Opinion Writing & Critiques

Cher and Dionne, Clueless (1995) An angsty, teenage white girl tries to find herself as she goes throughout her high school years. She faces bullies, encounters her first love(s), deals with the reins of her parents and tries to figure out her future all while solving the meaning of life. But she can’t get through all of this without her trusty, bold black best friend who probably is light skin with curly hair (but that’s another argument for another day). This probably sounds like a show you are watching, right? Throughout film and television there has been a certain trope of the white, main character and their black, best friend/sidekick. It’s less likely to see a black main character with a white best friend although it does happen. Old, teen classics such as Clueless (1995), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and some of the “ Bring It On” movies showcase the black best friend or secondary character trope. Newer series/movies such as The Chill...

Article:  https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/11/opinion/ebony-jet-magazine.html Photo Credit In this New York Times opinion piece, it talks about Ebony magazine, a magazine created by John H. Johnson exclusively for African Americans. The magazine showcased middle-class black people doing every-day activities that were usually associated with white people. Ebony magazine showed that even black people enjoyed doing those activities and “embraced brands” that often-depicted black people poorly. The angle of this piece is somewhat clear; they believe that Ebony magazine is a trailblazer for successful, black magazines and is a part of history. You are first aware of the position in the first paragraph. The angle can be identified throughout the piece, but it is kind of hard to fully understand their position. Their position is consistently applied in this piece with the help of research from all kinds of sources. Throughout the opinion piece, they includ...

Think of your favorite tv show or movie. Who is your favorite character in that show or movie? Why are they your favorite character? Is it because you relate to them? In what way do you relate? Maybe it’s their personality or drive. Or it could be that they look like you. Representation in media is such an important concept. It’s essential that youth see people on screen that look like them. There are so many shows out there that portray people of color negatively which leads to low self-esteem issues in young black girls and boys according to Forbes . The same study says that as the self-esteem issues decrease in black kids, the self-esteem of white kids increases. But there are also some shows that portray people of color in good ways. One of those shows is the 9-1-1 spinoff series, 9-1-1: Lone Star. The diversity in this show makes it—in my opinion—one of the best tv shows out right now. Some may think the show is “trying too hard” or “forcing div...