Between Colorblind and Colorconscious: Contemporary Hollywood Films and Struggles Over Racial Representation

In: Journal of black studies, Band 44, Heft 8, S. 779-797

Abstract

Hollywood films reflect the racial order in which they are made. The sociological significance of understanding racial representations within films is highlighted in this study as it recognizes that films offer a useful site for contentious views of the racial order—colorblind and colorconscious—to be played out. Focusing on films with an African American actor and/or actress, this study will highlight how actors and actresses in these films demonstrate the pervasiveness of racial inequality, as well as how the films still maintain a colorblind framework. Although the colorblind framework persists, acknowledging the presence of colorconscious themes is a new perspective that can help challenge the colorblind framework.