Abstract
Foster argues that Hollywood has employed several tactics to present a diverse and multiracial cast while reproducing the same storylines of the past in narratives that produce positive presentations of whites and negative presentations of racial “others.” He discusses three methods for perpetuating white supremacy in the guise of “color-blindness”: (1) casting biracial actors in lead roles and more diverse casts in general; (2) portraying biracial characters and “diverse” storylines (while casting whites to play such roles); and (3) promoting diversity via alien, animal, or make-believe species. Through a close reading of Hollywood films that exemplify each category, The Fast and The Furious franchise, Avatar, Inside Out, Madagascar 3, Foster demonstrates that these films have a similar outcome: Intentional or not, whiteness remains exalted and preserved while otherness is diluted and sanitized.
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Foster, J.D. (2019). Tricks of the (Colorblind) Trade: Hollywood’s Preservation of White Supremacy in the Age of Obama. In: Turner, S., Nilsen, S. (eds) The Myth of Colorblindness. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17447-7_8
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