Playing the race card

Description:

"The black man suffering at the hands of whites, the white woman sexually threatened by the black man. Both images have long been burned into the American conscience through popular entertainment, and today they exert a powerful and disturbing influence on American's understanding of race. So argues Linda Williams in this inquisitive book, where she probes the bitterly divisive racial sentiments aroused by such recent events as O. J. Simpson's criminal trial. Williams, the author of Hard Core, explores how these images took root, beginning with melodramatic theater, where suffering characters acquire virtue through victimization."--BOOK JACKET.

subjects: Race relations,  African Americans in mass media,  Race identity,  Mass media and race relations,  Racism in popular culture,  Popular culture,  African Americans in popular culture,  Psychological aspects of Popular culture,  American Melodrama,  Social aspects,  Psychological aspects,  African American men,  Social aspects of American melodrama,  Women, White,  White Women,  Melodrama, American,  Mélodrame américain,  Noirs américains dans la culture populaire,  Hommes noirs américains,  Populaire cultuur,  Films,  Schwarze,  Stereotypen,  Massenkultur,  Médias et relations raciales,  Geschichte 1853-1995,  Racisme dans la culture populaire,  Rassenverhoudingen,  Beeldvorming,  Ethnische Beziehungen,  Stereotyp,  Aspect social,  Literatur,  Drama,  Aspect psychologique,  Melodramatische films,  Blanches,  Culture populaire,  Identité ethnique,  Massenmedien,  Weiße,  Relations raciales,  Noirs américains dans les médias,  Rassenbeziehung (Motiv),  Film,  Geschichte,  Popular culture, united states,  United states, race relations,  New York Times reviewed

Places: United States