A consistent thread throughout recent readings has been the (dis)advantages of essentializing and defining identities. What is at stake if we embrace that identities are non-logical concepts, perhaps more based on affect and subjectivity than perfectly rational systems? Are identity labels ultimately more important for marginalized communities or hegemonic structures?
Julien and Mercer argue that “various ‘marginal’ practices (black British film, for instance) are becoming de-marginalized at a time when ‘centred’ discourses of cultural authority and legitimation […] are becoming increasingly de-centred and destabilized” (453). Is there a connection between the critique of White supremacist hegemony and the deconstruction of racial identities writ large? Is the questioning of the concept of “identity” in part motivated by the push to center the “wrong” identities?
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