Review of: Black Demons: the Media's Depiction of the African American Male Criminal Stereotype, by D. Rome

Kendrick Brown, Macalester College

Abstract

Reviews the book, Black demons: The media's depiction of the African American male criminal stereotype by D. Rome (2004). In its seven chapters, the book provides a historical and theoretical context for contemporary depictions in television, movies, and music. The driving concept in the book is that African American men are depicted as "Black demons" by U.S. media. The first chapter is an introduction that emphasizes the socially constructed nature of crime in the United States. The next chapter examines the historical factors that enabled the promotion of contemporary images of African American men as criminals. One of the other chapters is the most pivotal in the book because it presents the theoretical foundation for analysis in the subsequent chapters covering specific mediums. The author argues that TV images of African American men have changed to reflect shifting ideological stances on crime and its causes in U.S. society. The author examines blaxploitation films as one of the key driving forces behind drugs, crime, and sex being associated with African Americans in contemporary films. There are some unexplored topics in the book that could be investigated. The book highlights a number of ideas worth pondering in classroom discussions about the text.