In the 1980s was the ‘Era of Hollywood Conservative Backlash & Creation of Crossover Black Stars’ which saw a decline in Black film. Then in the late 1980s and early 1990s black film started to become prominent again with the showcasing of films by Black directors, such as Spike Lee and John Singleton, as well as Black actors. There were several different angles that these films used; films such as ‘Malcolm X’ which promoted black history; inner city movies such as ‘Boyz ‘n’ the Hood’ which attempted to portray life in the ghetto; and Black Middle Class films. The stereotypes of these films link to Stuart Hall’s theory of the three stereotypes; the subservient slave: black sidekicks to a white hero; the unlawful slave: these are shown in many inner city films often known as ‘Gangsploitation’ films, such as Doughboy in ‘Boyz ‘n’ the Hood’; and finally the clown/entertainer: comedic roles such as those played by Eddie Murphy in ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ and Will Smith in ‘Men in Black’.
In ‘Training Day’, released in 2001, the mythic representation of the unlawful slave is used once again, with the character of Alonzo portraying negative mythic representations of ‘ghetto masculinity’. He is immoral and non-conformist to the law, despite being a police officer. His method of crime-fighting is “street justice”; his own twist on the law, as he claims it “takes a wolf to catch a wolf”.
The audience of black film has become increasingly heterogeneous due to the vertical integration of industry; the influence of hip-hop and R&B music on youth culture means that white audiences are much more prominent.
This theory of vertical integration is backed up by an article in ‘Sight and Sound’ magazine by Ed Guerrero called, ‘Be Black and Buy’ which discussed the increase of heterogeneous audiences in America and black and white cultures being integrated into one, due to the “enormous influence of black cultural expressions, styles and ideas on consumer culture”
There are several ways in which a heterogeneous audience of both black and white races are interpellated into ‘Training Day’. The use of a white co-star, Ethan Hawke, who plays Jake, is used to identify with white audiences. The audience is sutured into Jake’s position from the establishing scene with the representation of white middle class family values and can identify with Jake’s safe home environment. This contrasts with Alonzo’s home life, in the ghetto, where he carries a gun in his hand even when talking to his five year old son. Alonzo threatens Jake’s safe family life by telling him to “never wear that wedding ring to work” as it will be used against him. This also threatens white ideology of hegemonic family values.
The use of a white co-star to identify a white audience has been used many times before, specifically in the Bi-racial buddy films of the 1980s. However, in these films the black protagonist is usually put into a white context in order to suture in white audiences further, unlike ‘Training Day’ where these roles are reversed and the white protagonist is in a black context.
‘Training Day’ is targeted at both black and white audiences and therefore reinforces the idea of Vertical Integration. At the start of the film Jake is represented as vulnerable and weak in Alonzo’s presence and his belittled by Alonzo due to his lack of experience. This representation is built upon when Jake is referred to as a “rookie” by several characters later in the film. However this role is reverse when Jake saves a young girl from being raped by two drug addicts. Jake is now represented in a similar light to Alonzo; strong, confidant and streetwise. Alonzo commends him on his work and the audience feels he has transitioned into Alonzo’s world; into the ghetto. This is anti-hegemonic for both black and white audiences who are used to the “blacks only” mentality of the ghetto. However, Jake is placed back in this original stance when they are driving through the ghetto where Alonzo lives and he tells Jake not to go there without him, for his own safety. This reveals evidence of hegemonic power over pluralism as Jake is once again represented as a clean-cut, traditional white boy who is inexperienced compared to Alonzo. This is unquestioned by both black and white audiences as it has been seen so many times before.
The power of hegemony is clear through the changes in representations, as through time, the representations of African Americans has changed to coincide with the zeitgeists and ideologies of that time. With ‘Birth of a Nation’ the slanderous views of black people was fitting with the hegemonic views of that time. White people generally believed that Black slaves where lesser human beings who were there to serve them; this view was unquestioned among society. This remained the case until the 1940s when Martin Luther King protested against the discrimination of African Americans and civil rights movements dramatically changed the hegemonic views of white people in America. With this change, came a change in the representation of blacks in film to well respected individuals, such as the representation of Sidney Poitier’s characters in “Guess who’s coming to Dinner” 1967, and “In the Heat of the Night” 1967. This again shows the power of hegemony on representation.
This influence of hegemony on representation of blacks in film is also apparent in ‘Training Day’. With the increase of the negative stereotypes of hip-hop music; rap artists such as 50 cent who are portrayed as unlawful and rebellious, this representation has crossed over into film also and has become part of our mediated culture. Even white artists such as Eminem have adopted the image of ‘black cool’; this is reflected in Jake’s character, when he too, adopts this image and the characteristics Alonzo’s character. This is seen at the end of the film when Jake appears as Alonzo appears at the start; strong, confidant and expressionless.
I am now going to discuss, in detail, the representations of characters in ‘Training Day’. The mythic representation of Alonzo as an ‘unlawful slave’ is visible from the first introduction of his character. He is first seen in the coffee shop where he is meeting Jake and is dressed in black with silver chains around his neck to connote his image of ‘black cool’. He does not acknowledge Jake as he sits down and greets him, and when he eventually speaks, there is a close up of his face looking at him over his glasses. When Jake is talking about his female training officer, Alonzo makes several degrading and misogynistic comments, referring to her as a “fine bitch” and asking him did he “tap that ass”. His sexist attitudes towards women are typical of this mythic stereotype of the ‘unlawful slave’, and are expected by audiences because these views have been seen from many other black characters before, such as in ‘Boyz ‘n’ the Hood’ in which women are frequently referred to as “bitches” and “hoes”. In the next scene there is a low angle tracking shot of Alonzo as he strides across the street, looking straight ahead, causing several cars to break heavily. His arrogance adds to his portrayal of ‘black cool’. Binary opposites are created between Alonzo and Jake through opposite representations. Jake is represented as clean-cut and vulnerable and out of his territory. This contrasts with Alonzo who is in control and far more experienced. High angle shots of Jake and his non-verbal communication, as he is talking to Alonzo across the coffee table shows his vulnerability and helplessness. These binary opposites are clearly established after the Alonzo lets two drug dealers go free after attempting to rape a young girl. Alonzo doesn’t see the injustice of this and believes “street justice” is the way to deal with it. Jake disputes this, showing he has morals that Alonzo doesn’t. He continues to take the law into his own hands throughout the film, searching a house without a warrant, holding a group of teenagers at gun point and forcing Jake so smoke drugs. This leaves an enigma code of whether or not he will get his comeuppance, interpellating the audience into these representations. At the end of the film, these mythic representations are challenged as the roles of Alonzo and Jake are reversed. A high angle shot looking down at Alonzo and a low angle shot looking up at Jake as he holds Alonzo at gun point shows this as Jake says, “it’s no fun when the rabbit has a gun is it?”. The rest of the black community turn on Alonzo and allow Jake to escape. This acceptance of Jake into the ghetto challenges hegemonic views and breaks down the barriers of the ghetto.
