Alfred Martin asks why NBC turned to The Wiz over The Music Man as its next televised musical in this particular historical moment?
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Author Archive
Why NBC’s The Wiz Makes Sense Even As It Doesn’t Make Sense
Say My Name: Unnamed Black Objects in This Year’s “Quality” Films
This year has been heralded as a renaissance for films featuring black actors and actresses. Many of these black actors and actresses have performed in “quality” films like 42, The Butler, and 12 Years A Slave. As an arbiter of their “quality” these films have already begun racking up award nominations, and in some...
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The Cancellation of Don’t Trust the B and Gay Black Tele(in)visibility
As we bid farewell to Don’t Trust the B, we also bid farewell to a part of gay black visibility on network television. Luther was a character written in a mold that has (problematically) been deemed passé and disrespectful to the middle class, married/coupled, suburban model of gay televisibility. And for that, we should...
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Archiving Blackness: The DVD and Cultural Memory
Flipping through the post-Christmas sales, I'm reminded of how the TV show on DVD has become an ubiquitous part of our culture. But it's those series or seasons of shows that are not for sale that tell a narrative of what's worthy of archiving within our popular culture and collective memory.
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Making the Past Sparkle
The contemporary remake of the 1976 film works to reshape the ways in which mass mediated blackness is understood.
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Different for Boys: Frank Ocean and the “Problem” of Male Bisexuality
Frank Ocean's alleged coming out story never uses the word "gay" and his music expresses desire for same- and opposite-sex partners. So how do we make the leap?
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The All-Black Steel Magnolias and Gay Male Reception
Some gay men will tune in and enjoy the telefilm on its own merits while others already hate this remake because it isn't the 1989 theatrical version.
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FOX Formula 3.0?: TBS, Cougar Town, and the Disappearing Televisual Black Body
TBS’ agreement to air new episodes of Cougar Town may signal the next network to employ the "Fox Formula" whereby market share is built courting black viewership, only to be discarded once a critical mass of mainstream viewership is attained.
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