Blog Assignment 4
Adolescent Portrayal in Popular Text/For Colored Girls
When thinking about popular culture and the representation of youth and the adolescent body in the media we often look immediately to the discourse of emotional instability. This is a common view, when studying popular adolescent representation, yet within in this blog I chose to take a different route. Critical youth studies suggest that we should “Resist the impulse to think about adolescents as flighty, emotional, unserious, adults-in-the-making—understand them as subjects in their own right.” (Brown, Spring 2011). So while taking this into account I consider the argument of Harris and explore these two parallels of the can-do and at-risk girl.
With the female being a prime target in popular adolescent text we tend to over look the divisions that exist in the portrayal of the can-do and at-risk girls. In the movie For Colored Girls , a cast of black women from all walks of life tell their own personal story of love, sexuality, abuse and family bond while tying in the role that society plays. One character in particular by the name of Nyla was a 17 year old biracial female, growing up in the urban parts of New York. According to Harris Nyla would fit all the criteria of a at- risk girl, those would include her race being of a minority class (biracial) , with her location of living education and resources were limited, and her consumption was of an undesirable state (i.e. teen sex, mother hood). Within in this film you can see the depiction of the at-risk adolescent female.
Nyla shows the true depiction of an at-risk girl when she finds out that she is 4 weeks pregnant by a guy that she isn’t in a relationship with. With a lack of parental support from her mother and her father not being present in her life, her resources of knowledge and support are limited. Being 17 with no source of personal income or guidance Nyla does what she thinks is best and has a back yard abortion. Being mentally and physically scared Nyla finishes her story off with regret in her decision.
I believe that Harris would argue that because Nyla wasn’t pushed by a positive force like most can-do girls, her story is already written for her at birth. With all the elements against her she almost doesn’t have a fighting chance to even make it out of her current surroundings or living situation. Nyla like many at-risk teen girls are set up for a cycle of disaster.
Besides the fact that Nyla has everything going against her, I believe one of the most evident factors that stand out is Nyla’s race. Though she is biracial, her mother being black and her father being white, she identifies as African American. With race being at the top of the list of factors for at-risk and can-do girls, one must look beyond gender and even sexuality and realize how big of a discourse race may being when depicting adolescents in the media. Many times it is the minority who in reality are set in situations that are not only great for TV. viewing, but stories of horror. With the element of race being at the top of the hierarchy it is easy to see how gender, class and sexuality so easily follow thereafter.
In conclusion I feel as though this movie does a great job of showing us the story of the at-risk girl. But one thing that I can’t ignore is that many shows or movies don’t frequently show both stories within one script. For example it is very hard to think of popular media that depicts both at-risk and can-do girl in the same physical presence. And if there is popular media that does represent this, the factors of race, sexuality, motherhood, work and job are not usually polar opposites from each other or just not all present. I have tried to conclude as to why this is so but have yet to come up with a logical answer, With that said it is evident that the roles in popular text for adolescents especially those of color are very limited to say the least.
Harris, Anita. "The "Can-Do" Girl Versus The "At-Risk" Girl." Future Girl: Young Women in the
