1. First, watch, enjoy, and critically interpret The Joy Luck Club. In the first part of your essay, craft an argument that supports, refutes, or modifies Jessica Hagedorn’s critique of the film. Why does she title her article “No Joy, No Luck”? Despite recognizing the film’s cultural importance, why does it disappoint her? Use specific scenes or characters to engage with her claims and explain your position.
In the second part of your essay, apply Hagedorn’s critical lens to recent portrayals of Asian women in film, television, or video games. Choose at least two characters from recent, popular content, then evaluate whether they continue to reflect the stereotypes she critiques such as the lotus blossom, dragon lady, or passive victim, or whether they represent a meaningful shift. What do these signs suggest about how much progress has or hasn’t been made since her article first appeared in 1994?
1.Matt Zoller Seitz attributes the persistence of the Magical Negro stereotype in part to anxieties about shifting demographics, especially after the election of President Barack Obama. He suggests that narratives featuring wise, supportive Black characters who help White protagonists might feel comforting to audiences experiencing a perceived loss of cultural dominance. Looking at today’s political and cultural landscape, what signs support or complicate this claim? Consider national voting patterns, emerging political movements, and representations in contemporary media. Is the Magical Negro still a popular trope, or has it been replaced by new patterns of racialized representation? What do these shifts reveal about current cultural attitudes, hopes, or conflicts? Do we see more centered, authentic portrayals of Black characters today? What might those signs suggest about broadly-held views in the present moment?
2. Seitz is critical of the Magical Negro stereotype, but some argue that this figure is a relatively positive alternative to the more overtly violent or criminal representations of Black characters in media. Evaluate that argument. Consider whether these depictions offer progress or if they reinforce new forms of stereotype. Frame your discussion within the context of the broader movement for racial justice in America, supporting your analysis with close readings of characters or scenes from recent popular films. What do these signs reveal about how race is understood and portrayed today?
3. The Magical Negro and the Black domestic servant are both rooted in exaggerated racial stereotypes. Compare and contrast the two, examining what underlying cultural myths they express. What do these characters suggest about how difference is constructed and managed in American popular culture? How do they function within the plots of the films in which they appear, and what does that tell us about their symbolic function? Draw on Seitz’s ideas and connect them to Helena Andrews’ argument in “The Butler versus The Help: Gender Matters” to deepen your analysis of race, labor, and representation.
4. Building off Helena Andrews' argument, identify signs in recent film and/or television that point to the celebration or devaluation of women's labor in the 2020s. Compare these signs with signs we see in the economic data during the COVID-19 recession suggesting that women, particularly women of color, were disproportionately affected by economic hardship and under-supported by public policy and practice. What role have broader cultural value systems around "appropriate" gender roles that have traditionally relegated a woman's role to the domestic space played in this phenomenon? What do the signs from the films you introduce suggest about underlying attitudes concerning a woman's "natural" role in our culture today? Connect this to representation of women in popular film and television.
Content advisory: This show includes some sexually explicit material.
Watch a few episodes of The Outs and write an essay in which you agree, disagree, or complicate John Sherman’s claim that the show’s characters “are queer in a way that challenges the popular image of a same-sex relationship, both for romantic partners and friends” (Sherman 260). In order to do this effectively, you'll need to associate and differentiate The Outs characters from other portrayals of queer characters across genres and decades. Remember, popular characters often reflect the values and assumptions of the audiences they resonated with.
Why does Sherman celebrate the show's inclusion of a “multiplicity” or “plurality of queer politics”? Do we see this kind of representation more frequently today? Define for your readers what Sherman calls the “norm of the anti-norm” (261), and analyze whether or not this “anti-assimilationist” vision of queer identity has become more popular or accepted since the article’s 2016 publication. Use specific signs from The Outs and more recent shows or films to explore how representations of queerness have changed—and what those changes suggest about evolving cultural attitudes.