The College of Wooster Open Works Senior Independent Study Theses 2018 Manipulating Diversity: A Rhetorical Analysis of Annalise Keating’s Intersectional Portrayal of Race and Sexuality on the Primetime Television Show How to Get Away with Murder Melany Le The College of Wooster, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy Part of the Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Le, Melany, "Manipulating Diversity: A Rhetorical Analysis of Annalise Keating’s Intersectional Portrayal of Race and Sexuality on the Primetime Television Show How to Get Away with Murder" (2018). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 8095. This Senior Independent Study Thesis Exemplar is brought to you by Open Works, a service of The College of Wooster Libraries. It has been accepted for inclusion in Senior Independent Study Theses by an authorized administrator of Open Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © Copyright 2018 Melany Le MANIPULATING DIVERSITY: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF ANNALISE KEATING’S INTERSECTIONAL PORTRAYAL OF RACE AND SEXUALITY ON THE PRIMETIME TELEVISION SHOW HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER by Melany Le An Independent Study Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Course Requirements for Senior Independent Study: The Department of Communication March 25, 2018 Advisor: Dr. Denise Bostdorff ii ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the intersectional portrayal of the character Annalise Keating as a black queer woman, navigating complex interracial relationships and highly institutionalized environments of legal and higher education systems throughout the first two seasons of How to Get Away with Murder. Utilizing ideological criticism, this research found that despite her marginalized identities, Keating carefully constructs her image to resemble a white, heterosexual woman in order to alleviate, or completely avoid oppression from the major institutions that govern her life and work. Additionally, Keating’s experiences and actions are unique within the world of How to Get Away with Murder as she simultaneously shares the same struggles as other marginalized characters, but also oppresses those characters to follow her own agenda. Keywords: How to Get Away with Murder, intersectionality, race, queerness, television ii iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank Dr. Bostdorff for being a brilliant professor and I.S advisor. My writing and critical thinking capabilities have improved dramatically over the two semesters of this thesis. I am grateful for this wonderful experience and it has definitely been a real privilege having Dr. Bostdorff as my advisor. Second, I would like to thank my second reader, Dr. Johnson, who was also my Junior I.S advisor. She is extremely supportive of her students and I am lucky to have her as my mentor at the very start of this journey. I would also like to thank Dr. Singh for helping me choose the topic of my research when I was struggling to my find my inspiration, and Dr. Atay for enlightening me with his expertise on media studies. My project would not be complete without the support from the writing center staff members, especially Lynette Mattson, who has patiently worked with me every single week since last semester. A special thank to Khue Hoang, who answered endless questions I had about I.S and provided me with tremendous encouragement even after she had departed Wooster. As for my family, my boyfriend and his family, I cannot thank them all enough for giving me the support I needed to finish my research. To all of my Wooster friends who listened to me talk about my I.S non-stop on random days, I thank them for putting up with me and for being so understanding when I disappear to go write my research. Among my friends, I am especially thankful to Shiwani Varal, Jinhee Huh, and Kat Neis, the strong women who have been there for me since my very first days at Wooster. I would not have made it through college or I.S without their endless encouragement, wisdom, and nutritional support. iii iv Table of Contents CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Purpose Statement ....................................................................................................................... 1 Rationales .................................................................................................................................... 2 Definitions ................................................................................................................................... 3 Method ........................................................................................................................................ 4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 5 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................... 6 Standpoint Theory ....................................................................................................................... 6 Whiteness ................................................................................................................................ 8 Queer Theory .......................................................................................................................... 9 Primetime Television’s Black Women and Queer Characters ................................................. 10 Black Women in Primetime Television Series ..................................................................... 11 Evolution of Black Women Representations, 1950-2017 ................................................. 12 Women in Television Production. .................................................................................... 15 Queer Representations in Primetime Television Series ........................................................ 17 Historical Context of Queer Representations in Film, 1895-1968. .................................. 17 Evolution of Queer Representations on Primetime Television Series, 1954-2017. ......... 20 Intersectionality ......................................................................................................................... 29 How to Get Away with Murder ................................................................................................. 30 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER III: METHODS .......................................................................................................... 33 Justification of the Methods ...................................................................................................... 33 Artifact ...................................................................................................................................... 34 Methodological Steps ................................................................................................................ 36 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 37 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ......................................................................................................... 38 Overview of Annalise Keating and Murder’s Plotlines ............................................................ 38 Keating’s Key Characters and Relationships ........................................................................ 39 Keating’s Professional Portrayal ........................................................................................... 40 Keating’s Portrayal as a Black Woman .................................................................................... 41 Exhibiting a Reputation for Skill and Hard Work ................................................................ 41 Relying on White Institutions and White Individuals ........................................................... 43 Adhering to Whiteness .......................................................................................................... 48 Experiencing Discrimination as a Black Woman ................................................................. 50 Keating’s Portrayal as a Queer Woman .................................................................................... 52 Closeting a Queer Identity .................................................................................................... 53 Passing as Heterosexual ........................................................................................................ 55 Keating’s Intersectional Portrayal as a Black Queer Woman ................................................... 56 Racializing Queer Identities and Experiences ...................................................................... 57 Accepting Queer Identity. ................................................................................................. 57 Living as Queer Individuals. ............................................................................................. 59 Contriving Disposable Diversity ........................................................................................... 61 Strategizing Communication on Diversity. ......................................................................