Pursuing Black Representation Beyond Stereotypes, Trauma, and Caricatures

Pursuing Black Representation Beyond Stereotypes, Trauma, and Caricatures

Often, black people are represented as stereotypes or caricatures, such as ‘angry black woman,’ ‘the thug,’ etc. My research aims to identify and examine representations of black people that transcend these stereotypes and caricatures. I seek to depict them in a way that encompasses often ignored traits such as vulnerability, spirituality, self-growth, a willingness to adapt, and to understand the people and world around them. Along with maintaining their humanity and highlighting their intersectionality. Literature and film frequently downplay these traits. Moreover, I intend to identify additional traits highlighted in the following works and what they might identify as essential aspects of representation that allow them to veer away from stereotypes and toward what I will call “whole-person representations.” Texts currently central to this work are: “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara, “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, and the movie Soul, directed by Pete Docter.