Monday, November 10, 2008
Race, Gender, and the Romantic Comedy
For this response, I'd like for you to analyze the film Something New. You can focus on the representation of gender roles, or you can talk about the way that race and class figure into the representations of women (and men) in the film. In what ways is the film challenging stereotypical assumptions? In what ways might it be reinforcing them?
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Hollywood has generated several romantic comedies in the past decade that center around interracial relationships, such as Guess Who, O, and Something New. The later does an excellent job of portraying modern stereotypes and challenging them. The main character of the movie Something New is Kenya, a successful black businesswoman who unknowingly goes on a blind date with a white man, Brian. She resists at first, but as they spend more time together, their relationship blossoms. One of the ways this story criticizes feelings behind mixed relationships is the lighting in the movie. In one scene while the couple is pillow talking in bed, the room and everything in the room is a golden color. It is hard to determine the color of either of the characters’ skin from this glow. A later scene is very similar except that it takes place at night and the color of their skin looks dark. From this subliminal messaging, it is clear that the director wanted to show that love does not care about the color of skin. It is perfectly acceptable for a white man and a black woman to be in love emotionally and physically.
Another stereotype that is questioned is the idea that the entire African American population belongs to a very narrow career field. Kenya is an accountant, her brother is a going to law school, and her father is a doctor, which her mother feels necessary to announce to everyone. This successful image contrasts with the brother’s several girlfriends. They are mostly considered sexy but unsuccessful and unintelligent. The movie is attempting to portray the wide variety of occupations that African Americans can fill successfully, even with the discrimination of established business stereotypes.
Kenya’s hair also shows that it is not necessarily right or wrong for races to intermix. Brian encourages her to reveal her real hair and accept that her real self is beautiful. On the other hand, her black suitor urges Kenya to restyle her hair with weave. With Brian, she can be happy with her natural hair and therefore symbolizing that she can be happy with herself for who she is. The other man wants her to adopt a conception of beauty that is attributed to an image that is not her. Something New allows society to consider the lack of importance skin color makes when considering true love and the true self.
This film focused on the social life of a black professional woman who was thought to inevitably end up alone despite the fact that she was not only successful she was beautiful. In the beginning of the movie she is portrayed as having every aspect of her life in order, she exercises, she was about to become partner at her firm, and she had wonderful friends. However, even with all of the positive aspects of her life she was still seen as unhappy. Even while enjoying a peaceful run in the morning she found herself being slightly envious of the couple that was seen in the front yard exchanging that morning “goodbye honey” kiss. Thus conveying that you can have everything in the world that you ever wanted, good friends, new house, great job, caring family, but if you are a woman your life will always be missing the element that can truly make you happy if you do not have a man.
A little later on in the movie she was set up on a blind date with Brian, the landscaper. Despite the fact he was of a different race he also seemed to be of a different social standing. She worked in an office and wore a tailored suit everyday she went to work while he worked in her yard all day. It seemed as though it had to be shown that he was of a slightly lower class for it to be acceptable that he be with her. He could not just want to be with her because he was just attracted to her; she had to be bringing something to the table.
According to a majority of her external influences, the ideal marriage that every young black girl should hope for is to meet a successful, smart, strong, black man like Mark. When Mark was introduced to Kenya the almost everything about the setting was different as opposed to when she met Brian. Mark was formally introduced to Kenya while Brian met her at a coffee shop without anyone she knew around. This set the tone for her feelings toward each man after that initial meeting. It took much longer for her to feel comfortable with Brian as opposed to Mark. Both men’s reaction to her differed also. They both thought she was beautiful however Brian thought more of her “natural” beauty than Mark. This conveyed that she could never truly be herself around him and fully accepted.
The one thing that I found very interesting was how unacceptable her family found the idea of her dating outside of her race. The reason they would not accept him would be based more on the color of his skin as opposed to his social standing. It would not be “proper” for a black woman to be seen with a white man. This notion is not unheard of in the black community, there are some who do believe in is improper for that type of union to take place.
Race, gender and sexuality were intertwined throughout this film. The main character Kenya challenges and references several African American ideas, from “black tax” to hair. The scene in which her family watches the dancers perform may be the most sexually charged and provide the most insight into what is typically viewed as the sexuality of African Americans. The performance was physical, and more typical of what was discussed in class and by Evelyn Hammonds. It was powerful, unbridled and definitely not Victorian. Later in the movie, Kenya and Brian experience a different kind of sexuality, more intimate but still not Victorian. With regard to racial differences, the stereotype of black men versus white men in bed was mentioned by Kenya’s friends. The idea of a relationship with a white man played a bigger role in the movie than just sexuality. Because Kenya was African American, it was more suitable and a preference that she date and marry an African American man. This is what her family preferred, her friends preferred and until she met Brian, what she thought that she preferred. It was so extreme that her brother invited his African American mentor to a picnic that she was hosting and using to showcase Brian and his work. For Kenya, her friends’ and family’s views about race were harder for her to challenge than her own. She was thought to be a traitor to her race and class, as Brian was educated but rejected university education for a lifestyle that included labor but made him happy. I found a bigger disparity between gender ideas about sexuality in the film than racial ideas about sexuality. Kenya’s brother had a new girl in almost every scene, whereas the females had to be more selective in their choices. At first Kenya’s friend had some reservations about dating a chef, whereas her brother could date a girl who worked in a coffee shop and was about to begin school. His family had reservations, but he did not have any. He felt that he could go through girls without worry, whereas the females were more concerned with finding a husband, as seen through the Valentine’s dinner scene. Their views changed about casual sex, but in the end, they were still concerned with finding a husband having children. It was a very big deal that Kenya wanted to pass up having Mark’s “black, ashy babies” for Brian’s babies. Instead of viewing who makes her happier, the decision of her family and friends was to follow along the lines of race, education and pedigree. I am really glad that this film challenged those views and happiness, whether through sexuality or not, was Kenya’s ultimate decision.
In the movie Something New, gender roles, racial stereotyping, and interracial dating are very prevalent within the theme. I found that the movie not only showed the differences between certain races, but also illustrated the effects interracial couples have on modern society. Although the movie began with an uncomfortable tone, it ended with a tone that sent an important message out to its viewers.
Gender roles in Something New are associated with Kenya, Nelson, Kenya’s mother, and Kenya’s friends. Kenya comes across as a hardworking black female with many successful career moves. Her gender and race come into play many times throughout the movie in respect to her career. She is often judged by her clients because she is female. Her co-workers, along with her mother, often try to find her a boyfriend and expect her to be married in the near future. Nelson, Kenya’s younger brother, can be classified as a ‘player.’ Each time he is shown throughout different scenes, he has a new girl on his arm. By characterizing Nelson as a player, gender roles come into play by stereotyping him as a black male. Black males typically define their masculinity by being able to jump from one girl to another. All of Nelson’s flings are his race, which causes his parents to be more open to his frequent changing relationships than Kenya’s interracial relationship with Brian. Kenya’s mother, a rich, upper class black female, tends to always correct Kenya’s lifestyle. Aside from making her be a debutant when she was seventeen, she also frequently tries to find a husband for Kenya. Although she is proud of all Kenya has accomplished in her career, she will truly never be happy with Kenya’s lifestyle until she finds a black husband. Kenya’s friends are characterized as independent black females. They are very open about their sexuality, but do not approve of interracial couples until later in the movie. Although they push Kenya to broaden her horizons dating wise, they do not force the idea of marriage upon her. They want Kenya to experience many different men before she chooses one to wed. I feel their view on dating is a very modern perspective, aside from their disapproval on interracial dating.
Because race is the main focus of the movie, it appears frequently throughout the film. Some occurrences when it is quite apparent appear towards the middle of the film when Kenya receives an invitation to the Cotillion Ball from her mother. She refuses to bring Brian to the event, explaining that the event will be all black and he may feel uncomfortable. The viewers realize in this scene that Brian truly loves Kenya for who she is because of his response to her statement. He says, “You mean make you uncomfortable?” Brian clearly explains to Kenya that race is not an issue to him in their relationship. Kenya fails to accept this until the end of the movie. Another occurrence of race appearing in the film happens during the scene when Brian and Kenya are at the grocery store. Brian insists Kenya stops talking about race in their relationship, and Kenya gets quite offended. She tells Brian that no one reminds him that he is white every day, whereas Kenya is reminded every day that she is black. This scene serves as the climax to the movie as it is when Kenya decides to end her relationship with Brian.
Something New, although forming many stereotypes, also challenges these stereotypes. From Kenya’s family being from the wealthy upper class, to Kenya earning a partnership with her firm, the film definitely broadens the horizon for many stereotypes that Black society is capable of breaking. I feel like the movie works well with all of its elements and serves as a good example of how interracial couples are perceived in modern society.
In the movie Something New, the main character Kenya is portrayed as a high class business woman who has everything. She has a beautiful home, a good job, family, and friends. The one thing in her life that is missing is a man. All her friends tell her that she is too picky because she has a list of things she must have in a man, and that is why she hasn’t found the right one. Throughout the movie racial stereotyping and interracial dating play a huge controversy in the movie.
In the beginning of the movie Kenya is set up on a blind date with a man named Brian. She is shocked to find out that he is a white man and begins to act different so the people around her realize that she is “black.” She decides to end the coffee date and tells him thank you but she’s got to go. Later when she is at a party she runs into him again and finds out that he is a landscape architect, which she is in desperate need of. She decides to hire him but is very judgmental and short with him. With time she starts to warm up and realizes that she enjoys his company more then she thought she ever would or could. He helps her come out of her shell and experience color, in more ways than one. Kenya learns to let loose and let her hair down. In the beginning she was afraid to let him into her life because he was white and wasn’t the same social class as her and her family. She opens up to Brian fast when they are behind closed doors, but when she has her house warming party she has trouble staying by him. Her family does not agree with Brian and treats him differently because he is white. When her brother meets him, he slaps his hand instead of shaking it because he is considered the “help.” This is interesting because Kenya’s brother wants her to date someone more sophisticated and like her, which is why he introduces her to Mark, her ideal black man. I think it’s ironic how her brother plays matchmaker, but he can’t seem to stay with one girl for longer than a few days. Kenya is cold towards Mark in the beginning but after Brian and her have a fight about race, she decides to give up on him and go out with Mark. With time Kenya learns that Brian appreciates her for her “natural” beauty as opposed to Mark who although seems ideal on the outside, isn’t what she really wants. Instead of being with someone who fits her on the outside, she realizes the man she wants to be with may not look or be like her, but loves her in a way no other man has.
Overall this movie does a good job at challenging stereotypical assumptions by showing that just because two people are of different race and background doesn’t mean they can’t work. There’s no doubt that relationships are hard whether they be friendships, family, or love interests. Sometimes the person you least expect turns out to be what you’ve been looking for.
Something New does something interesting by reversing racial- and gender-constructed power roles. Kenya is a black woman born into an upper-class family and establishing herself as a highly successful CPA, whereas her white male love interest, Brian, is a landscaper, or as Kenya’s brother describes him,” the help.” The power difference is superficial, however. At a point in the film Brian reveals that he had gone to college and was once a businessman like Kenya, and ultimately chose landscaping over his suit-and-tie job.
The ability to choose based on preference is a marker of Brian’s white, male privilege. While Kenya apparently likes what she does and is very good at it, much of the drive behind her success is to prove herself to clients and coworkers who distrust her competence because she is black. Kenya, along with other characters in the film, calls this the “black tax,” the need for black people to perform twice as well as whites to afford the same amount of respect. The film touches on this in a scene where Brian and Kenya are arguing in a grocery store. As Kenya complains about her mistreatment at work, Brian wearily interrupts, and essentially tells her that she is more privileged than most of the population and that she should give it a rest. Kenya angrily informs him that no matter how privileged she is, she is constantly reminded of her own blackness by the condescension of her white associates. “Being black” means “you never get a night off.”
Something New sums up everything we've talked about in class. It covers gender and race in the social and business worlds. First, I found it very interesting that all of Kenya's family and friends thought she needed a man to be complete. She has a home, nice job... everything- except a man. Kenya's parents are very career oriented- it seemed odd that they were so persistent on Kenya finding a man. On top of that, they insisted she marry a wealthy black man. Love shouldn't be limited to class or color.
Kenya’s relationships show two contrasting views of women. Her relationship with Brian encourages her to be herself and have fun; while her relationship with Mark (I think that was his name) encourages her to be what he wants her to be. I found it interesting that her parents didn’t even support her being true to herself. If I remember correctly, her family even gave her a hard time for taking out her weave, instead of embracing her natural curls. Kenya’s family and friends placed so much emphasis on status and material things, they overlooked true happiness.
Nelson and Kenya also served as a strong contrast. While Nelson was trying to fix his sister up with the “perfect” man (by society’s standards), he wasn’t applying the idea to himself. He dated all the wrong girls that were consumed with appearance. His parents didn’t seem to mind, though, because his girlfriends were black. Their parents put more pressure on Kenya to find the right man than they put on Nelson to find the right woman. I know my parents tended to do that to me growing up. My brothers got to do things I couldn’t- they could go to a girl’s house everyday but I couldn’t go to my boyfriend’s too often because “that wouldn’t look right.” I think the same idea applies to the family in Something New. It has always been more acceptable for men to date many women; while women are expected to find the “right one” and settle down.
Kenya struggled with issues regarding race at work, too. She was constantly be doubted by white men, as if she was inept just because she was black. Or perhaps it was because she was a woman. Either way, discrimination in the work place is far too common. People of any race or gender should be treated the same.
Society should realize that success and love can look very different. Not everyone will have the same experiences, but everyone should have the same opportunities.
The movie Something New brings up a lot of issues that people deal with today. Whether it is dating out of your race or dealing with your parents. One thing Something New addresses is being a woman in the work place. The typical stereotype is that women do not know what they are doing in the work area. Some people view women’s jobs to only be at home and feel they have no place to be in the office. Others may accept the fact that woman are in the work place but simply do not trust them. Many people would agree that if a person is qualified for the job they should have the job. But when you change it to a women be qualified some people may change their minds. Kenya is a very educated black woman who has a great job. She is very capable of her job. At the beginning of the movie there is a scene with Kenya and a business man. After she greets him, she starts with the business. The man stops her and asks if they should wait implying that she could not be the senior manager. She informs him that she is the senior manager and is the one he is suppose to be meeting with. He gets antsy and keeps looking at the door. This guy pops up later in the movie questioning her authority again, asking if a man can look over the work again as if Kenya does not know what she is talking about. This is a problem that women still deal with today. While I have never experienced it myself I have seen my mother’s friends and co-workers having to deal with this. The movie does a great job portraying gender roles in the work environment. It shows a woman in power but still treated differently.
Rekesha G.
I absolutely loved the movie Something New. It is so well written and depicts so many of the trials and stereotypes faced by women everyday in a culturally restricted society. Before watching I did not take into consideration how much of a frame society places on women and men to influence the way we like and love others. This is especially true for those individuals in racially restricted communities where it is seen unusual or abnormal to be attracted to someone of a different race, socioeconomic status or background. Sanaa Lathan plays the incredible role of a well respected, intelligent African American woman ( Kenya), who is having trouble finding her ideal mate. There is a lot of pressure from her parents, family, and close friends. The problem is that she is not allowed to find love with her heart, she must submit to the superficial mental outlook. A black man, smart, rich, and charming would be perfect only because everyone except her is choosing her destiny. This movie defines the struggle of choosing a mate in a prejudice society. Looking beyond skin color and job status to the more important traits such as passion and personality is important in erasing the lines of discrimination. Many times, before a woman or man thinks about approaching someone they must pass a mental check list. They must be a certain skin color and a part of a certain income level. This process limits everyone in finding true love and forces them to take part in marriages and lifetime commitments that they really do not want. Often these unions end in divorce or someone in the marriage is really unhappy for the rest of their life. Race and culture is all around us so we cannot run from it, but we can treat it as any other difference that makes people unique. No one ever discriminates based on hair color or eye shape. Why is skin color such a big issue if it is just as noticeable as other things on our body? I am a strong advocate for not restricting oneself based on culture or color. I often find that I am very similar to those who may not necessarily share my same class level or ethnic background. I love exploring new things and finding those who are different yet complimenting to my personality. This movie happens to hit this topic head on. Kenya did not let her family, friends, or career goals come in between who she really loved verses who was appropriate for her in society’s view at the end. The title something new was perfect for this movie because it is truly a new and improved experience. When everyone wants to stick to the same routines throughout history nothing progressive ever takes place in the world. All of the reform movements and strides for change came about from individuals who wished for something new. I loved the way her landscaper liked her natural look and the man who society put in place for her could not find her inner beauty. I believe at that point everyone knew who the right choice would be even if it did not seem that obvious on the outside. I hope that one day everyone would stop living for everyone else around them and just achieve self satisfaction.
Not only does the movie “Something New” deal with race in relationships, but also gender roles in society. The main female character Kenya is a successful and fairly powerful black businesswoman who falls for a white landscaper. The main focus of the movie is on the black woman who finds herself in love with a white man, which she’s not sure she’s open to. An underlying theme is that she must work harder and longer than the white people, though their intelligence and capabilities are equal. Brain also has college degrees and was once a businessman but chose to leave that lifestyle to be a landscaper. She feels that in order to be successful she has no choice but to overwork and under acknowledge herself. Because she is black, she must be successful or be seen as lower class. This “black-tax” is often a touchy subject but I feel that its mention in such a light-hearted movie (it is just a romantic comedy) is great because it affects people in legitimate ways still today and cannot be ignored. Because of this, she is always trying to prove herself to not only the men in her field, but the predominately white business employees as well. Her family, especially her brother, says that they want to see her with someone closer to her “sophisticated type”, meaning not a white landscaper.
The fact that her family is pushing for her to find a mate to settle down with is another interesting point. They even mention in a conversation with her friends that about 42% or black women will not get married. Feeling that she must find this mate becomes a concern to her. She must not only be successful in her career but establish a family as well.
I think that an important issue, or misconception, found in biracial relationships is that in order to be romantically involved with another race, you are somehow insulting your own. It is the idea that you cannot be true to your heritage if you are building a family outside of that. Races are still very divided in this country and it is a terrible mindset to have. Racism can never be overcome while these lines are still drawn.
The movie Something New addresses many different issues in our society. The major issues I am going to discuss are the issue of women in the work place, including the “black tax”, and the issue of interracial dating and how the black community in this movie perceives it.
Kenya McQueen is a strong and successful black businesswoman. She works for an accounting firm and is the senior manger. She is well educated and comes from a successful black family. Her father is a doctor. In this beginning of this film you see her out with friends, whom are also all very successful women, they are discussing how hard it is to find a good black man in this world. Saying that they are few and far between.
Now Kenya is set up on a blind date, and is shocked when she meets Brain Kelly, who is a white man. She rudely leaves their date at star bucks, only to later bump into him at a friend’s engagement party. She admires the landscaping and then is surprised to find that he is the landscaper. She then ends up hiring him and he takes on the task of her back yard. Brian falls for Kenya very fast, but she is very set in her “ I’m not interested in a white man mindset”. She displays in the beginning of this film that she is very uptight. When she finally lets Brian in he changes all of that. He introduces color and light into her life, and she loosens up a bit. They do fun things together like painting, going out on dates, and even just hanging out in the beautiful back yard. She even falls for his dog max, whom she didn’t care for very much in the beginning. All of a sudden you are watching these to people fall in love, despite their different backgrounds.
Things between the two of them seem to be going great, although Brian is very comfortable with their interracial relationship; Kenya is not so comfortable with it yet. Her friends refer to it as her just playing around. At her house warming party her mother asks her “ what are you doing with yourself”. One of her friend’s boyfriends, Walter, tells Brian “ you should feel special to be invited to this Negro spiritual”, and later on tells him “ why does it always feel like your giving me the police pat”. You can definitely see the difference in race at this party. The males talk about the “black tax” and how they have to work twice as hard to be equal in this world.
She and Brian eventually get into an augment bout race, after she has a hard day at work dealing with a client who is a jerk and doesn’t think she can do her job. She talks about her struggles and life with a “black tax”. She tells Brian “that he doesn’t know what it’s like because he only notices he is white when he is in a room filled with black people, and that the world reminds her that she is black everyday”. She says “ you don’t get a day off from being black”. They end up breaking up. Kenya meets someone new, Mark, who is the perfect black man in her mind, but she can feel that the chemistry is not there.Then they break up.
At work you see that Kenya is judged by two things when dealing with a client who is an ass, not only is she a women dealing with these white men’s millions, but she is a black women. She stands her ground though and gives her input even if it’s not what the client wants to hear. Her boss tells her that their firm appreciates her work, and that she has made partner.
With things going well at work, there is still one thing missing, Brian. Although she doesn’t think it can ever really work out, race being the major factor. She is finally helped by her friends and dad who tells her “ Kenya he’s white, its not like he’s a Martian”. Then of course they live happily ever after. Hollywood wouldn't have it any other way.
Race is an additional factor which plays a trivial role in the development of class in both men and women. However, women have no option but to multi-task in every aspect of their lives. In Something New, Kenya is the daughter of two wealthy, intelligent, and socially connected African Americans. She was brought up as high class and learned from her mother that accepting anything (i.e. anyone) less than perfect was wrong. Kenya is a strong willed, career driven woman who cannot seem to find the right man to make her life complete. Here is a black woman, who by most stereotypes should be a baby momma being supported by the government, who goes against the common representations of black females. Kenya challenges her gender by being a powerful and trusted business woman, and eventually partner in the firm. She challenges the idea of being black by being successful alone, and she challenges the norm of being high class, because being high class means being white.
Stereotypical assumptions of black females in today’s society are being both challenged and reinforced by Something New. The assumption that a black woman cannot be successful or happy is challenged when Kenya realizes she is a valuable part of her firm, that she has a man to love and a man loves her, that she has a house of her own and a nice car, that she is beautiful and that she has a family that supports her and wants her to be happy. This is quite different than the idea that a black women adhere to the “problematic of silence.” This difference from the norm is especially expressed when Kenya brings Bryan to the cotillion ball, in a borrowed Mexican Mariachi suit. This act alone shows that Kenya is breaking away from the typical African American culture that thinks cotillion balls are the most important thing for a young lady who has not officially entered society. Just as Something New tests the representations of black women, and African American people as a whole, it also reinforces some of the stereotypes. The scenes that show Kenya’s brother with a different woman at every event play on the thought that black men are players.
This film challenges the views of African American women and how they fit in with the rest of society. This film, in my opinion, represents many successful black females who have done wonderful things for themselves which reflects positively on African American people as a race. Just as it says in Toward a Genealogy of Black Female Sexuality by Hammonds, black women should “shape interventions that embody their separate and common interest and perspectives.” In many ways, Something New has achieved this goal by breaking away from everyday representations and stereotypes.
Alexis
In the film Something New, stereotypes are very prevelant. It really puts individuals in totally different roles than is dominant in the main culture. It is not a middle-class African American woman that gains the interest of this less successful but very handsome landscaper, but she is from an elite class. A woman such with Kenya's status is very uncommon seeing that sixty-five percent of African Americans are living in poverty in the United States. So, it asks the question is the only way a Caucasian man will have interest in an African American woman is that she has to be rich and successful, and he a blue collar worker. That is the way that it is portayed in this film. I am really finding fault in this movie in those ways.
On the other hand, the part where the man tells her that her natural hair is beautiful really was a big deal becuase when African American women where weave it usually to give their hair the "white" look,long and flowing. He told her that her hair was beautiful regardless of how long it was. He sort of reasuured her that her natural hair was beautful, also. The scene was very awkawd, and I am more than sure it had millions of Africam American women rethinking their weaves as Brian felt it and asked about it.
It was also interesting that her African American suiter wanted her to where the weave. It just shows the real miseducation of African Anericans to think anything that looks African and not Caucasian American is bad or ugly. African Americans feed into this on a daily basis.
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