Authenticating Whiteness: Karens, Selfies, and Pop Stars (Race, Rhetoric, and Media Series)

Authenticating Whiteness details how popular media implicitly portrays whiteness as credible, dependable, trustworthy, familiar, and honest, and how this is normalized and ubiquitous. White people are constructed as believable. From the way they talk, to how they look, to their actions, white people in popular media are the ones to trust. The work details how ideas about what is natural and good are reified in media, by showing how such values are implicitly racialized. Authenticating Whiteness is about how being seen as authentic has become evidence of authenticity. It is about understanding why assessing someone’s seeming authenticity is more important than what someone does, or the impact of their actions. It is about why we value people who seem to tell us the truth and show their real, inner selves, even if what they do and say is offensive, violent, or troubling. It is about why white people are forgiven their racist actions because these are articulated as not indicative of their inner authentic core. The objects of analysis span a range of popular media—newspaper articles about Trump, a selfie at Auschwitz, videos by Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift, the television series UnREAL, the cell phone video of Central Park Karen, the documentary Miss Americana—pinpointing patterns that cut across media to explore the cultural significance. At its heart, the book asks: Who gets to be authentic? What are the implications? "In Authenticating Whiteness: Karens, Selfies, and Pop Stars, Rachel E. Dubrofsky explores the idea that popular media implicitly portrays whiteness as credible, trustworthy, familiar, and honest, and that this portrayal is normalized and ubiquitous. Whether on television, film, social media, or in the news, white people are constructed as believable and unrehearsed, from the way they talk to how they look and act. Dubrofsky argues that this way of making white people appear authentic is a strategy of whiteness, requiring attentiveness to the context of white supremacy in which the presentations unfold. The volume details how ideas about what is natural, good, and wholesome are reified in media, showing how these values are implicitly racialized. Additionally, the project details how white women are presented as particularly authentic when they seem to lose agency by expressing affect through emotional and bodily displays. The chapters examine a range of popular media-newspaper articles about Donald J. Trump, a selfie taken at Auschwitz, music videos by Miley Cyrus, the television series UnREAL, the infamous video of Amy Cooper calling the police on an innocent Black man, and the documentary Miss Americana-pinpointing patterns that cut across media to explore the implications for the larger culture in which they exist. At its heart, the book asks: Who gets to be authentic? And what are the implications?"-- Provided by publisher. In Authenticating Whiteness: Karens, Selfies, and Pop Stars , Rachel E. Dubrofsky explores the idea that popular media implicitly portrays whiteness as credible, trustworthy, familiar, and honest, and that this portrayal is normalized and ubiquitous. Whether on television, film, social media, or in the news, white people are constructed as believable and unrehearsed, from the way they talk to how they look and act. Dubrofsky argues that this way of making white people appear authentic is a strategy of whiteness, requiring attentiveness to the context of white supremacy in which the presentations unfold. The volume details how ideas about what is natural, good, and wholesome are reified in media, showing how these values are implicitly racialized. Additionally, the project details how white women are presented as particularly authentic when they seem to lose agency by expressing affect through emotional and bodily displays. The chapters examine a range of popular media—newspaper articles about Donald J. Trump, a selfie taken at Auschwitz, music videos by Miley Cyrus, the television series UnREAL , the infamous video of Amy Cooper calling the police on an innocent Black man, and the documentary Miss Americana —pinpointing patterns that cut across media to explore the implications for the larger culture in which they exist. At its heart, the book asks: Who gets to be authentic? And what are the implications? In Authenticating Whiteness: Karens, Selfies, and PopStars, Rachel E. Dubrofsky explores the idea that popularmedia implicitly portrays whiteness as credible, trustworthy,familiar, and honest, and that this portrayal is normalized andubiquitous. Whether on television, film, social media, or in thenews, white people are constructed as believable and unrehearsed,from the way they talk to how they look and act. Dubrofsky arguesthat this way of making white people appear authentic is a strategyof whiteness, requiring attentiveness to the context of whitesupremacy in which the presentations unfold. The volume details howideas about what is natural, good, and wholesome are reified inmedia, showing how these values are implicitly racialized.Additionally, the project details how white women are presented asparticularly authentic when they seem to lose agency by expressingaffect through emotional and bodily displays. The chapters examinea range of popular media-newspaper articles about Donald J. Trump,a selfie taken at Auschwitz, music videos by Miley Cyrus, thetelevision series UnREAL, the infamous video of Amy Coopercalling the police on an innocent Black man, and the documentaryMiss Americana-pinpointing patterns that cut across mediato explore the implications for the larger culture in which theyexist. At its heart, the book asks: Who gets to be authentic? Andwhat are the implications? Cover AUTHENTICATING WHITENESS Title Copyright CONTENTS Acknowledgments Chapter 1. Authentic Emotion Chapter 2. Authentic Monstrosity Chapter 3. Authentic Redemption Chapter 4. Authentic Irony Chapter 5. Authentic Whiteness Chapter 6. Authentic Antiracism? References Index ABOUT THE AUTHOR