Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-2008

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Communication and Information

Major Professor

Catherine Luther

Committee Members

Naeemah Clark, Barbara Moore

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which interracial relationships between African Americans (“blacks”) and European Americans (“whites”) came to be represented as “problematic” for mainstream audiences by conducting film analyses of the following four films; I Passed For White, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Monster’s Ball, and Save the Last Dance. The main idea behind this “problem” is the idea of border-crossing, or going from one racial boundary to the next, in terms of understanding one’s identity.

I systematically examined the portrayals of interracial relationships between “blacks” and “whites” within the US film industry. Two films from the 1960s and two films from the 2000s were analyzed. I questioned the static representations interracial relationships in mainstream films by examining how race is used to identify and characterize each individual in the interracial relationship.

Consistent with the taboo against interracial intimacies, the findings of this study suggest that interracial couples continue to be subjected to a racialized society that does not fully accept them as a couple. This study shows that racial segregation in interracial relationships is profoundly practiced in Hollywood films and has become more common rather than not in the past 50 years. These findings are important because popular films are more than entertainment vehicles; they are influential in transmitting certain philosophies from one generation to the next.

It is important now more than ever to examine the institutionalized racism that exists in US films, given that most portray subtle amounts of racism towards interracial relationships. As Beeman (2007) says, “Problematic portrayals of…interracial relationships may not be easily discernible to the average US viewing public, especially since such images are embedded in US racist ideology,” (p. 708). Findings in systematic studies of US media, and specifically films, suggest that there is, in fact, a negative message being sent out with regard to interracial relationships (Beeman, 2007). This negative cultural imagery is reinforced by the media and may indirectly affect the social and economic status of African Americans (Jewell, 1993; Collins, 2000). Challenging this negative imagery is essential if we are to achieve equality.

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