December 18, 2014 - 14:48
My Intersectionality paper is about the intersection of class and race on television and the effect that representation has had on the audience. I am using Anthony Crenshaw's peice "The Cosby Show Changes the Way Blacks are Viewed" to do a close reading on the characters in both the Cosby show and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. These shows, both formative in my childhood, are intrinsically a part of the cultural zeitgeist. While some would argue that the shows did wonders for race relations, highlighting that Black people can achieve high positions, and are "just like you", Crenshaw argues, that rhetoric, is actually dangerous to Black life, and I would agree. My paper serves to view these shows as multi faceted peices to engage with, analyzing the outcome of those representations.