Charles

That's a word. And so I reached out to Professor Alfred Martin. He's an associate professor of media studies at the University of Miami. He's also the author of an upcoming book, Fandom, For Us, By Us, The Pleasures and Practices of Black Audiences. And one of the things Alfred's work really touches on is the nuanced way Black people communicate.

That's a word. And so I reached out to Professor Alfred Martin. He's an associate professor of media studies at the University of Miami. He's also the author of an upcoming book, Fandom, For Us, By Us, The Pleasures and Practices of Black Audiences. And one of the things Alfred's work really touches on is the nuanced way Black people communicate.

That's a word. And so I reached out to Professor Alfred Martin. He's an associate professor of media studies at the University of Miami. He's also the author of an upcoming book, Fandom, For Us, By Us, The Pleasures and Practices of Black Audiences. And one of the things Alfred's work really touches on is the nuanced way Black people communicate.

kind of interpret and interact with media representation. And while he doesn't deal with anime in particular, his theory around Black audiences and comfort really stood out to me.

kind of interpret and interact with media representation. And while he doesn't deal with anime in particular, his theory around Black audiences and comfort really stood out to me.

kind of interpret and interact with media representation. And while he doesn't deal with anime in particular, his theory around Black audiences and comfort really stood out to me.

Right. And this is something we see across a lot of things Black audiences enjoy. It's not just anime, but you can even think of the way Black people sort of corralled around Game of Thrones. And according to Alfred's work, Black audiences are sort of primed to making sense of and asserting themselves in a world that doesn't always include them.

Right. And this is something we see across a lot of things Black audiences enjoy. It's not just anime, but you can even think of the way Black people sort of corralled around Game of Thrones. And according to Alfred's work, Black audiences are sort of primed to making sense of and asserting themselves in a world that doesn't always include them.

Right. And this is something we see across a lot of things Black audiences enjoy. It's not just anime, but you can even think of the way Black people sort of corralled around Game of Thrones. And according to Alfred's work, Black audiences are sort of primed to making sense of and asserting themselves in a world that doesn't always include them.

So to sort of drive this point home, Alfred told me about his research in talking to Black fans of Golden Girls. Oh, now I'm included in that number. Yeah.

So to sort of drive this point home, Alfred told me about his research in talking to Black fans of Golden Girls. Oh, now I'm included in that number. Yeah.

So to sort of drive this point home, Alfred told me about his research in talking to Black fans of Golden Girls. Oh, now I'm included in that number. Yeah.

And this, I think, can be applied to a lot of marginalized identities. It's kind of like what Alfred said. If we're used to scavenging through media for something that resonates, it's not surprising that we find ourselves really attached to stories that don't exactly make your racial perception the forefront. I sort of see that myself in one of the biggest anime shows I grew up with, Naruto.

And this, I think, can be applied to a lot of marginalized identities. It's kind of like what Alfred said. If we're used to scavenging through media for something that resonates, it's not surprising that we find ourselves really attached to stories that don't exactly make your racial perception the forefront. I sort of see that myself in one of the biggest anime shows I grew up with, Naruto.

And this, I think, can be applied to a lot of marginalized identities. It's kind of like what Alfred said. If we're used to scavenging through media for something that resonates, it's not surprising that we find ourselves really attached to stories that don't exactly make your racial perception the forefront. I sort of see that myself in one of the biggest anime shows I grew up with, Naruto.

That is Dr. David Stevens. He is a professor of media studies at the University of Memphis. And I found it so interesting that he said this because it was literally the exact same thing someone said to me at the convention last year.

That is Dr. David Stevens. He is a professor of media studies at the University of Memphis. And I found it so interesting that he said this because it was literally the exact same thing someone said to me at the convention last year.

That is Dr. David Stevens. He is a professor of media studies at the University of Memphis. And I found it so interesting that he said this because it was literally the exact same thing someone said to me at the convention last year.

Honestly, finding people like Alfred and David really opened my eyes to the fact that we don't have a lot of research or at least don't put a lot of stake into the importance of Black fandom.

Honestly, finding people like Alfred and David really opened my eyes to the fact that we don't have a lot of research or at least don't put a lot of stake into the importance of Black fandom.