Introduction
Using a combination of similar and different literary devices the authors convey a common Black experience directed by the voices of the community. However, the poets use different points of view to portray the Black community and its place in American society. In her poem “Stop-and-Frisk”, Rankine presents the reader with a thrilling first-hand account of being stopped and searched by a police officer on the basis of the narrator’s ethnicity. “Dinosaurs in the Hood”, on the other hand, can be seen as a manifesto against the stereotypical portrayal of Black people in pop culture. These elements are used by the authors to illustrate how targeted the Black community is even in their home environment.
The Victimization of the Black Community
The major theme of both poems is the victimization of people of color. “Stop and Frisk” explores the incident of being physically targeted by the police. Rankine conveys the feelings of fear and despair that Black people experience at every police search, which is highly common. The emotional component is described through the depiction of visual and auditory imagery: “Everywhere were flashes, a siren, a stretched-out roar” (Rankine, lines 3-4). These elements are repeated throughout the poem to highlight the persistence of the negative feelings of the subject, who is scared because their freedom and potentially life are at stake. These emotions are what Black people experience when without committing any crime they are being stopped by the police on their way home, simply due to their ethnicity.
Smith uses a different approach to illustrate the victimization of the Black community. The author shows how people of color are targeted and discriminated against in pop culture through ethnic stereotypes. To convey how this is implemented in media, the poet uses celebrity names, such as Tarantino and the Wayans brothers, whose artistry adds to the cultural stereotypes (Smith, lines 6-13). The poem focuses on the common portrayal of the Black people in movies and argues against them. In pop culture, people of color are depicted either as criminals or as foolish comic characters. Both of these illustrations are opposed by the author, who desires to see the heroic portrayal of the Black people, free of any stereotypes.
The Danger for the Black Community
The two poems explore the potential dangers that people of color face due to their ethnicity. Rankine identifies emotions of anger and fear that Black people frequently experience due to being victimized by police officers. Considering the scale of the issue of police brutality in contemporary America, the frightening situation of being searched by the officers causes great danger to people of color. A Black individual never knows whether one of these regular searches is also their last.
Smith incorporates metaphorical elements to express a similar idea in the poem. Using a metaphor of dinosaurs, the author hints at extinction as a potential detrimental effect that discrimination can have on the Black community (Smith). Dinosaurs are the major symbolic theme of the piece which the title suggests as well. Being an ethnic minority, the Black community faces the danger of becoming extinct unless the social and political environments of the United States positively change.
Use of Repetition
The poems focus on the issue of racial profiling that is commonly used by the American police to suspect people of color in committing crimes. In both works the authors use repetition to express their distress regarding this social construct. Rankine repeats several of her stanzas to accentuate this idea. For example, this can be witnessed in her repeating the following lines four times, ultimately finishing the poem with the following statement, “…and you are not the guy and still you fit the description because there is only one guy
who is always the guy fitting the description” (Rankine). These lines when repeated convey the extent of the author’s distress regarding racial profiling that is targeting the Black community.
A similar technique is used in “Dinosaurs in the Hood” by Danez Smith. The poet focuses on the depiction of a Black boy, who should be allowed to have a bright future but instead is predisposed to being a subject of racial profiling. This is highlighted in the line “no one kills the black boy”, which is repeated three times in the final stanza (Smith, lines 32-33). Similarly to Rankine, the poet follows the approach of accentuating the same line to express the pain regarding the unfair position of Black children in the American society, who are predestined to be discriminated against.
Point of View
“Stop and Frisk” follows a first-person account to talk about police brutality, whereas Smith’s poem is written from the narrator’s point of view. Rankine uses a case of racial profiling towards the central character of her piece in order to tell a story of the whole community. It might be a personal narrative; however, given the extent of the issue on the country level, all people of color are able to relate to the poem.
In turn, Smith’s approach is more holistic, as they critique the portrayal of Black people in pop culture. “dinosaurs in the hood” is written from the point of view of the narrator and is less personal and centers around the community on the whole (Smith). Furthermore, Smith incorporates fiction in order to address the problem of stereotyping. Yet, both poems tackle the issue that can be seen as both personal and collective, as it affects each individual member of the Black ethnic group.
The Setting of the Neighborhood
The two poems are set in the neighborhood, which is the usual place of residence for people of the Black community. This is the home for people of color, yet both poems make it the place of exposed danger. This juxtaposition further highlights the caution that people of minorities have to apply to their everyday lives. Rankine illustrates how her story’s character is being stopped and handcuffed only a block away from his home. This implies that there is no place where Black people can feel completely safe.
In Smith’s poem, dinosaurs infiltrate the neighborhood of people of color. Dinosaurs represent danger, and similarly to Rankine’s poem, Black people are being jeopardized in their own home, which should be a safe environment and not a place of hazard. Smith wants to see the common people of color being the heroes of the day and saving their neighborhood from dangerous animals. The author desires for the heroic representation of the neighborhood’s citizens devoid of the frequently used stereotypes.
Conclusion
The two pieces of literature discussed in the essay focus on the issue of racial profiling that is commonly displayed in the work of American police officers. Both poems are concerned with the victimization of people of color. Rankine narrates her story to convey the physical targeting of the Black community, whereas Smith illustrates the discrimination against people of color in pop culture. Although the accounts presented in both poems are different in their depiction of the issue of police brutality, both relate to the devastating effects that this problem might have on the Black community.
References
Rankine, Claudia. “Stop-and-Frisk”. Citizen: An American Lyric. Graywolf Press, 2014.
Smith, Danez. “Dinosaurs in the Hood”. Don’t Call Us Dead: Poems. Graywolf Press, 2017.