Discussion of Daphne Brooks' article

            Initially, I was very intrigued by Brooks’ article because of the interesting topic she presented. In her abstract, she revealed that through the paper she examined “the politics of black women’s pop music culture in relation to the Gulf Coast catastrophe and the extreme marginalization of black women in American sociopolitical culture.” (p. 180) However, the links to Hurricane Katrina and the governmental response and lack of relief efforts appeared convoluted. The relation of Blidge’s performance to the relief efforts and as an effort to potentially bring about issues of “black female citizenship in American culture” appeared somewhat relevant because of the platform she utilized. (p. 189) The obvious connection of performing a rock song with a white man in an effort to raise money for Hurricane Katrina victims played a role in linking Blidge, as well as her music, to the catastrophe. However, the use of Beyonce’s second solo recording, B-Day, in relation to Hurricane Katrina appeared to be an artificially produced bridge between the two. The connection between Beyonce’s album and underlying issues regarding black female representation and an effort to dismantle stereotypes about black women that were perhaps more blatantly revealed through media coverage regarding Hurricane Katrina appeared to be a far stretch. Brooks’ discussion of female discontent and Beyonce’s attempt to create a new identity for black women was a much more convincing argument without her attempt to force a connection between Beyonce’s representation of this complex topic and Hurricane Katrina. Brooks used examples such as visual aspects from the album and music videos that related the music to the bayous of the south to link B-Day to Hurricane Katrina. The information that was utilized through the discussion of Beyonce’s work in connection to Hurricane Katrina appeared somewhat shallow. Overall, the idea of the marginalization of black women in American sociopolitical culture was discussed in an in-depth and convincing way. Yet, the aspects of the article that discussed its connection to Hurricane Katrina were somewhat lacking. Of course, the entire theme of the article would lack a significant part, yet Brooks’ article would have been much more compelling without the attempt to associate it with the Gulf Coast catastrophe.