Blog Post 6

Cornel West on the Roots of and Destruction Caused by Black Nihilism

Dr. Cornel West's essay Nihilism in Black America is a bold statement on the importance of love and hope to the improvement of the black condition in America. West's essay holds many points that are congruent to those discussed in his various lectures and interviews. West mainly focuses on the roots and reasons behind black nihilism and the self destruction that it is causing.

West opens his essay on discussing the popular liberal and conservative ideas on why black Americans are still unequal and downtrodden and then proposes his own thesis. Black inequality isn't caused by a lack of protestant work ethic or structural assistance, but by nihilism among black Americans. West describes this nihilism not as philosophic but indicative of a sweeping hopelessness and lovelessness. West continues to say that this nihilism has devalued human life in black culture and increased the drive towards materialism. West further explains the destructiveness of this nihilism when he writes "life without meaning, hope, and love breeds a coldhearted, mean-spirited outlook that destroys both the individual and others.” (40). At a speech given an APHA meeting West defines love as "a steadfast commitment to the well-being of others." Thus, West is expressing that the black community (and America as a whole) no longer seems to care about the wellness of others and has replaced this sentiment with nihilism and materialism. It is important to note here that West broadens his explanation to describe not only black Americans but all working class Americans (a theme that persists through many of his lectures). Dr. West believes that nihilism and apathy are a prevalent cause of black inequality and that love must be reinjected into the black psyche in order to succeed. This position raises the question "what is causing this nihilism?"

West explores black nihilism and offers what he believes to be the source of this problem. The two ideas he mostly explores in his essay are linked to personal and financial security. In his appearance on the Bill Maher show, West states that terrorist attacks on America have recently led many to a self-justified paranoia. He likens this to the black experience when he says "to be black in America for 400 years is to be unsafe, unprotected, subject to random violence, and hated." This is a powerful point in relation to his discussion of black nihilism. This hate and violence (both internal and external in its genesis) experienced by black Americans have led to the feeling of meaningless and hopelessness that West believes is central to black nihilism. West further explores this point again in his APHA lecture when he says that "everyday people feel more and more helpless and hopeless and hapless." This lack of personal security leads black Americans to hopeless which leads to nihilism. The other point discussed by West is how financial security is linked to nihilism. He writes in his essay that “The eclipse of hope and collapse of meaning in much of black America is linked to the structural dynamics of corporate market institutions that affect all Americans.” (42). West explores commodification in his essay and discusses it in his lecture. He believes that materialism and "the wall street oligarchy" has consistently led to hopelessness among black Americans and the working middle class. The root of nihilism is hopelessness and that hopelessness is subsisted by insecurity on many levels among black Americans.

West's exploration of black nihilism is refreshing in its frank discussion of the problems face black America. West makes few excuses in his assessments and clearly points out why and how nihilism became the prevailing sentiment in black America. The roots of nihilism is in hopelessness and West believes that "a love ethic must be at the center" of the conversion of black America off of nihilistic and materialistic lifestyles (43). Furthermore, Dr. West often expands his points to cover working class America as a whole so it is important to understand the points he is making and how they can be used to bolster equality and justice for people of all races in America.

Blog Post 5

There are several apparent parallels between bell hooks' analysis of black culture and the introduction segment to Black Popular Culture written by Gina Dent. Both hooks and Dent discuss different facets of black culture in an attempt to decode its essence, popularity, and importance. The similarities between the two coverages of black culture are most obvious in the feminist leaning analysis and architecture of both women's dissertations and their discussion of film as a particularly important aspect of black culture.

Dent and hooks are both known for having written many feminist essays and books so it comes as no surprise that both of the women take this focus when they assay black culture. Dent makes it clear early in her essay that black culture cannot simply be looked at racially. It is necessary to not only look at black people as a homogeneous group but to be aware of the differences that exist in culture, class, etc. Hooks has a similar point when she discusses black culture. She focuses on the role of women in black culture and their depictions in media such as film and music videos and what this says about black culture and American culture as a whole. Hooks goes on to warn viewers not to allow race and black culture/white culture distinctions to muddle situations that require the analysis of other issues. The example she gives is that of the OJ Simpson trial that became a media circus and contained much coverage of racially focused issues while the actual issue at hand was domestic violence and violence perpetrated by a man against a woman. Both women want to ensure the reader or listener that black culture contains important internal distinctions. A passage from the Dent essay serves as an excellent segue into the next issue that both women hold in common: "It has become increasingly clear that black criticism will have to begin to make use of the more sophisticated cultural analyses that depend on understanding the complexities of video imaging, the dynamics of reception and reception theory." (Dent 6).

Films are central theme in both pieces. Dent discusses several "black films" including Boyz in the Hood, Jungle Fever, and Tongues Untied. Dent wants the reader to focus on what these films say about black culture and specifically black gay culture and black joy. Dent recognizes the importance of films to black culture and how these films impact American culture as a whole. Hooks takes this a step further in her analysis of the idea of the "black film." Hooks brings up in her segment on Spike Lee on the idea of black films as a money making tool in predominantly white Hollywood and the fact that, in many cases, they are not at all indicative of black culture. The dichotomy that Hooks is particularly focused on is that of Spike Lee's films being regarded as failures by some and the success of other "black films" like Waiting to Exhale. Spike Lee's films made moderate profits but more importantly conveyed a genuine message of black culture while Waiting to Exhale conveyed an image manipulated by white studio executives in what was more of a parody black culture than a realistic portrayal of life as a black person or an important issue facing black Americans. Both Dent and hooks pay particular attention to film because it is one of the most important aspects of any culture and serves to modify racial, gender, and class stereotypes.

Hooks and Dent's are similar in the way they approach their discussions of black culture. While Dent focuses particularly on the idea of black joy and what link it has to black culture, hooks takes a head on approach to the idea of black culture; however, both women approach the subject with a feminist bent. Dent's essay and hooks short documentary on black culture show that both women want to convey to their readers and viewers that black culture is a multi-layered entity that deserves analysis from several different perspectives with particular focus on black films and what they say about black people and black culture to America and pop culture as a whole.