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Black Frankenstein

The Making of an American Metaphor

Elizabeth Young author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:New York University Press

Published:10th Aug '08

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Black Frankenstein cover

This book examines the racial implications of the Frankenstein narrative, particularly the representation of a black monster in American culture and its critiques of racial dynamics.

In Black Frankenstein, Elizabeth Young explores the profound impact of Mary Shelley's iconic novel on American culture, particularly its racial implications. Despite the extensive scholarship surrounding Frankenstein, Young highlights a significant gap in the discourse regarding its influence on racial narratives in the United States. She uncovers the recurring motif of a black American Frankenstein monster that appears across various forms of media, including literature, film, and visual arts, from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. This exploration reveals how both white and African American creators have engaged with this figure in their works.

Young argues that the black Frankenstein serves multiple purposes in racial critique. It humanizes the enslaved individual, offers explanations for black violence, condemns the institution of slavery, and exposes the fragility of white dominance. Through these narratives, the black Frankenstein emerges as a complex metaphor that both reinforces and challenges racial hierarchies. The book illustrates how these stories contribute to a broader understanding of race and power dynamics in American society.

Ultimately, Black Frankenstein sheds light on the enduring relevance of this metaphor in literature, culture, aesthetics, and politics. By examining the interplay of parody and reappropriation, Young emphasizes the significance of these narratives in shaping anti-racist discourse and their ongoing impact on contemporary discussions about race and identity.

Young encourages readers to use her work to further develop the idea of the Frankenstein metaphor. She has given scholars of literature and metaphorical studies an excellent place to begin. -- Edward Dauterich * African American Review *
A subtle, complex, and deeply read romp through the last two centuries of transatlantic literary and cultural history. Truly eye-opening and provocative. -- Eric Lott,University of Virginia
In Black Frankenstein, Young tears apart and rearranges the monster we think we know into something entirely fresh and challenging. This excellent and provocative book offers a compelling lesson in the political and cultural uses of a metaphor organized by design, as well as unconsciously, into a racial paradigm. -- Eric J. Sundquist,author of Strangers in the Land: Blacks, Jews, Post-Holocaust America
Youngs & black Frankenstein monster becomes a powerful metaphor for negotiating the racial anxieties of modern America. As the author recounts, the figure appears in both racist and antiracist discourses, exhibiting the powerful mobility of the monster metaphor as well as its popular appeal. Young combines sharp analysis with her amazing research, noteworthy for its breadth and scope, to demonstrate the depths to which this image has penetrated American racial cultures. Whether she is examining novelist Paul Laurence Dunbar, filmmaker Mel Brooks, or comedian Dick Gregory, Young offers astute readings of the cultural text and its racial underpinnings. Building on recent work by Paul Gilroy, Teresa Goddu, Toni Morrison, Michael Hardt, and Antonio Negri, this book provides a compelling new vision of the monster we thought we knew so well. Highly recommended. * Choice *

ISBN: 9780814797167

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 522g

336 pages