Presenting Oprah Winfrey, Her Films, and African American Literature PDF
Preview Presenting Oprah Winfrey, Her Films, and African American Literature
Presenting Oprah Winfrey, Her Films, and African American Literature This page intentionally left blank Presenting Oprah Winfrey, Her Films, and African American Literature Edited by Tara T. Green PRESENTINGOPRAHWINFREY,HERFILMS,ANDAFRICANAMERICANLITERATURE Copyright © Tara T. Green, 2013. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-1-137-28245-3 All rights reserved. First published in 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-44859-3 ISBN 978-1-137-28246-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137282460 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Presenting Oprah Winfrey, her fifilms, and African American literature/ edited by Tara T. Green. p. cm. Collected essays originally presented at the 2006 annual convention of the College Language Association. Includes bibliographical references. 1. Winfrey, Oprah—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Winfrey, Oprah— Infl uence. 3. American fi ction—African American authors—History and criticism. 4. American fi ction—Film adaptations. 5. African Americans in motion pictures. 6. Race in motion pictures. 7. African American women—Intellectual life—20th century. 8. Film adaptations—History and criticism. 9. Motion pictures and literature—United States. I. Green, Tara T. PN2287.W495P84 2012 791.43092—dc23 2012024512 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: January 2013 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Dedicated to the memories of my grandmothers Isabella Thomas and Lula Green This page intentionally left blank C O N T E N T S Contributors ix AAcknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Tara T. Green One The Black Matriarch’s Quest for Love: Oprah Winfrey as Sofia in The Color Purple 21 Tara T. Green Two Oprah Winfrey and the Trauma Drama: “What’s So Good About Feeling Bad?” 45 Ricardo Guthrie Three Creating a Legacy of Disconnection: Colorism and Classism in Oprah Winfrey Presents: The Wedding 79 Preselfannie Evet Whitfield McDaniels Four Wanderlust, Hysteria, and Insurrection: (Re)presenting the “Beloved” Sweet Home Men 105 Robert E. Randolph, Jr. Five “ Let the Music Play”: Music, Meaning, and Method in Oprah Winfrey Presents: Their Eyes Were Watching God 127 Neal A. Lester viii Contents Six B lues, Hope, and Disturbing Images: A Comparison of Sapphire’s Push and the Film Precious 161 Wendy Rountree Additional References 179 Index 181 C O N T R I B U T O R S Ricardo Guthrie, assistant professor of ethnic studies at Northern Arizona University, examines political narratives of the Black Press and writes about cinema as cultural, political artifacts. He is currently researching the life and influence of physician/publisherr Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett and the San Francisco Sun-Reporterr (1945–– 1966). His poetry and artwork can be viewed on the Museum off the African Diaspora’s (MoAD) website: http://www.iveknown- rivers.org/. Neal A. Lesterr is foundation professor of English at Arizona State University. Specializing in African American literature and cul- tural studies, he is the author of Ntozake Shange: A Critical Study off the Plays (1995), Understanding Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Weree Watching God: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historicall Documents (1999), and Once Upon a Time in a Different World: Issues and Ideas in African American Children’s Literaturee (2007). He is coeditor of HairStories (2003), Racialized Politics of Desire in Personall AAds (2007), and Sapphire’s Literary Breakthrough: Feminist Pedagogies, Erotic Literacies, and Environmental Justice Perspectives (2012). Currently, his research focuses on heteronormativity in children’s texts; the N-word, nationally and internationally; and Disney’s representa- tions of race and gender. Guest editor of the 2013 special issue off The Lion and the Unicorn: A Critical Journal of Children’s Literaturee on children/childhood and hairrr, Lester is associate vice president in the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development where his role is to promote and integrate humanities research throughout the universityy,, an extension of the universityy-wide Projject Humanities initiative he began and has directed since August 2010.
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