes that Black men not only grapple with their identity as males, but also how their race complicates matters. Because of the color of their skin, these men are left as inferior versions of their white brothers. This representation and lack of respect is especially difficult in a patriarchal society. In Buchi Emecheta's book The Joys of Motherhood she explains the difficulties of the position Black men face in a white dominated society. Through the eyes of her female character, Emecheta describes how the woman's husband is emasculated by the white society. He is a treated poorly by the white men in the town and washes the underwear of his white mistress. The woman of the novel struggles with how her husband is being stripped of his masculinity to the point where she cannot respect him as the man of the house. Hook reflects this idea on her chapter by saying "Black men and women who wanted to conform to gender role norms found that this was nearly impossible in a white racist economy that wanted to continue its exploitation of black labor." Another factor that Hook ties to this chapter is the sexual representation and rights to private property. In regards to sexual representation, Black men are often seen as less inferior to white men and also portrayed like women in that they are highly sexualized. Like women, Black men were seen as private property instead of owning such items. The prime example is the events preceding the Civil War. Even after slaves were free and into today's society, Black men are not given the respect they deserve. In my school that was predominately white, I watched my black male peers suffer injustices and judgments from teacher. If my friend was to ask a question of the teacher, he would usually get into trouble. If I asked the same question, I would be greeted with a smile and receive my answer. This always infuriated me. Though some may claim that racism is a problem of the past, I believe it is an issue of the subconscious.

"Movin' On Up

Acham's article "Movin' On Up: Contemporary Television as a Site of Resistance" illustrates the continuing difficulty of portraying people of different ethnicity, especially black, in a positive light in the media. He states that each racial groups comes with its own stereotypes. In an interview with Chris Rock, the actor says that you would never see an Asia in the position of a homeless person. The intervewer replied that they were studying in the library. This dialogue reinforces the notion that Asian Americans have had an easier time assimiliating into the American culture. This could be because Asians have a lighter complexion like the white American.

Blacks and Latinos have had a more difficult time being represetned in a positice light in the media than Asians. Acham comments on the first Balck woman to appear in a police drama was Chrstie Love who played Teresa Graves. The current season of CSI recently replaced their head actor with a Black man. Though not the first Black actor on the show, he adds authority and a fascinating dynamic to the team. However, in a recent episode in this past season, there is an episode where a white police officer kills a black man he believes to be commitng a crime. The cop was in a bad neighborhood and thought that every man of color was a criminal. However, the man he shot was a police officer as well.