Designing Change: Confronting the Exploitation of Black Trauma
Thesis Paper
The Challenge:Film and television are powerful architects of social reality. For decades, design choices—from casting and costuming to narrative structure—have been used to perpetuate limited and often traumatic portrayals of Black lives. The challenge of this thesis was to trace these "visual legacies" from the early 1900s to the modern era and identify how creators can move beyond "trauma-porn" toward inclusive, multidimensional storytelling.
The Strategy:I conducted an extensive historical and semiotic audit of Black representation. By analyzing landmark films and television shows, I identified the mechanical ways in which "The Jezebel," "The Mammy," and other archetypes were constructed through design. The thesis then shifts to a solution-oriented framework, examining the "Transformative Potential of Design" as a form of activism.
Research Highlights:
Historical Trace: Analyzed the shift from the total absence of Black stories to the racialized propaganda of the early 20th century (e.g., The Birth of a Nation).
Archetypal Deconstruction: Investigated how specific design choices—lighting, set dressing, and script-doctoring—reinforced stereotypes in both mainstream cinema and the Blaxploitation era.
The "Trauma Economy": Critiqued the industry’s reliance on Black trauma for critical acclaim, contrasting "pain-based" narratives with the revolutionary potential of Joy and Authenticity.
Strategic Bibliography: Leveraged a diverse range of sources, from Patricia Hill Collins’s Black Feminist Thought to the filmography of Ava DuVernay and Jordan Peele.
The Result: A 1 scholarly work that serves as a manifesto for my creative practice. This thesis proves that my design decisions are never arbitrary; they are informed by a deep understanding of history, sociology, and the ethical responsibility of a modern storyteller.
Key Deliverables:
Senior Thesis Manuscript: A fully researched and cited academic paper exploring media exploitation.
Visual Audit: A comparative analysis of historical vs. contemporary Black media representation.
Bibliographic Archive: A curated list of essential reading and viewing for media literacy.
Design Activism Framework: A set of principles for creators to challenge stereotypes through intentional design choices.
