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Multiracialism on The Real World and the Reconfiguration of Politics in MTV's Brand During the 2000s
Popular Communication (2010)
  • Jonathan Kraszewski, Ph.D., Seton Hall University
Abstract
The Real World's focus on multiracial identity is part of the MTV's efforts to rebrand itself as being more tolerant of all political opinions in the 2000s. Post-2000 seasons of The Real World contain two different portraits of multiracialism that appeal to viewers across the political spectrum. The liberalism in these seasons comes from multiracialism functioning as a liberal utopia free of racism, one where fluidity, not hostility, defines race relations. At the same time, these seasons appeal to conservative sensibilities by making multiracial cast members models of neoliberal self-management that conservatives recently have used to justify dismantling the welfare state and civil rights initiatives. While neither the liberal nor the conservative portraits of multiracialism on post-2000 seasons of The Real World appear to be overtly racist, I unearth subtext where The Real Worldarticulates multiracialism to white supremacy and anti-blackness.
Publication Date
2010
DOI
10.1080/15405701003676105
Citation Information
Jonathan Kraszewski. "Multiracialism on The Real World and the Reconfiguration of Politics in MTV's Brand During the 2000s" Popular Communication Vol. 8 Iss. 2 (2010) p. 132 - 146 ISSN: 1540-5702
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jonathan-kraszewski/6/