White Emotion and White Scopophilia: The Myth of Docile and Brute Blacks
This article investigates the resilience of the docility and brutality myths attributed to African Americans as demonstrated by three fairly recent film renditions. The focus is on the historical origins and the continued relevance of these tropes through white scopophilia and cognitive dissonance....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pardubice
2024-12-01
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| Series: | American and British Studies Annual |
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| Online Access: | https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2586 |
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| author | Sayyed Navid Etedali Rezapoorian |
| author_facet | Sayyed Navid Etedali Rezapoorian |
| author_sort | Sayyed Navid Etedali Rezapoorian |
| collection | DOAJ |
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This article investigates the resilience of the docility and brutality myths attributed to African Americans as demonstrated by three fairly recent film renditions. The focus is on the historical origins and the continued relevance of these tropes through white scopophilia and cognitive dissonance. The myths are analyzed in terms of their role in justifying racial hierarchies and reinforcing white supremacy within historical and contemporary contexts. Through a critical examination of historical texts by Lerone Bennett Jr. and portrayals in films such as Django Unchained and Twelve Years a Slave, the study demonstrates how these stereotypes are alternately emphasized or diminished to maintain white dominance. It argues that white America constructs African American identities with a strategic oscillation between docility and brutality to sustain control and alleviate white guilt. This manipulation is facilitated by psychological mechanisms that allow white individuals to hold contradictory beliefs about race without recognizing their inconsistencies. By detailing the dynamic usage of these myths, the article highlights how they are not static, but are strategically deployed to reaffirm white moral and authoritative supremacy as needed. The conclusion calls for a critical reassessment of racial representations in media and historical narratives to disrupt these enduring racial myths.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-faedc5656ebc47eea2f54a90c0791e29 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1803-6058 2788-2233 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Pardubice |
| record_format | Article |
| series | American and British Studies Annual |
| spelling | doaj-art-faedc5656ebc47eea2f54a90c0791e292024-12-19T18:14:26ZengUniversity of PardubiceAmerican and British Studies Annual1803-60582788-22332024-12-011710.46585/absa.2024.17.2586White Emotion and White Scopophilia: The Myth of Docile and Brute BlacksSayyed Navid Etedali Rezapoorian0University of New Mexico This article investigates the resilience of the docility and brutality myths attributed to African Americans as demonstrated by three fairly recent film renditions. The focus is on the historical origins and the continued relevance of these tropes through white scopophilia and cognitive dissonance. The myths are analyzed in terms of their role in justifying racial hierarchies and reinforcing white supremacy within historical and contemporary contexts. Through a critical examination of historical texts by Lerone Bennett Jr. and portrayals in films such as Django Unchained and Twelve Years a Slave, the study demonstrates how these stereotypes are alternately emphasized or diminished to maintain white dominance. It argues that white America constructs African American identities with a strategic oscillation between docility and brutality to sustain control and alleviate white guilt. This manipulation is facilitated by psychological mechanisms that allow white individuals to hold contradictory beliefs about race without recognizing their inconsistencies. By detailing the dynamic usage of these myths, the article highlights how they are not static, but are strategically deployed to reaffirm white moral and authoritative supremacy as needed. The conclusion calls for a critical reassessment of racial representations in media and historical narratives to disrupt these enduring racial myths. https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2586white supremacyscopophiliadocility mythbrutality mythwhite guiltcognitive dissonance |
| spellingShingle | Sayyed Navid Etedali Rezapoorian White Emotion and White Scopophilia: The Myth of Docile and Brute Blacks American and British Studies Annual white supremacy scopophilia docility myth brutality myth white guilt cognitive dissonance |
| title | White Emotion and White Scopophilia: The Myth of Docile and Brute Blacks |
| title_full | White Emotion and White Scopophilia: The Myth of Docile and Brute Blacks |
| title_fullStr | White Emotion and White Scopophilia: The Myth of Docile and Brute Blacks |
| title_full_unstemmed | White Emotion and White Scopophilia: The Myth of Docile and Brute Blacks |
| title_short | White Emotion and White Scopophilia: The Myth of Docile and Brute Blacks |
| title_sort | white emotion and white scopophilia the myth of docile and brute blacks |
| topic | white supremacy scopophilia docility myth brutality myth white guilt cognitive dissonance |
| url | https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2586 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sayyednavidetedalirezapoorian whiteemotionandwhitescopophiliathemythofdocileandbruteblacks |