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  • Color Monitors: The Black Face of Technology in America
  • Joe Erickson (bio)
Color Monitors: The Black Face of Technology in America. By Martin Kevorkian . Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2006 Pp. xii+204. $59.59/ $17.95.

Martin Kevorkian's first book examines the prevalent depiction of African Americans as highly skilled technical gurus working alongside white protagonists in film, television, narrative fiction, and even advertising media. He points out that while these might seem like admirable roles, on close inspection they indicate a resurgence of the deeply rooted anxiety that whites had toward African Americans during the slave regime in the United States. With laudable clarity, Kevorkian guides readers through several examples of these depictions in popular media such as Mission Impossible, Jurassic Park, and Clear and Present Danger as he describes how they conflate the racial anxieties of old with the technological anxieties of the digital age. He provocatively argues that these representational conflations of white anxiety over the "dehumanizing . . . effects of information technology" with the once dehumanized "black male body" result from the unconscious projection of the fear of disembodiment onto the already disembodied (p. 2).

Kevorkian starts by aligning himself with other critical commentators in this arena of cultural studies. In chapter 1 he declares that there is more at stake than the "ghostly menace of the virtual," otherwise known as technophobia (p. 13). He goes on to discuss how popular cinematic depictions of black monitors "function as strategies for containment and instrumentalization" (p. 14). For example, in Kevorkian's analysis of the 1988 film Die Hard, his careful examination of its black characters reveals a telling point: they are all subservient to the white action stars. Focusing on Theo, the computer hacker of the terrorist group in the film, Kevorkian points out that he is merely "an implement for breaking and entering, an expert system ideally replaceable by artificial intelligence software but welcome as a contained black presence" (p. 16). Kevorkian's overall argument in his analysis of this film and others is that there is a trend in modern movies that seems to want to "civilize the savages" by reducing them to their mere utility (p. 9).

In subsequent chapters Kevorkian switches gears to point out variations of this theme, focusing, for example, on other action movies such as The Lost World that represent black characters as techno-sidekicks to the action heroes who save the nation. As Kevorkian points out, the technological skills these sidekicks bring into play ultimately have little to do with the act of saving the day or the resolution of the plot. Their presence has more to do with presenting America's persistent colonial dominance in an age where the virtual is supposed to "dissolve nationality" (p. 9). Kevorkian further shifts his angle of analysis by examining corporate narratives such as advertisements and annual reports by Dell and other companies to describe how they differentiate between "executive white masculinity and technologized blackness" (p. 9). [End Page 295]

Perhaps the most important part of Color Monitors, however, is the conclusion, in which Kevorkian presents readers with an analysis of the works of writers, musicians, and artists who are more tuned in to the racial coding embedded in their craftsmanship. Taking creative hints from the likes of Thomas Pynchon and Ralph Ellison, Kevorkian showcases a small sampling of creators who defy the trend he so carefully outlines in the preceding chapters.

With Color Monitors, Kevorkian gives us a germane, convincing, and provocative study of a severe glitch in our increasingly digital world, which many examine with idealistic eyes. The racial coding that he gleans from popular media and presents in this work will startle readers even though they are likely familiar with many of the scenes in question. Those who study race, media, economics, literature, sociology, or anything in the humanities and social sciences should connect deeply with Color Monitors. Indeed, this book provides insight for us all as we unconsciously absorb messages from the increasing presence of technological media in our daily lives.

Joe Erickson

Joe Erickson is a student in Bowling Green State University’s rhetoric and writing Ph.D. program. While his current research focuses...

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