Mercedes Jones
Glee, a show often lauded as being the show “for the outcasts”, is egregiously guilty of committing acts of marginalization of Black teens as well as playing up classic Black stereotypes. Unlike some of the other stereotypes of the show, Mercedes Jones’ caricature portrayal is played up strictly for laughs and is not intended to make the audience think. Glee participates in the subalternation of Black folk in the media partially because they keep their sole Black character in the margins for the majority of the time (see the video to the right. Even in a video dedicated to a Mercedes song she is rarely shown. In the scenes she is shown she is even more rarely the focus of that scene. The video is a fanmade video, and the treatment of Mercedes in the video is indicative of Glee fans taking in the implied message that Mercedes is strictly a side-character to be used only for what she has to offer that can benefit the main group, nothing more. For more information on how media keeps Black characters literally in the margins check out the “Living in the Margins” tab) but also because the show creates, within their sole Black female character, an amalgamation of past (and present) Black stereotypes.
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When it comes to archetypes the show makes it clear that Mercedes is meant to be the “Mammy/Sapphire”. This is shown to us in a purely aesthetic way thanks to the creator’s choice of casting a bigger actress to play Mercedes (weight is a major part of the “Mammy” stereotype for the most part, see: Hattie McDaniel, Florida Evans from Maude, and Mammy Two Shoes from Tom and Jerry). Beyond aesthetics, nearly everything about Mercedes character falls into the Mammy/Sapphire trope. (For a better understanding of Mammy/Sapphire please visit here). Mercedes, as a character, seems to primarily be motivated by a desire to support the (primarily White) New Directions, in an almost nurturing way, as well as by food and a desire to be as sassy as possible (see video. When asked to write songs Mercedes came up with “Hell to the No” A song which has lyrics like "they tried to take away my tots/I said hell to the no....Tell me I should eat my Wheaties/ Hell to the no/Tell me I'll come down with diabetes/Hell to the no".)
In Croteau’s “Media and Ideology” he positions the essay’s understanding of ideology as “a system of meaning that helps define and explain the world and that makes value judgments about that world…It refers not only to the beliefs held about the world but also to the basic ways in which the world is defined”(159-160). With this definition in mind, we would argue that two of the dominant ideologies of society are White Supremacy and antiBlackness (this coincides with the W from Leslie Grinner’s “SCWA(A)MP” analysis. The “W” standing in for Whiteness. However, we would argue that Whiteness or White Supremacy is not encompassing enough, thus the need to specify “antiBlackness”). Croteau goes on to note the ways in which media can act as a medium for the dominant ideologies of society. An important part of Croteau’s argument to note is that mediated images can at once seem subversive (to the dominant ideologies) while still falling in line with them in other ways. That is what we have with Glee. Glee is a show that has many subversive qualities but in other areas they fall very much in line with the dominant framework of society, particularly as it pertains to the Black youth represented in the show.
One of the reasons why media is such a successful tool as a medium to pass on dominant ideologies is that it is often able to do so quite covertly. This ability to covertly spread hegemonic ideals is what Christensen is referring to when she discusses the “secret education”. While her chapter, “Unlearning the Myths that Bind us”, primarily focuses on fairy tales the general concept of her text is not confined to just that one genre of media. Christensen, paraphrasing Chilean author Ariel Dorfman, notes that the “secret education…instructs young people to accept the world as it is portrayed in these social blueprints” (176). When we are constantly being inundated with images that reflect and project a particular world view we begin to see that worldview as “reality”. If the reality we are constantly being shown, and being led to believe is our reality, is filled with Black folk, particularly Black youth, on the periphery and acting in particular ways, we will begin to believe that Black folk belong in the margins and are lacking in the type of multifariousness found in other racial communities.
The reasons listed above are part of the reasons why Mercedes Jones’ characterizations are so harmful. Particularly because Mercedes is presented to us in a show that is packaged as “subversive” to the mainstream. It is harmful to all communities, not just the Black community, when we begin to internalize these kinds of beliefs. Black folk suffer from the dehumanization and subalternation involved. And, arguably, White folk suffer from internal ethical conflicts for degrading and dehumanizing an entire community of their fellow humans (this assertion may be entirely too optimistic. If the dehumanization is seen as a regular activity to participate in then that does not allow for ethical conflict).
Our argument points out that Black youth have a tendency of being represented in a way that places them outside of humanity. One of the ways in which this is done is by taking the common discourses for teens and multiplying them when it comes to Black folk. This exaggeration of common youth discourses implies that there is something outside-of-the-norm when it comes to Black youth. We see this even with Mercedes Jones. While she’s not a “bad” kid, and Glee does not play on the idea of Black folk as inherently deviant/criminal (in contrast to Pretty Little Liars treatment of Nate/Lyndon), she does embody the discourse of “pleasurable consumption” in a way that is far more exaggerated than the average youth character. The fact of Mercedes’ naming alone is an example of exaggerated discourse that we do not often see in White youth characters. Naming Mercedes after a luxury car not only allows for the creators to utilize a common stereotype of the Black community (“absurd” naming tendencies) but it also allows them to create a character who has pleasurable consumption built in to the very core.
One of the reasons why media is such a successful tool as a medium to pass on dominant ideologies is that it is often able to do so quite covertly. This ability to covertly spread hegemonic ideals is what Christensen is referring to when she discusses the “secret education”. While her chapter, “Unlearning the Myths that Bind us”, primarily focuses on fairy tales the general concept of her text is not confined to just that one genre of media. Christensen, paraphrasing Chilean author Ariel Dorfman, notes that the “secret education…instructs young people to accept the world as it is portrayed in these social blueprints” (176). When we are constantly being inundated with images that reflect and project a particular world view we begin to see that worldview as “reality”. If the reality we are constantly being shown, and being led to believe is our reality, is filled with Black folk, particularly Black youth, on the periphery and acting in particular ways, we will begin to believe that Black folk belong in the margins and are lacking in the type of multifariousness found in other racial communities.
The reasons listed above are part of the reasons why Mercedes Jones’ characterizations are so harmful. Particularly because Mercedes is presented to us in a show that is packaged as “subversive” to the mainstream. It is harmful to all communities, not just the Black community, when we begin to internalize these kinds of beliefs. Black folk suffer from the dehumanization and subalternation involved. And, arguably, White folk suffer from internal ethical conflicts for degrading and dehumanizing an entire community of their fellow humans (this assertion may be entirely too optimistic. If the dehumanization is seen as a regular activity to participate in then that does not allow for ethical conflict).
Our argument points out that Black youth have a tendency of being represented in a way that places them outside of humanity. One of the ways in which this is done is by taking the common discourses for teens and multiplying them when it comes to Black folk. This exaggeration of common youth discourses implies that there is something outside-of-the-norm when it comes to Black youth. We see this even with Mercedes Jones. While she’s not a “bad” kid, and Glee does not play on the idea of Black folk as inherently deviant/criminal (in contrast to Pretty Little Liars treatment of Nate/Lyndon), she does embody the discourse of “pleasurable consumption” in a way that is far more exaggerated than the average youth character. The fact of Mercedes’ naming alone is an example of exaggerated discourse that we do not often see in White youth characters. Naming Mercedes after a luxury car not only allows for the creators to utilize a common stereotype of the Black community (“absurd” naming tendencies) but it also allows them to create a character who has pleasurable consumption built in to the very core.