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Of African American Male Students in Season Four of the Wire

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Of African American Male Students in Season Four of the Wire ABSTRACT Title of Document: IMAGERY MATTERS: EXPLORING THE REPRESENTATION(S) OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE STUDENTS IN SEASON FOUR OF THE WIRE. Johnette Ruffner-Ceaser, Doctor of Education, 2012 Directed By: Hanne B. Mawhinney, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Teaching, Learning, Policy and Leadership The educational challenges facing young African American male students are complex and multifaceted. The media play a significant role in the perpetuation of these challenges, due to the historically negative and stereotypical portrayals of Black males. Despite the plethora of research and discourse about the educational attainment of African American male students, few studies explore the academic and masculine portrayals of this population of students in the media. Using a textual analysis guided by a theoretical framework of cultural representation and televisual realism, this qualitative inquiry seeks to examine and interpret the cultural message(s) The Wire conveyed about African American male students in the era of No Child Left Behind. This study explores the intersection between academic and masculine portrayals of four young African American male student characters in season 4 of The Wire using dimensions of cool pose and traditional stereotypical tropes and counter-tropes that visual media have historically used to portray African American males in visual media. The findings from this study revealed that the four boys studied in season 4 of The Wire were multi-dimensional characters. As such, they were characterized using traditional stereotypical tropes, but their characterizations shifted into more encouraging representations. The shift in these characterizations created emergent themes that spoke to the cultural messages conveyed about African American male students through season 4 of The Wire. The findings from this study have implications for policy, school leadership, and future research. First, Congress should commission a committee of representatives from civil rights groups, foundations, and media reform activists to review and assess the historical and contemporary portrayals of African American males on television. Based on its findings, the committee should offer media reform recommendations to Congress. Second, because school systems currently struggle with identifying appropriate methods to address the needs of African American male students, school systems and parent groups should collaborate with organizations and foundations that work to establish creative outlets for young men of color to tell their own stories in alternative media. Third, given few studies have explored the representation of African American male students in visual media, the field needs additional research in this area. IMAGERY MATTERS: EXPLORING THE REPRESENTATION(S) OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE STUDENTS IN SEASON FOUR OF THE WIRE By Johnette Yvonne Ruffner-Ceaser Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education 2012 Advisory Committee: Associate Professor Hanne B. Mawhinney, Chair Associate Professor Linda Aldoory Professor Barbara Finkelstein Professor Courtland Lee, Dean’s Representative Professor of Practice Carol Parham © Copyright by Johnette Yvonne Ruffner-Ceaser 2012 Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my daughter. Thank you for being mommy’s inspiration. ii Acknowledgements I give all glory and honor to God for this blessing. I decided to take this journey during a Sunday morning worship service. I developed a desire to pursue this path, and God said, “Just take one step, and I’ll do the rest.” He has done just that. I am grateful for my husband who has supported me, sacrificed for me, and has encouraged me to pursue my dreams. I am thankful for my mother and father, Savannah and John Ruffner, who are my cheerleaders; always ready to extend a listening ear and to offer up a word of encouragement, and I thank God for my grandmother. I am grateful for her strength and her faith in me. I am honored to have friends that have spoken greatness into my life. They believed in me when I did not believe in myself. Finally, I thank Dr. Mawhinney for her demonstrations of care and concern about her students. The support that she has extended to me over the years is second to none. iii Table of Contents Dedication ..................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Context for Study .................................................................................................... 1 Research Problem ................................................................................................... 4 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................... 5 Research Question .................................................................................................. 6 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................... 6 Cultural Studies ................................................................................................. 6 Cool Pose .......................................................................................................... 6 Realism ............................................................................................................. 8 Overview of Dissertation ........................................................................................ 8 Significance............................................................................................................. 8 Limitations .............................................................................................................. 9 Definition of Terms................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2: Literature Review ...................................................................................... 11 Realism ................................................................................................................. 12 Cultural Studies and Representation ..................................................................... 17 Hegemony ............................................................................................................. 21 Historical Portrayals of African American Males on Television.......................... 22 Minstrels ......................................................................................................... 23 Uplifting the Race ........................................................................................... 24 1950s ............................................................................................................... 25 1960s ............................................................................................................... 26 1970s ............................................................................................................... 27 1980s ............................................................................................................... 30 1990s-2000s .................................................................................................... 31 The Wire ................................................................................................................ 32 Hegemonic Masculinity in Media Representations of Black Males ..................... 40 Cool Pose .............................................................................................................. 43 Framing the Study ................................................................................................. 54 Chapter 3: Design and Methodology .......................................................................... 57 Research Question ................................................................................................ 57 Research Design.................................................................................................... 58 Rationale for Qualitative Methodology .......................................................... 58 Rationale for Textual Analysis ....................................................................... 59 iv Defining the Study ................................................................................................ 60 Levels of Units and Analysis ................................................................................ 62 Data Collection Tools ........................................................................................... 62 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 65 Standards of Quality and Validity......................................................................... 67 Chapter 4: Season Four of The Wire ........................................................................... 72 Background
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