Denzel Washington, Flight and ‘New Negro Exceptionalism’

Whip’s addictions might be personal but their repercussions have a direct impact in his relationships, especially with his wife and son. Here, that lack of control deepens as the only way of seeing his son is through an old home video. denzel flight 5
The disconnect between the complex human being that Whip really is and the image he tries to project –flawless, successful, black man—creates a fragmented individual who is unwilling to face his domestic challenges.
Furthermore, this moment of three generations in one scene is important since Whip’s son represents the post-Hiphop generation; the generation that stands on the other end of the spectrum.
Whip stands in between these two general historical traits; namely the New Negro and Hip Hop generations.  As the New Negro era was underscored by efforts of positive representation, the Hiphop era became a social canvas on which all shapes of black pathology were drawn all the while a prefigured “keepin’ it real” urban authenticity serving as its engine.
On the one hand, Whip’s upbringing was fueled by New Negro Exceptionalism, on the other hand, his pilot career would have coincided with the Hiphop era. According to Akil Houston, “the Hiphop Generation(ers) are people whose birth years include the period between 1965-1984…[They] are the first to have grown up in a post-segregation United States.
These are specific years although much of mass media would create the perception that anything connected to youth culture is the Hiphop Generation.”
This time frame was emblematized by crime, drug epidemic and urban marginalization –outcomes of Reaganomics–, ultimately popularizing “black pathology” nationwide. As James Braxton Peterson powerfully argued on a recent TV interview, “there is a tremendous American appetite for Black Pathology.”

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