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Rhetoric of Identity: An Inquiry into Symbolic
Syntax and Composition of Black Identity in Bamboozled
Gerald Alan Powell, Jr.
The exploration into the epistemological function of symbols, their validity, and how they contribute to identity formation is imperative because of their rhetorical properties in the conceptualization and communication of black identity. In order to conduct such an effort, I draw from the term symbolic material to explore the formation of black identity and the representation of that identity, encrypted within the film Bamboozled's character Pierre Delacroix. What emerges from this meditation is a fresh perspective from which to understand the evolution process of identity formation. Symbolic material, specifically, highlights the subtle psychological and rhetorical fabric interwoven into identity formation and composition. To finish, I introduce questions that future researchers might address.
INTRODUCTION
For many blacks, mass media is of concern because of the way blacks are represented in it. Blacks are part of a growing number of groups whose language, culture, and voice have altogether been muted or voiced over. Blaxploitation films of the sixties and seventies are example of this dynamic, demonstrating the rhetorical properties that aid in the ideological development of and exploitation of ideas and images about black identity. According to Koven (2001), "[Blaxploitation] films offer a warped view of black culture. These films contain the dreams and aspirations of American blacks, and also sell the images back to them" (p. 7). Most notable, these films disseminate essentialist logic and a language of negative difference, which participate in symbolic representations of racism and sexism (McPhail, 1996). While blaxploitation films were prominent in the late sixties to
Gerald Alan Powell, Jr. is an assistant professor of communication and rhetoric at St. Joseph's College, Indiana. His research interests focus on existential issues within interpersonal and intrapersonal communication and semiotic composition and formation of identity.
Journal of African American Studies, Winter 2005, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 45-53.
46 Journal of African American Studies / Winter 2005
early seventies, their legacy still remains benign. Hollywood producers surreptitiously double-talk. Images, sounds, dispositions, and attitudes that once signified sneering conceptions of blacks are now hip, jive, and palatable in the name of artistic license. They have become part of an intercultural sensitivity campaign and are presented as...