HIStory against the World: Religion, Black Iconicity, and the Haunting Stretcher Photos of Michael Jackson and Tupac Shakur

Author:

Hill James Howard1,White Bryson2

Affiliation:

1. Department of Religion, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA

2. Religious Studies, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 95053, USA

Abstract

This article examines how Michael Jackson’s 1984 stretcher photo and Tupac Shakur’s 1994 stretcher photo scrambles the disciplinary boundaries surrounding the academic study of religion. Drawing inspiration from Manning Marable’s concept of Blackwater, this study explores the complexities of black iconicity’s relationship to black suffering in the modern world. Through a critical analysis of the production and circulation of Jackson and Shakur’s respective stretcher photos, the following account highlights the disruptive force of black iconicity in modern society, unraveling its implications for religious meaning. By tarrying with these haunting photographic representations, this article prompts a reevaluation of the relation between (anti)blackness, visual culture, religion, and popular culture.

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Religious studies

Reference39 articles.

1. Anderson, Victor (1995). Beyond Ontological Blackness: An Essay on African American Religious and Cultural Criticism, Continuum Intl Pub Group.

2. Baldwin, James (Playboy Magazine, 1985). Here Be Dragons (Originally titled, “Freaks and the American Ideal of Manhood)”, Playboy Magazine.

3. Belt (2023, August 15). In Meriam-Webster’s Dictionary. Available online: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belt.

4. Berger, Peter (1990). The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion, Anchor. Reprint Edition.

5. Berman, Eric (2023, July 13). Dodges Death But Can’t Beath the Rap. Available online: http://thunder_1st.tripod.com/Vibe/tupacs.html.

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