Representing Black Britain: Black and Asian Images on Television (Culture, Representation and Identity series)

'This is one of the most important books on race, representation and politics to come along in a decade.... Sarita Malik′s book is a brilliant contribution to the literature on race, cultural studies and public pedagogy′ - Henry Giroux, Penn State University Representing Black Britain offers a critical history of Black and Asian representation on British television from the earliest days of broadcasting to the present day. Working through programmes as wide-ranging as the early documentaries to 'ethnic sitcoms′ and youth television, this book provides a detailed analysis of shifting institutional contexts, images of 'race′ and ethnic-minority cultural politics in modern Britain. Representing Black Britain : focuses on issues of representation, ideology, 'race′ and difference; covers a spectrum of television genres including documentary, news, comedy, light entertainment, youth television, drama, film and sport; examines the sociopolitical context of Black Britain; and looks at questions of policy and the institutional context of British broadcasting. Cover 1 Contents 6 Foreword 8 Acknowledgements 11 Introduction 14 Chapter 1 - Representation, history and 'black britain': question of context 20 Chapter 2 - The racialization of the black subject in television documentary 48 Chapter 3 - The institutionalization of the black voice on television: questions of access, multicultural programming and cultural diversity 69 Chapter 4 - The packing of black identities in television news narratives 90 Chapter 5 - 'Is it 'cos i is black?': the black situation in television comedy 104 Chapter 6 - Light entertainment on television - and the black-british cultures it is missing 121 Chapter 7 - Reflections on black masculinities and british sporting culture on television 136 Chapter 8 - Casting the black subject in television drama 148 Chapter 9 - Pounds, policy and pressure: black-british filmmaking - 'as seen on tv' 169 Chapter 10 - The struggle for meanings of 'blackness': summary and conclusion 186 Bibliography 200 Machine generated contents note: 1 Representation, History and 'Black Britain': Questions of Context 2 The Racialization of the Black Subject in Television Documentary 3 The Institutionalization of the Black Voice on Television: Questions of Access, Multicultural Programming and Cultural Diversity 4 The Packaging of Black Identities in Television News Narratives 5 'Is it 'cos I is Black?': the Black Situation in Television Comedy 6 Light Entertainment on Television - and the Black-British Cultures it is Missing 7 Reflections on Black Masculinities and British Sporting Culture on Television B Casting the Black Subject in Television Drama 9 Pounds, Policy and Pressure: Black-British Filmmaking - 'As Seen on TV' 10 The Struggle for Meanings of 'Blackness': Summary and Conclusion Bibliography Index. This volume offers the first critical history of black and Asian representation on British television from the earliest days of broadcasting to the present day. This is an appropriate moment in which to look back at the history of Black representation on British telivision.