Weeks Topic Dreams Weeks Reading Uploaded Files Read Hughesm

Weeks Topic Dreamsweeks Reading Uploaded Filesread Hughesmonta

Weeks Topic Dreamsweeks Reading Uploaded Filesread Hughesmonta

Week's topic: Dreams Week's Reading: (uploaded files) Read: Hughes, Montage of a Dream Deferred ; Bennett, Juda, “Multiple Passings and the Double Death of Langston Hughes†( Biography .4) Screening: Julien, Isaac, Looking for Langston (1988; available via Kanopy); Marlon Riggs, Tongues Untied (1989; available via Kanopy) I have an outline and a feedback. (need correction,uploaded) Please have a look and have a sense of what is looking for, need adjust to the feedback, cuz the score of the outline is 86/100. Feedback from teacher: RE: your introductory topic, I think it's less that homosexual desire is beginning to appear more in a thus more confused society, and more the case that the configurations of power that disciplined homosexuality as marginal, a threat to be confined, are losing their force.

There's nothing new about same-sex couples, but there is something happening in the sense that same-sex couples are less seen as targets of policing, medical confinement, etc. Is technology part of the reason? You are arguing that it is, but I think you would have to say a bit more about this: it seems that communication technologies or technologies of representation are being liberalized such that same-sex subjects have more ability to voice their experiences and to communicate those experiences broadly. But there were networks of people who used to exchange, for example, erotic same-sex photographs, using the mail system. So technologies of communication might be part, but not all, of the reason.

I'm not sure that the biggest-selling artists are working primarily with sexual materials, so I"m not sure the use of art is the reason as such. Also, in this class, "aesthetics" refers to experience of sense and sensation, before it refers to the study of art works. Barbara Hammer would say that it is lesbians and other queer people fighting for their rights that produced these changes. For her, it was important to make films about lesbians - more important that to watch films like The Crying Game . I think, then, that your topic is still much too broad, and that you should identify a key artwork from our course materials, and 3 articles from the course readings, in which to ground your paper.

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction

The relationship between technological advancements and the visibility and expression of queer identities, particularly homosexual desire, has evolved significantly over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Historically, sexual minorities faced strict societal, legal, and medical discipline that marginalized and confined them. However, recent shifts suggest a decline in such paradigms, partly attributed to technological developments that provide new avenues for communication and representation. This paper investigates how these technological changes have contributed to the changing landscape of queer visibility, focusing on the intersection of media, art, and activism.

Contextualizing Homosexual Desire and Power Structures

Historically, societal power structures maintained strict control over expressions of homosexuality. These included legal persecutions, medical confinement, and social stigmatization that sought to suppress same-sex desire. Hughes’s “Montage of a Dream Deferred” critically explores these themes by highlighting the struggles of African American communities but also intersect with notions of identity, suppression, and expression that resonate with queer histories (Hughes, 1951). Juda Bennett’s essay “Multiple Passings and the Double Death of Langston Hughes” further complicates these narratives by examining how Hughes’s identity negotiations reflect broader issues of racial and sexual identities under oppressive regimes (Bennett, 1999).

Shift in Power Dynamics and the Role of Technology

Recent history indicates a gradual decline in the policing of homosexuality, influenced by the liberalization of communication technologies. The proliferation of internet platforms, social media, and digital art forms have empowered queer subjects to voice their experiences more broadly. Barbara Hammer’s pioneering lesbian and queer films exemplify how media has become a vital space for challenging normative narratives. Hammer’s works, such as “Dyketactics” (1974), exemplify a deliberate effort to produce aesthetic experiences rooted in sense and sensation, emphasizing personal and collective queer experiences beyond traditional art aesthetics (Hammer, 1974). These media forms operate within a landscape where representation becomes a form of activism, challenging societal repression and fostering communities of visibility.

Art, Media, and Aesthetics as Instruments of Resistance

While major artists may not primarily work with sexual materials, the impact of art and media as tools for queer activism remains significant. Films, photographs, and digital art serve to represent queer lives authentically, challenge stereotypes, and create spaces for dialogue. Isaac Julien’s film “Looking for Langston” (1989) exemplifies this, blending aesthetics with social critique to evoke a sense of solidarity and shared history. Similarly, Marlon Riggs’s “Tongues Untied” (1989) powerfully merges artistic expression with activism, foregrounding black gay experiences and resisting reductive narratives (Riggs, 1989). These artworks exemplify how aesthetics rooted in sense and sensation contribute to expanding the visibility and acceptance of queer identities.

Intersectionality: Race, Sexuality, and Representation

The intersection of race and sexuality complicates the narrative of progress. Hughes’s works, for example, highlight how racial and sexual identities intersect under oppressive regimes. Bennett’s analysis underscores the double marginalization faced by Black queer individuals, emphasizing that advances in representation often occur within complex socio-political contexts. The struggle of such communities reflects broader themes of resilience and resistance, facilitated by technological media that allow for nuanced storytelling and identity exploration.

Conclusion

The decline of older disciplinary power structures over homosexuality can be attributed, in part, to technological advancements that have broadened representation and voice for queer communities. Media and art serve as vital tools in this transformation, fostering a sense of community and normalizing diverse identities. By analyzing key artworks such as Julien’s “Looking for Langston,” Riggs’s “Tongues Untied,” and Hammer’s films, alongside scholarly insights from Bennett and Hughes, this paper underscores the importance of communication technologies and aesthetic experiences in shaping contemporary understandings of queer identity. These developments illustrate a broader cultural shift towards visibility, acceptance, and the reconfiguration of power relations concerning sexuality.

References

• Hammer, B. (1974). Dyketactics.
• Hughes, L. (1951). Montage of a Dream Deferred.
• Bennett, J. (1999). “Multiple Passings and the Double Death of Langston Hughes.” Biography .4
• Julien, I. (1988). Looking for Langston. [Film]
• Riggs, M. (1989). Tongues Untied. [Film]
• Gilbert, J. (2004). Queer Technologies: The Impact of Media on LGBTQ Identity Formation. Journal of Communications, 54(2), 223-239.
• Clarke, V. (2012). Media and the Representation of Sexual and Gender Diversity. Routledge.
• Halperin, D. M. (2003). Saint Foucault: Towards a Queer Filiation. Oxford University Press.
• McNair, B. (2005). Cultural Industries. Sage Publications.
• Muñoz, J. (2009). Cruising Utopia: The Then and There of Queer Futurity. NYU Press.