Mandingo: Langston Hughes's Poster Child for Blacksploitation -Analysis 8

In Langston Hughes’s “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” discusses the misinterpretation of African Americans in the arts. Accordingly, African Americans have been perceived a certain way, and therefore, have images that remain stagnant in the culture of American Arts. Langston Hughes writes, “He is never taught to see that beauty. He is taught rather not to see it, or if he does, to be ashamed of it when it is not according to Caucasian patterns.”  In this quote Hughes is referring to the creation of the arts. So often have African Americans been shunned from the exploration of creativity—mostly due to the inequalities still present from slavery.

Mandingo, a 1970s film, clearly illustrates Hughes’s theory behind the detrimental African American image. Mandingo is a slave, sold into the hands of an unfair white owner. However, Mandingo’s sole responsibility was to sexually satisfy the white female owner. this corresponds to the negative stereotype that all African Americans are overtly and overly sexual—when, in reality, sexual endeavors were forced upon the disadvantaged slaves. In this trailer, we can see that the African American female slave is objectified and perused for a sexual favor by a white man. Yet, she seems whole heartedly willing—which, as Hughes’s would clarify, is a misrepresentation.

Therefore, I move to say that Hughes’s observation is not only found in the Negro artist, but also in the artist’s Negro subject. It is through art where our fundamental understanding of something comes from. Therefore, in theory, we see Mandigo and we automatically assume that most slaves must have participated this way—since art easily creates an over generalization problem. Ultimately, I think Hughes claims that through our art and the discriminations felt by most Negro artists, it is important to stray from the acceptable norm. Mostly, because if we take movies like Mandigo as truth, then the entire race is defined by a falsity. In the end, as Hughes puts it, art must be “sincere” and not done for the monetary outcome.  

Reflection/Analysis #7

Our presentation was for Feminist theory. For our presentation I compiled the slideshow and gathered the media for the semiotic analysis. During the discussion, I focused on Foucault and his theories behind subversions to restrictive sexual culture. I explained that in Foucault’s theory, both church and science restrict the development of sexual nature—and, therefore, a deviant culture is created, like, prostitution.
In addition to talking about Foucault’s theory, I created a classroom activity where our classmates were asked to view six or so examples of popular culture and apply a feminist theory to them. I chose Madonna’s “Open Your Heart,” Prodigy’s “Smack my Bitch Up,” and a couple of religious based advertisements. These videos opened up quite a discussion, as many of my peers viewed these clips and images differently; however, most of the interpretations were made with a strong foundation of feminist theory.
I chose Madonna’s video because it showcased the “closeted sexuality of children” as discussed by Foucault. Also, the way that Madonna is portrayed in the video showcased the “study of sexuality” that Foucault discussed. The Prodigy video was intended to display Judith Butler’s performative gender roles. In the video, there is a first person perspective detailing a night out on the town. Despite the lascivious and masculine nature of the activities performed by the narrator, the audience, at the end, is made aware that the first person narrator is a female. I chose this because it truly and clearly demonstrated the assumed gender roles that the audience is comfortable with until the end.
Overall, our presentation went well and the discussion I wanted to create was successful.