Book Review: "Deconstructing Tyrone"

'DECONSTRUCTING TYRONE': The Myth, Image and the Dissecting of the
Black Man

By Dennis Freeman
(November 13, 2006)

Today’s political and economic landscape has changed radically-as have the implications for the black male athlete of the Hip-Hop Generation. The success of the black pioneers in athletics and politics have created more opportunities for more black men to become college educated, created more black male millionaires, and created more arenas where black talents are celebrated and worshipped on an international stage.

Still, some things haven’t changed. Arenas are largely filled with white faces, casting their gaze on largely black contenders. One pro athlete was likened to “a monkey in a cage,” Dave Zirin writes in his fascinating book ‘What’s My Name, Fool? Sports and Resistance in the United States.’ An integrated sports media workforce continues to depict white athletes as “intelligent” and black athletes as “natural.” The advertising, sports, and entertainment industries trade and profit heavily on the perpetuation of stereotypes of black physical brawn at the expense of black players’ intellectual capabilities. -- Excerpts from “Deconstructing Tyrone”


Journalists Natalie Moore and Natalie Hopkinson didn’t exactly know what they were getting into when they decided to write about black masculinity. They found out after researching and writing about the topic that there is a lot more to the black man than meets the eye.

Tailoring a book surrounding the myths, frailty, stereotypes and masculinity of the black man was one topic that both, at the beginning, had a difficult time digesting. But with some prodding by family, relatives, mentors and a publisher giving them the thumbs up on the project, Moore and Hopkinson decided to put a book together on the subject.

The end result of the project, ”Deconstructing Tyrone,” is a 234-page literary work that speaks bluntly about the image, or misguided image of black men we too often see through the eyes of biased media misrepresentation and personal assumptions.

Moore and Hopkinson offers readers a valiant, complex and searing effort to shake up those stereotypes and myths of the black man through the lens of their journalistic skills and own personal experiences.

In “Deconstructing Tyrone,” Moore, a former reporter with the Detroit News and Associated Press, and Hopkinson, a staff writer at the Washington Post, illustrate a portrait of humanity of the black man in this day and age. Moore and Hopkinson effectively detail the challenges, drive, complexity, adulation and envy of black men. They keep it real. No punches are pulled.

Not only is “Deconstructing Tyrone” a powerful, sometimes raw take of black masculinity during the hip-hop era, Moore and Hopkinson also carefully examines strongholds that affect the African American community as a whole.


In a recent sit-down interview with EURweb, Moore and Hopkinson explained why they decided to tackle the subject.

“It was hard to write, like how it was going to come together, conceptualizing it and how we formed it,” Moore said. “But the book is journalism. There’s reporting in every chapter. We also wanted this book to look at gender relations, too. When we were talking about relationships, we were thinking about not talk radio relationships, but gender relations. Half of the chapters we’re interviewing black men, the other we’re interviewing black women. We also wanted to explore how this impacts black women. We are a community. We’re talking about racial uplift, but we’re also critical of these hyper-masculine images. Women do not like (rapper) 50 Cent. The book is abstract in some ways.”

The book is also laced with candor, humor, arm-chair dialogue and solid reporting that gives readers a new perspective of the black man in the Hip-Hop Generation.

“One of the things that we used to talk about in undergraduate school is the crazy black man syndrome,” said Hopkinson, who is married with two children. “This is arm-chair observation. [But] we noticed that certain men, when they reach a certain age-you know like white men may have a mid-life crisis. Black men have something totally different. We used to joke about the crazy black man syndrome. Doing the book, we realized that they are not crazy. It is society that’s crazy. Black men are not crazy.”

To solidify their work, Moore and Hopkinson devote chapters of the book to politics, hip-hop, gay fatherhood masculinity, the raising of young black men, the criminal justice system, and women and their relationships with their fathers.

“We went back to our brainstorming,” Hopkinson said. “We’re like, ‘okay, we’re going to do this book about Tyrone.’ But then we began to think about how we were going to do that. What are the main ways Tyrone is portrayed in the media? You got your sports. You got your politicians. You got your crime. We’re going to give you a different look at this.”

Embarked on a national tour to promote “Deconstructing Tyrone,” Moore and Hopkinson adamantly say the book is to uplift, not male-bash.

“Everyone asks us is this male-bashing,” Moore said. “Anytime you say a black woman writing about black men…We’re not male bashing. We’re writing about relationships. We put it out there what our mission is. And we don’t want it to be taken as this is mother’s note about black men. These are our experiences, our reflections. We wanted to make that clear.”

What is also clear is that there is no magic wand to present a clear definition of who the black man is, said Hopkinson.

“It’s really impossible to do a portrait of the black man,” Hopkinson said. “We’re just throwing out some vignettes that will challenge what your perceptions are about the black man. We won’t be the last to write a book on Tyrone and black masculinity. This is not the first time and it won’t be the last time. What we really tried to do in the book is to give information and perspective to give to people-tools to think about.

“We’re talking about black men and the challenges they have. It goes back to the crazy black man syndrome. They’re not crazy. It is rough out there. So, we’re trying to shed some light on that.”


Dennis Freeman is a Southern California based freelance writer. Contact him at denjam7_freeman@hotmail.com

 

Yes it is society that by and large is crazy for making the black man out to be some kinda bogeyman.

 

Wanna know the real history of Black Men in America?

The "History" of Black Men in America tells the true story of why so many Brothers are currently living in turmoil. www.whitemencanthump.com details our "History" like no other book ever has. It doesn't make excuses, it just points out problems that are Black exclusives.

 

Frankly I find a book on Black masculinity written by two Black women highly suspect. After all, we know how logical, detached and objective Black women can be. :roll: If I see it at my local bookstore, I'll check it out.

 

Of course those feelings will always spring naturally from you but check it out first then come with your ridiculous sarcasm.