Jewishness, Whiteness, and Blackness on Glee: Singing to the Tune of Postracism
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2013
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1111/cccr.12002
Abstract
The Fox series Glee, with its self-conscious focus on issues of diversity, is a fitting location to examine ideas about race in a postracial mediascape. Looking at Rachel, who is Jewish, this work explores how the construction of her Jewishness functions to situate her as a disenfranchised ethnic minority with the same status as characters of color, at the same time as it grants her the privileges of whiteness. Examining Mercedes, a black character, the article argues she is only granted access to the privileges of whiteness when whitened. Ironic and self-conscious humor and the trope of the musical number are also integral to the analysis since these frame race issues in a postracial manner, foreclosing possibilities for critical engagement.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Communication, Culture & Critique, v. 6, issue 1, p. 82-102
Scholar Commons Citation
Dubrofsky, Rachel E., "Jewishness, Whiteness, and Blackness on Glee: Singing to the Tune of Postracism" (2013). Communication Faculty Publications. 572.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/spe_facpub/572
