It's all my mom's fault that I returned to watching Raw on Monday nights. Okay, maybe it was a little bit of nostalgia for those high school days where I'd watch over the phone with the bestest friend and boo. Nevertheless, I'm in that thang at 9:00pm.
The beginning of last night's episode resulted in an "attach palm to forehead and breathe deeply" moment. R-Truth, one of the few black wrestlers in the WWE, has (for me at least) secured his spot as this generation's Booker T. Truth's theme song "What's Up" garnered an eyebrow raise. But when dude talked, I had a moment.
The scenario went like this: R-Truth was in line to get a shot at the WWE Championship along with John Cena (who, soon enough, will get his own Mad Minute spot). He was talking to the crowd and another wrestler, John Morrison, interrupted and suckered him out of his title bout. A duped R-Truth royally whooped Morrison's ass after losing his title shot.
My question: what is the worth of blackness in professional wrestling? I don't wanna say or really believe that R-Truth is a hambone coon. But last night he was coon-ish, perpetuating nearly every stereotypical rendering of black masculinity with the exception of his hair. THAT looked like a job by Da Brat's "So Funkdafied" stylist. All black everything - jeans, wrist and arm bands...skin. Topped off with a white spray painted "What's Up?" on his ass. Classy.
On the one hand, R-Truth signifies the violent hypermasculine black body that is both commodifed and perpetuated in American (pop) culture. What becomes complicated, however, is how his particular hyperviolent and hyperaware black male body exists and is contextualized within a voyeuristic space of a few things - (homo)socialism and eroticism, violence, and whiteness. It's a murky undertaking to attempt sort out the discourse needed to properly discuss the implication of body and identity politics and blackness in a very white pro wrestling arena (pun intended).
That's what's up.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Come on now! You knew that sumthin was gonna happen for R-Truth to not be champ...that portion of America really doesn't have an attraction to a black world champion...wrassling is they sport in their eyes
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, his character isn't developed enough to get the strap yet. BUT...don't worry, because it is coming. R-Truth has been pure GOLD after his heel turn and people that hated him before as a face like him now as a heel and are entertained whenever he gets on the mic with his "little Jimmy" routine. Remember, ultimately the WWE is run by Vince McMahon and last time I checked he isn't Afrikan. LOL One thing about Vince though...money talks. When he saw how popular The Rock was the Rock got the strap. Same thing will happen with R-Truth. Also, keep an eye on that Indian Wrestler Jinder Mahal. I think he is going to be the next Big Thing!
ReplyDelete