By: Ayana Young,
on 3/1/2016
There is a moment in the George Miller film Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome (1985) that has stuck with me over the two decades since I first saw it. A bedraggled Max (Mel Gibson) is escorted through the crumbling desert outpost of Bartertown.
The post W.E.B. Du Bois and the literature of upheaval appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Ayana Young,
on 2/28/2016
In 1996, decades before the trending hashtag, Reverend Jesse Jackson led a boycott protesting the lack of diversity at the Oscars. Having encouraged attendees to wear a rainbow ribbon in support of the issue, he was ridiculed for his efforts.
The post #OscarsSoWhite: new branding for an old problem appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Ayana Young,
on 12/22/2015
Nowhere is media's influence on social attitudes more evident than among the millions of fans following Star Wars. Decades after the franchise's creator, George Lucas, made his first iteration of the fictional galaxy filled with aliens, Stormtroopers, and the Force, his vision has captivated fans with countless iconic moments.
The post A history of black actors in the Star Wars universe appeared first on OUPblog.
By: Ayana Young,
on 12/4/2015
When the late Ken Harper first began pitching his idea for a show featuring an all black cast that would repeat and revise the popular plot of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, augmenting it with a Hitsville USA-inspired score, he had television in his sights.
The post The Wiz, then and now appeared first on OUPblog.
