ScottMcMurtry

ENG297ALiteraryAnalysisPaper

Dr.Hawhee

4/10/2013

TheJaggedPrismofRace

Sportsandraceoftenseeminseparablyconnected.Whetherovertlyor

subconsciously,athleticcompetitionisfrequentlyframedinaracialcontext.

Associationsbetweenpositionsorteamsandaspecificracearethenorm.Duke

Universitybasketball,forinstance,iswidelyconsideredtobea“whiteprogram.”In

theESPNdocumentaryTheFabFive(ofwhichheservedasanexecutiveproducer),

JalenRoseexpressedhisbeliefthat“SchoolslikeDukedidn’trecruitplayerslike

me….IfeltliketheyonlyrecruitedblackplayerswhowereUncleToms.”Quitean

accusation,anditstirredupquiteacontroversyafterTheFabFive’sairing.1

Likewise,thethoughtofawhiteplayerstartingattailbackforanNFLteamisalmost

comicaltomanyfootballobservers.PeytonHillis,theonlysuchwhitestarting

tailbackinthe2011season,toldSportsIllustrated’sDanPatrickthathewasoften

tauntedbyopponentsabouthisrace.Athoughtfulobservermighttakeastepback

andask,“WhydoesitmatterhowmanywhiteorblackplayersDukestartsin

basketball?”or“WhocareswhattheClevelandBrowns’runningbacklookslike?

Shouldn’twejustcareabouthowmanyyardsheracksup?”Whyracestillmatters

insportsisaquestionwithoutaclearanswer,butbothFridayNightLightsand1Indeed,formerDukeplayerGrantHill(himselfanAfrican‐AmericanwhowassingledoutbyRoseinthedocumentary)respondedtoRose’sstatementswitha1,250wordop‐edthatranontheNewYorkTimes’websiteandwassyndicatedinnewspapersnationwide.

“VanillaDunk”attempttoquestionthenegativeimplicationsofviewingsports

throughtheprismofrace.

JonathanLethem’s“VanillaDunk”envisionsafuturisticNBAinwhichthe

playersutilize(via“exosuits”)theskillsetsofretiredsuperstars.Eventhoughthey

play,inasense,outsidethefeaturesoftheirownbodies,raceisstillamajorfactor

becauseoftheinseparabilityofbasketballandracialidentity.Thenarrator(awhite

centernamedLassnerwithRalphSampson’sskills)illustratedthedynamiconpage

82:

Whenablackguycouldn’tjumptheysaidhehad“whitelegs,”orifhe

wasslowitwas“whiteman’sdisease.”Basketballwasawhitesport

thatblackshadtakenoverandyettheaudiencewasstillprettymuch

white.Andthatwhiteaudienceadoredtheblackplayersfortheir

brilliantmoves—thankstosampling,thatadorationwouldprobably

killthesport—andyetwasstillthoughttorequirethetokenwhite

face,forpurposesof“identification.”

Lassnerhitsontwomajorracialtopicsinhissummationofbasketball’scultural

trends.Thefirstistheassociationofvibrantandexplosiveplaywiththe“black

game,”asopposedtothewhitevarietyofbasketball,whichwasthoughtto

encompasstacticalmasteryandsetshooting.“Ploddingandcorporateandreliable,”

inthewordsofthenarrator,versus“individualandexpressiveandsooftenself‐

destructive,some‐againsttheworld”(82).Giventhedirectconnectionbetween

skincolorandassumedstyleofplay,itbecomeseasytoseehowawhiterookie

draftingthe“Jordanskills”wouldbenoteworthyand,quickly,controversial.When

theself‐styled“VanillaDunk”indeedreceivesMichaelJordan’stalent,Lassner’s

teammateElwood(whoisblack)offerstheopinionthat“Jordan’smovesaretoo

funkyforawhitecat.Theyprogramhissuitit’sgonnabreakhiships”(73).Lethem

dropshintsthroughouttheshortstorythatindicateanoverallmessagecriticalof

fixationonrace.“Solvebasketball,”Lassner’scharactersaysaftertheabove

explanationoftheracialbreakdown,“andyoumightsolveeverything”(83).The

conclusioncanbereadsimilarly.Afterrevealingthatheoftenconsiderswho

ultimately“won”thepersonal,blackvs.whitebattlebetweenElwoodandVanilla

Dunk,Lassnerendstheshortstorybyexclaiming,“OthertimesIconcludethat

there’ssomethingprettyfundamentallystupidaboutthequestion”(119).

InFridayNightLights,BuzzBissingerconstantlyhighlightstheissuesofrace

thatsurroundthePermianHighfootballprogram.While“VanillaDunk”(afictional

story,afterall)triestoaddresstopicsofraceindirectly,thereisnosuchnuancein

Bissinger’smasterpiece.Untilthemid‐1980s,PermianHighSchoolhadremained

virtuallysegregated,andbythe1988seasonracisminOdessawasstillshockingly

pervasive.African‐AmericanswereacceptedintothePermianfootballmachineonly

becausetheyprovidedtheteamwithbonustalent.Inasortofperverseway,

Permianfootballbroughtblacksandwhitestogether,butBissingermakesitvery

clearthattheassociationwas—quiteliterally—skindeep.Thissuperficialalliance

isperhapsbestillustratedbywhiteOdessaresidentLanitaAtkins,whoexplainedto

BissingerthatoncetheydonnedthePantheruniforms,theblackplayersbecame

acceptabletowhitefans:“Thoseboysarenotniggerstothem….TheyareMojos”

(108).IfthatstatementdoesnotsumuptheracialdynamicinOdessaatthetime,

nonepossiblycan.Theapprovalofblackplayersmerelybasedontheir

contributionstothefootballteam’ssuccessisshownassordidandexploitative.

StarblackrunningbackBoobieMileswouldcertainlybewelcomedbythewhite

communityaslongasheprovidedMojowithyardsandtouchdowns,butifthatno

longerbecamethecase?BissingeraskedwhiteresidentswhattheBoobie’svalue

wouldbewithoutfootball,andtheresultswereincredible.Somesuggestedhebe

euthanizedlikeaninjuredracehorse.EvenaPermiancoachexpressedtheopinion

thatwereBoobienolongeraPermiantailback,hewouldjustbe“abigol’dumb

nigger”—andBissingerstatesthatinOdessa,thatanswerwas“obvious,asclearas

dayandnight,blackandwhite”(67).Blackplayerswerenotsimplyviewedasofa

differentathleticcaliber,asin“VanillaDunk.”Theywereregardedasassetswho

couldhelptheteamwinbutwereotherwiselessthanfullhumans.FridayNight

Lights,throughitsrawpresentationofnearlyunbelievableracistattitudes,shows

perhapsthemostextremecaseofthedangersarisingfromherdingathletesinto

categoriesbasedonrace.

Thoughtheyvaryindirectnessanddegreeofcontent,both“VanillaDunk”

andFridayNightLightsservetowarnagainstexperiencingsportsvianotionsof

race.Lethemintroducestheissueandchallengesthereadertothinkaboutwhy

racialdistinctionsmatter,andiftheyshouldreallyhaveanymeaningatall.“Vanilla

Dunk”doesnotcondemnthosewhoseedifferencesbetweenwhiteandblack

playersasinherentlyracist,butdoespushthemtoconsiderthereasonstheyview

thegamethusly.FridayNightLightstakesthenextstep,presentinginstarkdetail

theworstexcessesofracialstereotypingwhenitcomestoathleticcompetition.