Postracial Politics and Historical TV Drama: White, Male Viewer Responses to a Fictionalized Racist Past

• In Event: 3551 - Section on Sociology of Culture Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: 6. Culture Section Network: Feminist Political Culture

Abstract

This paper examines viewer responses to representations of racism in the first season of Cinemax’s historical medical drama The Knick. Using data from the show’s official Facebook page, this analysis illustrates some of the ways in which post-racial ideology shapes audience reception and highlights how historicized representations of racism often work to support post-racial worldviews. Specifically, this paper argues that audience reception of historical dramas like The Knick represent a central paradox of post-racial culture: it is necessary to remember racism in order to forget about race. Examining viewer responses to the show’s depictions of overt racism and racial violence, that data demonstrates that many white, male viewers acknowledge the centrality of racism in American history. But in doing so, they use white racial framing and colorblind ideology to distance themselves from racial inequality. This paper identifies four common tropes of colorblind ideology that emerge in response to historical television drama: the past is the past, victim blaming, minimization, and white victim-hood. Ultimately, this analysis calls into question notions of post-racial culture centered on white people’s desire to forget racism. Instead, the author argues that the act of remembering the racist past is a crucial part of post-racial efforts to forget about race itself.

Author

• Michael Wayne, Erasmus University Rotterdam