We should be addressing whiteness less, and affirming blackness more”
Random Acts of Flyness , Afrosurrealism, and Quality Programming
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12918255 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eric Forthun (The University of Texas at Austin, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 4-19 |
| Publication date | 2020-03-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Communication Culture and Critique (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1753-9137 • E-ISSN: 1753-9129 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ccc/tcaa013 |
| OpenAlex | W3036065057 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 12 |
Premiering on Saturday nights in summer of 2018, the barely-promoted Random Acts of Flyness (RAOF) was buried in HBO’s schedule. The highly experimental series combines many forms, including late night talk show, documentary, claymation, and sketch show, amongst many others. With stylistic techniques such as Afrosurrealism and self-reflexivity alongside discursive tools that heighten the series’ claim to “quality,” I argue that RAOF utilizes its surreal and distinctly black creative production to critically examine representations of blackness and whiteness in the media and American culture. I further contend that, for HBO, independent filmmaker and series creator Terence Nance’s pedigree fits the channel’s long-standing association with “higher” art forms, even as the series does not fit into historically white and affluent notions of “quality.” As the television landscape becomes broader and markers of “quality” become harder to pin down, the series’ incisive look at blackness proves to be an exceptional case study
Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Film director · Media studies · Movie theater · Quality (philosophy · Reflexivity · Series (stratigraphy · Sketch · Sociology · Television series · Visual arts · White (mutation · Anthropology · Cinema and Media Studies · Computer Science · Media Studies and Communication · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |