I plan on exploring the ways in which companies, such as Nike, portray black men athletes in their advertising. In particular, I will compare this portray to historical stereotypes of black men. In doing so I will pay special attention to issues surrounding the boxer Jack Johnson circa the early 1900's. I will attempt to show that cases, such these (Peterson and James), show that stereotypes surrounding a supposed athletic superiority, and animalness of black males is still prevalent. Lastly, I will include a small discussion section where I will look into some of the (negative) consequences of such stereotypes.
My primary sources will include:
A Nike TV ad titled "Alter Ego"featuring Adrian Peterson
The image on the cover of Vogue magazine's featuring LeBron James
And multiple newspaper stories covering Jack Johnson.
My secondary sources will include:
Gail Bederman's Manliness and Civilization
A documentary film entitled Unforgivable Blackness
Multiple responses to the airing of "Alter Ego" and the publishing of the Vogue magazine issue.
Dear Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteThis is a fascinating topic. As we discussed, it will be helpful to focus on Jack Johnson as he engages the themes of black masculinity and representations in the media that you plan to address. By focusing on Jack Johnson, you are likely to find more scholarly sources (you can check for articles on jstor and Gail Bederman's book is a great source). Johnson will work as a useful counterpoint to more recent images of black athletes.
Good luck! You're off to a great start. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Very best,
Prof H