Is it possible to look at bell hooks as an activist version of Oprah Winfrey? Both are women, black, vocal on issues and same age group.
Yes, their backgrounds differ in the context of life experiences but contain some form of influence in the representation of both women and black.
One cannot ignore the current take of the media on representation. Black representation currently is most likely taken from the angle of a 'the black success story' of which Winfrey fits the profile perfectly. The question then that is remained to be asked is whether the influence or power of media does not reproduce and conserve these kind of representations?
Engaging with these two woman on the issue of vocality and representation leads to alot being said. The powerful glamorous position of Winfrey in the media and the vocal postion of hooks about the media.
What would be the impact of bell hooks be if she were invited to a show like Oprah?
Why has Oprah never invited bell hooks?
About Me
- nextmovement
- bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins) was born September 25, 1952 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. She is from a working class family with five sisters and one brother. She graduated from Hopkinsville High School, Kentuchy, earned her B.A in English from Stanford University in 1973 and her M.A in English from University of Wisconcin-Madison in 1976. After several years of teaching and writing, in 1983 she completed her doctorate in literature department from University of California, Santa Cruz with a dissertation on author Toni Morrison. She gained widespread recognition as an influential contributor to postmodern feminist thought decades after the publication of “Ain’t I a Woman?’. In 1980-85 she was an assistant professor of Afro-American studies and English at Yale University, New Haven, CT. In 1986 she became associate professor of English at Oberlin College until 1994. She was City College of New York professor, then distinguished professor of English from 1995 – 2004. Early 2004 she became distinguished professor-in-residence at Berea College, Berea, KY. She is a social critic, educator, writer and co-founder of Hambone literary magazine.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Lack of Criticism...
I find it particularly interesting that it is hard to find critiques on bell hooks. I have been searching in agony for authors engaging with her works as critiques but instead I stumble with some form of glorification - academically speaking. One cannot deny that hooks work is by far radical in that it centralizes issues that have been pushed to the periphery in a world constituted by postmodernity.
Ralph Dumain (a Librian, Archivist, Information Specialist Researcher, Scholar) partially engages on bell hooks work on a critique bases. Firstly he devulges on his critique on the perspective that hooks belongs to the left wing - never respecting peoples intellectuality or the totality of their social beings. He states that hooks work may serve as an example of the problem in issues such as: the relations between intellectual work, popular education and political movements. Though he admits that there are only a few instances where hooks says something 'stupid' but finds that some of her arguments are supremely naive.
Much can be said about the lack of criticism on bell hooks - of which two questions arise:
1. is the media delibarately ignoring her work to force her out of the dialogue and vocality?
2. is there a constructive bases on which her work can be criticised?
Ralph Dumain (a Librian, Archivist, Information Specialist Researcher, Scholar) partially engages on bell hooks work on a critique bases. Firstly he devulges on his critique on the perspective that hooks belongs to the left wing - never respecting peoples intellectuality or the totality of their social beings. He states that hooks work may serve as an example of the problem in issues such as: the relations between intellectual work, popular education and political movements. Though he admits that there are only a few instances where hooks says something 'stupid' but finds that some of her arguments are supremely naive.
Much can be said about the lack of criticism on bell hooks - of which two questions arise:
1. is the media delibarately ignoring her work to force her out of the dialogue and vocality?
2. is there a constructive bases on which her work can be criticised?
Monday, May 11, 2009
Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations... bell hooks
bell hooks is clearly not conforming to the typical socially constructed representation of a woman - feminist she is but unlike the likes of Naomi Wolf, Katie Roiphe and Catherine Mackinnon to mention a few (or any other privileged white women) on various talk shows and magazines that are glamorized - we have to examine these voices and how they narrow the representation of women's movement to only a slice of the real pie. bell hooks is speaking outside the white dominant professional world - dealing with issues of sexual harrasment and unreal body ideals, racism, poverty and violence. hooks has gained a spectrum of enemies because of Outlaw Culture looks imperceptibly from feminist ro racial to economic criticsm. This collection on subjects such as gangsta rap, misogyny and film.
One would expect to find her works in the shelves of Women Studies, unfortunately they hidden in Cultural Studies.
One would expect to find her works in the shelves of Women Studies, unfortunately they hidden in Cultural Studies.
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