Is Authenticity Possible?

It is fitting that our discussions have settled around diasporas and hybridity as February is celebrated as Black History Month in North America. That being said I am often embarrassed by my lack of understanding of what Black History Month is all about. As a Canadian, I should know more about what this month signifies and more so the part both my country and heritage have played in the lives of this social group. In researching about Black Canadians I came across quite a few startling facts. For one, although slavery was abolished in 1834, segregation in schools was not formerly ended until the 1950’s. Also it was not until 1993 that the first female black woman was elected to parliament. I have realized over the years just how much the role of race plays in popular culture.

As I read Gilroy’s chapter, “Jewels Brought from Bondage”: Black Music and the Politics of Authenticity”, I realize that growing up I was surrounded by much more Black popular music, television shows and films than I am today. As a young girl I was surrounded by popular Black family sit-coms such as Family Matters, The Cosby Show and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I find that in recent years there has been a move away from all black or all white television shows and move toward a more multi or inter-raced representation. However, I find most prime time to be dominated by white personalities, with the exception of a minority cast of one or two Hispanic, Black or Asian characters. Are these characters enough to act as a full representation of these diasporic groups? Is the setting and storyline true representation of what these groups experience in America? Does placing a few racial characters on a popular soap opera or sit-com simulate an idealistic message of hybridity and equality across America?

I would say yes.

I know that there are accurate and authentic representations of these marginalized groups, but they are most often segregated to their own television stations, not picked up by basic cable. Even films have been segregated between popular and foreign, oftentimes played in very different venues. If you want to watch more authentic films or television shows, you need to be active in your search. American popular media has done a great job of segregating and specializing in promoting messages of hybridity as a good thing and an even better job of ensuring that true representations and struggles remain outside popular reach.

Additionally, I want to propose that a hybrid trend has emerged within the music industry, seen with the Black Eyed Peas and the duet collaborations of Jay-Z and Linkin Park. These multi-raced music collaborations posit an interesting topic for hybridity and popular culture. Similar to our discussion in class of K-OS, it seems to be the new trend in popular music to have more than one identity, to be associated with some sort of diaspora and to borrow from each in the creation of art.