The Suffering Will Not Be Televised: African American Women and Sentimental Political Storytelling

Wanzo (women's studies and English, the Ohio State University) uses the example of Jessica Lynch to underline her demonstration of the way in which media privilege cute white females when attempting to elicit a sentimental reaction from the audience. Although Lynch and others refuted the news reports of her plight, that didn't stop a movie being made about her. At the same time, Shoshana Johnson became the first female African-American prisoner of war and received little attention, nor did the men she was captured with. This sets the stage for a penetrating look at how, historically, stories of women and children in danger have preferred to focus on white blondes if at all possible. If black women are in danger it is better in terms of a story to have them rescued by white people. Wanza makes it clear that this marginalization can apply to many other groups, particularly men in danger. She chooses the race and gender stereotyping as a paradigm. The book traces the sentimental impact of white, blond females back to Little Eva in "Uncle Tom's Cabin". She shows how the creation of sentimental slants on stories and the selection of which stories to tell have been and continue to be used politically by both left and right. The case of Oprah Winfrey is a bridge between the creation of a sympathetic sentiment and also how this trope can be reversed to create change. The chapter on representation of pain is particularly compelling. Wanzo challenges the reader to recognize a cultural manipulation so ingrained that most of us don't even realize it is being done. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Rebecca Wanzo is Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and English at the Ohio State University.