2024 Articles

Freedom in an Age of Repression: The Role of Black Theology and Black-Produced Media in Forging Freedom

Arce, Wendy M.

This paper will explore the role that black theology and black-produced films of 2016 play in creating a narrative that seeks freedom for African Americans in the United States during this age of brutality and mass incarceration. Starting with Alexander's The New Jim Crow and Duvernay's 13th, this paper illustrates how the media and the legal system have worked together to create a culture of criminality still imposed on black youth. Theologians Cone and Brown Douglas rely on the concepts of God's freedom, God's revolutionary love and faithful action to resist such a hostile culture, but two black-produced films of 2016 also rely on the concept of freedom in the face of criminality. Birth of a Nation not only to shows a positive portrayal of black men in the media, but Moonlight illustrates the complexity of growing up in communities that are repressed by this hostile culture.