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- Title
Black markets and black mystics.
- Authors
Knight, Nadine M.
- Abstract
This article examines the distinctly earthbound and Americanised typecasting of African American actors in either violent or mystical roles in the remake of Battlestar Galactica. Its humanoid Cylons invite the audience to scrutinise actors' physical appearance as well as actions. Critical visual imagery with cultural relevance such as post-9/11 memorials, the mushroom clouds of nuclear war and the swearing-in of American President Lyndon Johnson contrasts with reliance on signification that places black figures in stock roles: threatening, mystical and exploited by white leaders. The show thus replicates a long visual history of black-white tableaux that privilege and protect white femininity while exoticising blackness.
- Subjects
UNITED States; BLACK market; INFORMAL sector; AFRICAN American actors; BATTLESTAR Galactica (TV program : 2003-2009); JOHNSON, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973; PRESIDENTS of the United States
- Publication
Science Fiction Film & Television, 2012, Vol 5, Issue 1, p47
- ISSN
1754-3770
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3828/sfftv.2012.3