![]() ![]() ![]() In this way, Wright suggests that newspapers possess a kind of legal authority over black life. In my second chapter, I argue that Bigger’s journalistic treatment dehumanizes him and convinces white society of the necessity of his execution. ![]() My first chapter explores Bigger Thomas’s experience as an audience member of Trader Horn, through which Wright demonstrates that Hollywood representations of African Americans deceive black people into entering an inherently unfair racial and economic system only to punish them for attempting to cross racial and economic boundaries. 12 Million Black Voices complements Native Son through its effort to realistically portray African Americans. In Native Son, Wright protests media representations of African Americans by highlighting the demonization of Bigger Thomas by the mainstream media. In this thesis, I identify and analyze the ways Wright challenges representations of African Americans across film, print media, and photography. Through his exploration of the media’s power, he depicts the human toll caused in a historical moment when visual images were gaining currency and presents alternative representations that accurately depict black life. Richard Wright’s major works of the early 1940s-Native Son (1940) and 12 Million Black Voices (1941)-protest the racism of the mainstream media and advance positive images of African American life. ![]()
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