94
Popular Culture Review
Reese mentions several of the icons (in brief) in earlier chapters. Nevertheless,
the reader is left with far too many unanswered questions and a desire for a more
directed analysis of the “Black Icons” portion of Reese’s survey. Though Reese
states that he found no “significant disparities in responses between regions,”
one is left to wonder if that would be so if the survey were distributed in the
Northeast corridor, or in the Midwest, or in the Plains. David Robinson and
Mike Tyson could not be more different in their backgrounds and in their public
personas, and yet they are separated by a paltry seven-tenths of a point in terms
of their “fakeness,” with Tyson more often categorized as “fake.” Reese
concludes that young black men far too frequently (and to negative ends)
embrace the gangsta-thug image as representative of black manhood. Given this,
one would expect that Mike Tyson would be categorized as “real.” In this case,
B does not necessarily follow A. What conclusion, if any, can be drawn from
this? The data’s perplexity leaves the reader wanting more.
American Paradox focuses on black masculinity—how it is narrowly
defined and the necessity to expand that definition. Reese’s critique is not
limited to how others perceive that masculinity but rather places great
importance on the black male’s embrace of that definition. Reese posits that
black maleness is defined externally; he argues that manhood should be defined
internally: according to the content of one’s character. He warns that “black men
who enthusiastically embrace the narrowly constructed stereotypes of black
masculinity will continue to be degraded, victimized, and oppressed” (58).
American Paradox is an appeal to acknowledge the problems facing young
black men; it is a claim that one cause of those problems derives internally from
a skewed notion of black masculinity; it is a warning of continued
marginalization in light of this negative self-definition; and lastly, it is a clarion
call to “reconstruct and passionately embrace new concepts of black male
authenticity” (207).
As Reese discusses, black men have always had a prominent place in
American society, good or bad. This centrality far too often was a reflection of
fear and a desire for dominance. It is also the result of enormous talent, skill, and
success (Thurgood Marshall, Colin Powell, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and
Ben Carson, to list a few). As Reese states, “because of his high profile and his
systemic vilification, the black man remains the great American Paradox” (206).
American Paradox is part of an important struggle: a struggle for the minds,
bodies, and spirits of young black men. It is a fight that the nation cannot afford
to lose.
Sharon Moore, University of Nevada, Las Vegas