The Thesis committee for Adam Clark Williams III Certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: CONSUMING AND PERFORMING BLACK MANHOOD: THE POST HIP-HOP GENERATION AND THE CONSUMPTION OF POPULAR MEDIA AND CULTURAL PRODUCTS APPROVED BY SUPERVISING COMMITTEE: Supervisor: __________________________________________ S. Craig Watkins __________________________________________ Leonard N. Moore CONSUMING AND PERFORMING BLACK MANHOOD: THE POST HIP-HOP GENERATION AND THE CONSUMPTION OF POPULAR MEDIA AND CULTURAL PRODUCTS by Adam Clark Williams III, B.A. Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts The University of Texas at Austin December 2011 DEDICATION First and foremost, this project is dedicated to the most high, my ancestors, my father, mother, sisters and extended family for their unshakable love, honesty, strength, patience, sacrifice, support, and commitment to my development as a man. As well, this is in dedication to all of the Black males throughout the US and the rest of the globe who struggle through their journeys to locate, define, practice, and uphold our manhood. As we come into our own consciousness, we understand that our responsibilities are great, but so is our spirit and potential. Lastly, I would like to say R.I.P. to my lil’ brother Sean Michael Elliott (19 years) who was taken from us too young on September 4th, 2009. Your energy and presence is truly missed!!! ACKNOWLEGEMENT PAGE To my thesis and academic advisors: Dr. S. Craig Watkins and Dr. Leonard N. Moore. Thank you to the fullest extent of the word for your dedication to prepare and guide me through this process. Your wisdom in and masterful navigation of your field, in addition to your endless accomplishments and social/community work is inspiring, and will help me tremendously in life and throughout my PhD work. Also, there are countless individuals and organizations that I would like to list to acknowledge their social, spiritual, and mentorship support needed to persevere through a daunting environment such as this. In no particular order: Kemi Riley, Kristen McNeal, Brotha Kevin Thomas, Brotha Samori Camara, Brotha Amari Sekou, Brotha Derrick Pullium, MeCherri Tarver, ‘Soul’ Sistah Sade Jones, Black Media Council, Nacole Smith, Kim Folkes, Darina Palacio, Ginger Levert, Auntie Cora and Tiffany Harkness, Kenyon Hill, Africans For Re-education Innovation Consciousness and Achievement (AFRICA), Black Graduate Student Association, Cooper-Woodson College Enhancement Program, McNair Scholars Program, CSUS Multicultural Center, Dr. Ricky Green and the W.E.B. DuBois Mentorship Program, and again Dr. Leonard Moore and his powerful work with Black males. Further, I would like to thank all of the young Black men who participated in the study as you’ll are the backbone of the study. Particularly, the Warfield Center for African and African American Studies, UT Football program, Monday Night Fellowship Group, and the Student African American Brotherhood for helping to gather participants and space to conduct the focus group sessions. iv CONSUMING AND PERFORMING BLACK MANHOOD: THE POST HIP-HOP GENERATION AND THE CONSUMPTION OF POPULAR MEDIA AND CULTURAL PRODUCTS by Adam Clark Williams III, M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2011 SUPERVISOR: S. Craig Watkins Thirty-three young Black men of the Post-Hip Hop Generation (ages 18-25) in Austin, TX, participated in a qualitative study centering on questions investigating Black manhood, media use, and the consumption of popular cultural products. Further, the researcher examined representations of Black men throughout music videos, films, and MySpace profiles. The purpose of this study was to enhance our knowledge about how Black manhood is being defined, conceptualized, and expressed by young Black men, and how significant media and cultural consumption plays a role in their lives. This study probes six questions: RQ1: How do young Black males interpret the images and messages about Black men from mainstream media? RQ2: What types of cultural products are being consumed by young Black men? Why do they consume them? RQ3: How do young Black males define Black manhood? v RQ4: Do these cultural products influence the ways that young Black men define/express Black manhood? If so, how? Focus group sessions were conducted throughout the study, which were video recorded and transcribed. Transcriptions were then imported into a qualitative software program known as Atlas.ti, where statements related to the purpose of the study were coded and analyzed. These coded statements were then compared to observations made by the researcher from the examined media representations. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES…..…………………………………………………………………....ix LIST OF FIGURES..………………………………………………………………….......x CHAPTER ONE- INTRODUCTION. ……………………………………………………1 CHAPTER TWO- LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................... 10 CHAPTER THREE- METHODOLOGY ……………………………………………… 39 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ................................................... 55 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION................................................................................ 104 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................ 111 APPENDIX A – PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORM ......................................... 111 APPENDIX B– BLACK MANHOOD ASSESSMENT ..................................... 112 APPENDIX C – FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS ................................................ 114 APPENDIX D – FOCUS GROUP INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS ... 116 APPENDIX E – CODING CATEGORIES AND DISCRIPTIONS .................... 118 APPENDIX F – ASSESSMENT DATA SUMMARY ........................................ 122 APPENDIX G – BACKGROUNDS OF FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS….128 FIGURES 4.1 - 4.13…..……...……………………………………………………….. 134 REFERENCES.........…………………………………………………………………...142 vii VITA . …………………………………………………………………………….…….158 viii LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1- FORMS OF MANHOOD DEVELOPMENT…..………………………….....7 TABLE 2- THE PSYCHO-SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF AFRIKAN MALES...……12 TABLE 3- POPULAR NEW-MILLENNIUM HIP HOP MUSIC VIDEOS...………….50 TABLE 4- HIGHEST GROSSING HOOD FILMS OF THE NEW-MILLENNIUM…..51 TABLE 5- CODING FAMILIES AND SCHEMES……….……………………………52 ix LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 4.1: SCREENSHOT OF LEADERSHIP IN MUSIC VIDEO.........................134 FIGURE 4.2a&b: SCREENSHOTS OF POPULARITY AND RESPECTABILITY IN MUSIC VIDEOS..........................................................................................…...134 FIGURE 4.3a&b: SCREENSHOTS OF HYPERSEXUAL MUSIC VIDEOS...............135 FIGURES 4.4a-c: SCREENSHOTS OF PROFILES IN MYSPACE.............................135 FIGURE 4.5: SCREENSHOT OF ‘GANGSTA’ CULTURE IN MYSPACE…………137 FIGURE 4.6: SCREENSHOT OF MYSPACE WALLPAPER……………………......137 FIGURE 4.7: SCREENSHOT OF MYSPACE PAGE WITH FASHIONABLE MEDIA AND CULTURAL PRODUCTS……….............................................................138 FIGURE 4.8: SCREENSHOT OF MYSPACE PAGE SHOWCASING POPULARITY AMONGST WOMEN………………….............................................................138 FIGURE 4.9: SCREENSHOT OF ‘THE BLACK BOX’ AND CURRENT STEREOTYPES OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE..............................139 FIGURE 4.10: SCREENSHOT OF A CONTINUUM CHART OF BLACK MALE REPUTATIONS…………………………..........................................................139 FIGURE 4.11a&b: SCREENSHOTS OF TRENDY GEAR WORN BY RAPPERS AND WOMEN AS OBJECTS IN HIP HOP MUSIC VIDEOS…………...................140 FIGURE 4.12a&b: SCREENSHOTS OF FASHIONABLE CARS AND HYPERMASCULINE POSES............................................................................140 FIGURE 4.13a&b: SCREENSHOTS OF FASHIONABLE ACTIVITIES IN HIP HOP MUSIC VIDEOS.................................................................................................141 x CHAPTER ONE- INTRODUCTION Black Manhood in New Millennial “America” As a young Black media studies scholar, I spiritually gravitated towards examining the role that media plays in our lives and communities. Like many scholars within the field of Black Popular Culture my earlier research studies tended to focus on the various stereotypical representations of Blacks in film and television. As my understanding of the word ‘media’ began to broaden and new media technologies circulated more widely throughout society, the nature of my research began to reflect this shift. Now understanding the power of the media industry’s ability to disseminate meaning and culture through not only images but also the products that we buy, I began to interrogate the significance of my former focus. For me, representational research became increasingly less significant as it did not delve far enough into how these portrayals were impacting society. Identity formation research was now my main interest within this field, as I now explore how contemporary media impacts our desires, development, and representation of self. The new millennium has brought about several new resolutions to the forefront of the agenda of problems to solve amongst the Black communities. Crisis rhetoric about Black America is common in conferences, conventions, and media coverage of the plight of African Americans. Whether it is: Prison, gun violence, drugs, gangs, single parent households, HIV/AIDS, high school drop outs, college enrollment, unemployment, or the state of Black families