The stereotype I chose to focus on for my “Visual Argument” is stereotypes of black people. This generalization centers upon the idea that blacks cannot be successful. The claim of my piece of work is that black people as a whole are not at all unsuccessful, as the stereotype suggests. In this argument, there are a few warrants that need to be recognized. One main warrant is the idea of a definition of “successful”. For my argument, it is assumed that the definition of successful is maintaining a respectable and rewarding job. Another assumption made is that the figures shown in the work are people that are known by the audience. If the images displayed unknown people, it would decrease the effectiveness of my argument. In this case, my primary audience is a group of peers of my generation. Because of this, I chose, for my video, people that are known by people of my age group. This way, the audience can easier relate to and connect with the argument at hand. Another warrant of my argument is the idea that everyone watching knows this stereotype. The argument would become unclear if the stereotype of blacks is not known by the audience. It is essential that the audience knows that blacks are said to be unsuccessful, so that my argument makes sense and comes through strongly.
Each picture I chose has a specific reason for being in the work. The order was also very important, too. The first nine photos were chosen to illustrate the current stereotype of blacks. One or two of the pictures are grouped together to show a part of the whole of the stereotype they are stuck with. The first three pictures are meant to show the section of the stereotype that is poverty. The first one shows a single, black man slouched on a sidewalk. He has barely anything with him, and looks poor, which is how we think of poverty and homelessness. The second and third pictures show a black mother and her kids. This shows the idea that the mother needs to beg and work hard to support herself and her children. In the pictures, all of the people have a vacant or depressed facial expression, which helps to create the image of hardship for the families, especially of single mothers. The idea of single mothers is often associated with black mothers, which is illustrated in these two photos, also. Another piece to the stereotype puzzle is that black men get with many women. This is shown in the next picture; a black man with two black women on either side of him. This fits together to show this part of the stereotype, along with the photos that demonstrate the “black thug”. This is the last piece to the stereotype jigsaw, and the one that fits most closely with unsuccessfulness. The pictures I chose show black gang members, complete with saggy pants, bling, drugs, and not-so-nice hand expressions. The faces of all the figures in the pictures are blank and devious looking- like they are up to no good. This is how the typical black man is depicted in our community. The image of the newspaper clipping, about the “Memphis mob”, also shows how people generally think of violence and blacks together. These nine pictures together make up the complete stereotype of blacks.
I then displayed pictures that give reasons to support my claim of the black stereotype being incorrect. The pictures are people that are recognizable and fit the social standard of successful. The first picture I chose is Will Smith. He is a good example of a black person that has excelled greatly to get to his position as a rapper and actor. This illustrates the idea of becoming successful as a black. The rest of the pictures I chose display the same type of idea. Queen Latifa, also recognized by my target audience, is another example of a successful black person. In this picture, she is in her Covergirl role, but the mind automatically thinks of other roles, as an actress and singer, that they have seen her in. The next picture is of Bill Cosby. Cosby was primarily a comedian—a very well know one, at that—but he was known for many other roles, also. This shows success. The picture of Morgan Freeman that I chose includes his Oscar Award. This displays the idea of success as a black in winning a national award, which is prestigious. Also, the fact that the audience can recognize him easily is a tip off of success. The photos I chose of Jennifer Hudson, Stevie Wonder, and Usher portray the same type of success as an actor or singer type figure. Tyra Banks is the next picture I chose for my video. I chose her because, again, she is recognizable. Tyra has excelled in many areas. From her modeling career to humanitarian efforts, Tyra has demonstrated many types of success. The next photo I included is one of Tony Dungy. Dungy has displayed success by becoming a football coach, even after his struggle with play because of being black. This shows success by his own means, also. I only included one sports related photo because the idea of blacks playing sports also part of the stereotype. Tony Dungy’s story is a story of determination to become successful, not just being placed in sports because of his race. Next, in my work, I placed a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. He is, of course, known by everyone, and shows a great deal of success. His success deals, almost totally, with being black. All of his causes dealt with race discrimination, which shows another aspect of black successfulness. The next photo is of, not a specific person, but a black soldier, in the war. I chose this because success doesn’t have to be an actor or singer. Success, in this aspect, is helping the country as a whole. She is amounting to a great deal of pride and honor in this position as a soldier. Even though she is not recognized personally, her position is familiar to the audience of my argument. The last two pictures I chose were of politicians. There are many black politicians now, but I picked two that most people would recognize. Condoleezza Rice, the former Secretary of State, obviously has achieved great success. Her success is similar to that of Barack Obama. Both have obtained a one of the highest and most prestigious positions in our country. It is monumental that they have reached these points because of their race. This shows ultimate success for them and for our country as a whole. As a whole, the first half of my pictures makes up the stereotype of black people. The second half gives reasons on why this stereotype is wrong, making my argument. I also chose to include two slides with text. The first slide appears after the stereotypical pictures. It is only half of the sentence that continues to the other slide. This one refers to the stereotype saying, “If that was EVERY black…” The next slide of text comes after the reasons for my argument. It is the last slide, with the words, “…Then they wouldn’t exist.” This refers to the pictures of all the successful black people that I displayed in the second half of my video. These two text slides basically sum up the claim to my argument, with little words.
The music I chose for my visual argument is a song by Stevie Wonder, titled “Black Orchid”. When I started looking for music for my project, I decided picking a song by a successful black artist would be a good idea. I chose Stevie Wonder because his voice is usually recognizable to people. His voice has a very distinct sound, and I believe he is an incredible singer. The song “Black Orchid” talks about our world and how it needs to change. He is referring to the depictions of generalized people and things, which I decided went along with the idea of black stereotypes. Overall, his voice has a calming effect because it is a lower tone. He also uses long drawn out words and phrases, which create a more serious and calm tone, which is acceptable for my topic. In addition to the vocals, the music is very soft and is mainly strings. The piano, that Wonder is known for playing, is very smooth and soft sounding. This creates that calming feeling in the audience, also. If I would have chosen a faster, more upbeat, selection for my video, the feeling and tone of the argument would have changed. I feel like the meaning would not been as sentimental or serious with a happier sounding song.
Works Cited
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