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Hawkeye and Disability Representation in the Media

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      The character Hawkeye , also known as Clint Barton, is a Marvel superhero that emerged in the midst of the Marvel Age. Created by writer Stan Lee and penciler Don Heck, he bears no actual superpowers, but Hawkeye has excellent reflexes and very keen eyesight.  He uses his heightened reflexes and superb eyesight to excel in hand-to-hand combat and marksmanship, making him a vital member of the Avengers.  While these traits remain constant throughout the comic books, another is not so consistent.  At various points throughout the comics Hawkeye loses his hearing, but it does not seem to stick.  Because of the trauma that Hawkeye experiences, he should be a character that deals with the disability of deafness; however, it is up to the writer whether they choose to make him deaf or not.                                                                                       https://comicvine.gamespot.com/hawkeye/4005-1475/       Superhero comics have the tendency to fail to properly
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Summary of Blog Posts

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      To find the artifacts for my blogposts I first focused on topics that interest me or that I am already familiar with.  I took a class on comic books this semester in which I wrote a paper about disability representation in superhero comics, talking about the erasure of Hawkeye’s deafness.  I formed my prior research into a blogpost relating Hawkeye’s story of misrepresentation to the representation of Native Americans in media and the effects it has on identity.  For the same class, while reading the comic “Blazing Combat”, I noted an example of colorblind racism from a character.  I discuss this in a blog post about unintentional colorblind racism.   Lastly, I am familiar with the actress Chloe Bennet from watching the Marvel television show “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”  and relate her choice to change her name for Hollywood to the inequalities seen in hiring among minorities as explained in chapter 27 of the course reading.       Moving on from my interest in comics, chapter 32 of
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Is Intersectional Feminism A Reality?

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      In our course reading, chapter 53 and Clark's "Hope in a hashtag" essay discuss how feminism and activism today looks different than it looked in the 1950's to the 1980's.  They argue that through the power of hashtag activism and social media, marginalized groups are getting a voice. The course readings support the idea that feminism and activism is becoming more intersectional.       However, in her essay titled "Breaking Up with Intersectional Feminism"  Black feminist Tamela Gordon asserts that an intersectional feminism and activism is never coming.  She chronicles her journey to breaking up with intersectional feminism starting at the very beginning when she was its biggest fan.  Her essay brings in reality and real life experience to the course reading to show that intersectional feminism is complicated and far away in real life.  Gordon noticed that:  Intersectional feminism doesn’t mean anything if white women still struggle to support
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Serena Williams and the 'Angry Black Woman' Stereotype

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      Chapter 20 of the course reading discusses the stereotypes placed on African American women and the negative affects that they have.  One of those stereotypes is the stereotype of the ' angry black woman '. This stereotypes Black women as "domineering, vociferous, and curt... serving to reinforce the ideas of black women's inherent lack of femininity and worth" (Durr & Wingfield, 2011, p.169).  As a result of this stereotype, many African American women actively change their behavior in public, putting on a performance to appear less aggressive. African American women are treated unfairly.  For the same action, a man would be considered masculine, a white woman would be considered strong, and a black woman would be stereotyped.                                                                                           https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-45476500       This stereotype is upheld by the media as black women in the public eye are con
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Colorblind Racism in "Blazing Combat"

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      Blazing Combat  is a series of comic books that came out in the late 60's amidst the controversial Vietnam War.  While many comics of the time avoided 'hot topics' such as the war and racism, Blazing Combat made it its focus.  Blazing Combat No. 4 , released in January of 1966 is made up of multiple short narratives. The first story titled Conflict! , written by Archie Goodwin and drawn by Gene Colan, spotlights racism within American troops.  However, while attempting to express inclusion, a soldier unintentionally exhibits colorblind racism in the second to last panel.  According to our course reading, colorblind racism allows whites to imagine a society where institutional racism no longer exists and disregards racial hierarchy.  It ignores the uniqueness and abilities of individuals of different races, erasing their history.            Blazing Combat No.4 p.143 Goodwin & Colan       The   Black soldier's statement that, "I don't go out af
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Interracial Relationships in Commercials

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      In 2013, General Mills, maker of Cheerios, released a wholesome  Cheerio commercial that featured a biracial family.  In the commercial, an African American little girl asks her White mother if Cheerios are good for you heart, then the scene switches to her African American father waking up with Cheerios poured all over his chest. The audience assumes that the little girl poured the Cheerios on her father' chest to help his heart.       The ad quickly became a very controversial video on YouTube with the comments section full of racial slurs an other hateful messages.  General Mills disabled the non-family friendly comments on the YouTube video, but elected not to pull the ad, sticking to their values.  The ad represents inclusion and progress in the media towards representation of interracial couples and families as many companies would stay away from the topic, fearful of the response.  Chapter 32 of the course reading discusses some of the struggles of discrimination
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Does Your Name Determine if You Get the Job?

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      Asian American actress Chloe Bennet is known most for her role as Daisy Johnson in Marvel's television show "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", though she has been in numerous other television shows and movies.  However, her last name 'Bennet' is a stage name.  Her actual name is Chloe Wang, as she elected to change it. Bennet shared in an interview with toofab that she chose to change her name because hollywood is racist, remembering that the first audition after she changed her name, she got the role.       When questioned on social media in a since-deleted Instagram post on why she changed her name her response was: Changing my last name doesn't change the fact that my BLOOD is half Chinese, that I lived in China, speak Mandarin or that I was culturally raised both American and Chinese. It means I had to pay my rent, and Hollywood is racist and wouldn't cast me with a last name that made them uncomfortable.  Chapter 27 of the course reading brings
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