Construction of a Post-Racial
Identity in Popular Film Media:
Revolution and Resistance
In summer 2002, action star Vin Diesel, a blazing hot Hollywood
property and the protagonist in the blockbuster XXX, graced the covers of two
popular African-American magazines, among other mass market periodicals.
However, each of these two covers had its own distinct message. Jet magazine
presented Vin as one of three African-American action heroes to grace the
screen that spring and summer, along with The Rock and Wesley Snipes, while
Savoy had this to offer: a portrait of Diesel, arms crossed, a defiant look on his
face, with the following headline: “Vin Diesel Ain’t So Tough (except when you
ask about race . . . ) ” Diesel, whose real name is Mark Vincent, is widely known
through interviews in all forms of entertainment media to have actively
constructed this public self—a self which is truly post-racial; that is, a self which
does not see itself through the filter of racial identity and which regards itself as
a representative of one race—the human race. This article will examine Diesel’s
attempt to structure this multi-layered identity, but more significantly will
explore the reasons popular reporters, regardless of race, seek to exoticize,
compartmentalize, or otherwise negate the star’s attempt to present himself as a
person truly beyond racial boundaries, and why, almost without exception, they
seek to reconstruct his identity as that of an African-American male.
A brief acknowledgement of the assumptions made by most Americans
about identity is necessary if one is to understand why Diesel’s stance is so
unusual and why reporters find it so difficult to accept at face value. The most
basic assumptions, perhaps, are that race is a fact, not a social or anthropological
construct, and that it provides an objectively based means of identification as
well as dividing people into discrete groups; that race is an important identifier
through which people come to know certain truths about a person’s history,
personality and values; finally, that many of these personal facts can be deduced
from a basic visual assessment of the human in question. Other assumptions
grow out of these. For example, most believe that each person belongs to at least
one specific race, while after that, some believe a biracial identity is a valid one,
while others adhere to the “one-drop” rule and therefore believe there is no such
thing as being truly biracial. Some people assume race and ethnicity to be
interchangeable in terms of identity; for example, one may identify as ItalianAmerican or as African-American as easily as white or black. Still others
believe that any identity which encompasses all identifiable races and
ethnicities—an identity of which Tiger Woods “Cablinasian” is an excellent
example—is both valid and forward thinking; their assumption is that a person
should give due credit and respect to the accomplishments of all his or her