The Psychosis of Whiteness: The celluloid hallucinations of Amazing Grace and Belle
Andrews, Kehinde (2016) The Psychosis of Whiteness: The celluloid hallucinations of Amazing Grace and Belle. Journal of Black Studies, 47 (5). pp. 435-453. ISSN 0021-9347
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Abstract
Critical Whiteness studies has emerged as an academic discipline that has produced a lot of work and garnered attention in the last two decades. Central to this project is the idea that if the processes of Whiteness can be uncovered, then they can be reasoned with and overcome, through rationale dialogue. This article will argue, however, that Whiteness is a process rooted in the social structure, one that induces a form of psychosis framed by its irrationality, which is beyond any rational engagement. Drawing on a critical discourse analysis of the two only British big budget movies about transatlantic slavery, Amazing Grace and Belle, the article argues that such films serve as the celluloid hallucinations that reinforce the psychosis of Whiteness. The features of this discourse that arose from the analysis included the lack of Black agency, distancing Britain from the horrors of slavery, and downplaying the role of racism.
| Item Type: | Article | ||||||
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| Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1177/0021934716638802 | ||||||
| Dates: |
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| Subjects: | CAH15 - social sciences > CAH15-01 - sociology, social policy and anthropology > CAH15-01-02 - sociology | ||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences > Dept. Criminology and Sociology | ||||||
| Depositing User: | Kehinde Andrews | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 28 Mar 2018 15:35 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 30 Jun 2022 12:53 | ||||||
| URI: | https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/5774 |
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