Description
Book SynopsisBlack women's work in television has been, since the beginning, a negotiation.
Black Women and the Changing Television Landscape explores the steps black women, as actors, directors, and producers, have taken to improve representations of black people on the small screen. Beginning with
The Beulah Show, Anderson articulates the interrelationship between US culture and the televisual, demonstrating the conditions under which black women particularly, and black people generally, exist in popular culture.
Trade ReviewThis vital book
offers an essential and engaging account of
Black Women and the Changing Television Landscape. Focusing on a wide range of TV shows, industry experiences, and moments in history, Lisa M. Anderson carefully considers Black women’s ambivalent relationship with television, and their negotiation of Hollywood. * Francesca Sobande, Senior Lecturer in Digital Media Studies, Cardiff University, UK *
In
Black Women and the Changing Television Landscape, Lisa Anderson presents us a detailed account of the changing landscape of television and its impact of Black women from the beginning of the medium until current times. She focuses on both the effect of these representations, but also the agency of Black actresses and creators when developing characters and stories. The book outlines a trajectory highlighting the constraints of stereotypical representations in earlier television works and the more contemporary ones, which provides a more diverse representation of the Black experience. This newer, diverse representation has the potential to liberate Black folks from the trite yet pervasive and long-standing stereotypes by presenting alternative lenses with which to look at Black experiences in the U.S. The project is well-documented and equally well-written. A must read for anyone trying to understand why representation matters. * Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo, Professor of Comparative Ethnic Studies and American Studies and Culture, Washington State University, USA *
Ambitious in scope and intimate in detail, Anderson’s book provides a needed perspective on seven decades of Black women who navigated and changed the landscape of American television.
Black Women and the Changing Television Landscape is a roadmap for how Black women actors, directors, producers, writers, and showrunners actually
changed the landscape so that others can lead the way forward. * C. A. Griffith, Associate Professor and Filmmaker, The Sidney Poitier New American Film School, Arizona State University, USA, and Co-Director of Mountains That Take Wing: Angela Davis & Yuri Kochiyama *
Table of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgements Dedication Introduction: An Ambivalent Relationship with Television 1. Fighting the Stereotypes, 1948-52:
The Beulah Show and Its Actors 2. Julia, The "Black Lady" of 1960s Television 3. Not Such "Good Times": The Limits of Black Actors' Influence 4. Creating a "Different World" in Television: Black Women Showrunners in the 1990s 5. Twenty-First Century Black Womanhood Conclusion: Negotiating Hollywood
Bibliography Index
