Sunday, December 6, 2015
Serena through society's eyes
Claudia Rankine’s writing about Serena Williams reminds me of certain parts of Beloved. In Beloved, schoolteacher’s views were influenced entirely by racism and stereotypes of black people. He viewed them as animals because that is what society taught him to believe. For example, when Sethe was beaten he related her to an animal who was beaten and warns his nephew that she could turn on them. His preconceived notions failed from empathizing with her or recognizing her humanity. In Serena’s case, the same sort of dynamic is occurring where the people who are judging her (the media and umpires) are judging her based on preconceived racist ideas. They judge her outbursts, her victory dance, and all of her actions through a broken lens. Racial stereotypes and prejudices create inequality for Serena, providing her with obstacles and extra barriers from success. This is exemplified when Claudia Rankine quotes the American media: "'And there was Serena... Crip-Walking all over the most lily-white place in the world...You couldn't help but shake your head...What Serena did was akin to cracking a tasteless, X-rated joke inside a church....What she did was immature and classless.'" The media takes a completely deserved celebratory dance and acts like Serena is a filthy animal who doesn't belong on the court. This quotation exposes racism woven into the American media and extreme inequality for Serena and other black athletes/Americans.
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I think that this is a really great connection to Beloved. I did not see this connection until I read your post! The really interesting thing about this is that this proves that these dehumanizing ideas of Black women have carried through history and have not really gone away, which is really terrible. It's crazy to think that society is still hurting black women's self-esteem the same way that they did it so long ago.
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ReplyDeleteI think your connection to Beloved was really strong! Your post also reminded me of how the community turned on Sethe for her family's "pride." Maybe that was Rankine's point in including the picture of Wozniacki mimicking Serena: other tennis players don't fully support Serena or try to stop the racism she faces.
ReplyDeleteI've always liked when people have to face the truth after having their own racism brought the surface. Good post.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this comment, and the analysis. I think society as a whole has a problem seeing through a broken lens which obviously is very dangerous, but many times not seen until instances like these in the public eye.
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