Beteiligte: | |
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In: | Journal of British Cinema and Television, 10, 2013, 1, S. 187-205 |
veröffentlicht: |
Edinburgh University Press
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Medientyp: | Artikel, E-Artikel |
Umfang: | 187-205 |
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ISSN: |
1755-1714
1743-4521 |
DOI: | 10.3366/jbctv.2013.0129 |
veröffentlicht in: | Journal of British Cinema and Television |
Sprache: | Englisch |
Schlagwörter: | |
Kollektion: | Edinburgh University Press (CrossRef) |
<jats:p> The 2006 BBC drama Shoot the Messenger is based on the psychological journey of a Black schoolteacher, Joe Pascale, accused of assaulting a Black male pupil. The allegation triggers Joe's mental breakdown which is articulated, through Joe's first-person narration, as a vindictive loathing of Black people. In turn, a range of common stereotypical characterisations and discourses based on a Black culture of hypocrisy, blame and entitlement is presented. The text is therefore laid wide open to a critique of its neo-conservatism and hegemonic narratives of Black Britishness. However, the drama's presentation of Black mental illness suggests that Shoot the Messenger may also be interpreted as a critique of social inequality and the destabilising effects of living with ethnicised social categories. Through an analysis of issues of representation, the article reclaims this controversial text as a radical drama and examines its implications for and within a critical cultural politics of ‘race’ and representation. </jats:p> |