Author: Destiny Riley

The word “trope” has been defined in many ways over time. In its most basic denotative form, a trope is a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression (Google Dictionary, n.d.). The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a trope as a “common or overused theme or device" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, n.d.) When thinking about the common and overused nature of tropes, one can begin to think about how these tropes are carried out and portrayed in our everyday lives. In the field of rhetoric, a trope is a dynamic symbolic action that turns our attention in particular ways. Similarly to this definition, a trope can be viewed as a device that produces a shift in the meanings of words. Tropes “generate figures of speech or thought by their variation from what is ‘normally’ expected” and act as a “defense against literal meaning in discourse” (White, 1978). They move away from what is known in discourse and move towards new, figurative meanings. In the field of rhetoric, there are countless tropes that influence the way we view the world. Because many tropes in popular culture and rhetoric are oppressive, it is necessary to rid ourselves of them. Rhetoric offers a helpful theory to identify how particular types of meaning-making, such as tropes, produce inequality and oppression. The field of rhetoric should certainly draw more attention to the concepts of power and intersectionality, specifically in regards to tropes, in order to engage in critical contemporary questions as we aim to shape our society and culture.

Tropes maintain power, particularly due to their repetitiveness and constant circulation. It is imperative that rhetoric scholars acknowledge this, as tropes often function as tools of power and oppression. The prevalent tropes that exist in public discourse, often times, exist and function to silence those who are oppressed. These acts of silence and oppression will be expressed by the following tropes: the “Angry Black Woman” Trope, the “A Woman Can Never Be Likable Enough” Trope, and the “White Savior” Trope. These tropes embody acts of silence and oppression, which we need to rid ourselves of as participants of rhetoric on our quest to shape society and culture.

Before going more in depth into tropes that are prevalent in society, it is necessary to comprehend the history of the term. Along the lines of the rhetorical history of tropes, rhetorical scholar and theorist Kenneth Burke argues that the four “Master Tropes” are the metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony. In “Four Master Tropes,” Burke argues that his “primary concern with [tropes] will be not with their purely figurative usage, but with their role in the discovery and description of ‘the truth.’” It is important to identify these master tropes and to examine their role in the discovery and description of truth? (Burke, 1941). A metaphor is a reference to one thing as another, implying a comparison. A synecdoche is represented by naming one of its parts. Metonymy is a reference to something or someone by naming one of its attributes. Irony is using language in such a way as to convey a meaning opposite of what the terms used denote (often by exaggeration) (“Tropes,” n.d.). The discovery and description of truth appears to suggest that we, as scholars and participants in public discourse, constantly need to question and analyze our past, present, and, future. One aspect of discourse that helps us do this is a trope. Troping is the “soul of discourse” (White, 1978). Without troping, discourse cannot successfully “do its work or achieve its end” (White, 1978) in the field of rhetoric.

To portray the significance and complexity of tropes, specifically their problematic nature when they function to silence and oppress marginalized communities, the three following tropes will be explored: the “Angry Black Woman” Trope, the “A Woman Can Never Be Likable Enough” Trope, and the “White Savior” Trope. These trope examples are critical to discuss not only because of their prevalence in rhetoric and public discourse, but also because they model how rhetoric scholars need to examine power and intersectionality in future discussion of tropes. Without understanding the roles of power and intersectionality in relation to tropes, it is impossible for rhetoric scholars and public discourse participants to accurately analyze tropes.

Rooted in racism and slavery, the Angry Black Woman trope was popularized by characters such as Sapphire Stevens (Ernestine Wade) in shows such as Amos ‘n’ Andy. In the 1950s show, Sapphire Stevens is constantly portrayed as rude, loud, stubborn, and bitter. Black men are her “primary target” (Pilgrim, 2012) of malice but she lashes out towards everyone. The Sapphire Caricature is a cruel portrayal of African American women, but it represents much more than just that; it is a “social control mechanism that is employed to punish and police black women who violate the societal norms that encourage them to be passive, servile, non-threatening, and unseen” (Pilgrim, 2002). This popular trope is still seen in countless facets of our lives. With this trope, any form of expression that is seen as too excessive immediately causes Black women to be labeled as the “Angry Black Woman.” Though we can generally recognize that this trope exists, we must take it a step further and think about how this trope constitutes the way Black women are treated in daily life. Because this trope labels Black women as unreasonable, it gives others permission to dismiss our emotions and our concerns. This trope is most often used to “undercut successful, professional Black women—a code for saying she succeeds by being aggressive and rude” (Kerwin, 2017). From the esteemed, outspoken U.S. Representative and Chair of the House Financial Services Committee Maxine Waters to world-renowned tennis player and sports icon Serena Williams, from politics to sports, Black women constantly suffer the stigma of this trope which is used to dis-empower and oppress us.

Another trope that is very prevalent in our lives as participants in rhetoric and public discourse is the “A Woman Can Never Be Likable Enough” Trope. From a young age, women grow up being socialized into learning that no matter what we do, we always have to ensure that we are likeable, appealing, and pleasing to men. We have been told in countless ways that the approval of men is the true measure of our value and worth and “without even realizing [we were doing it, we] learned to make [ourselves] likable. To attract men, to disarm them, to manage them, to comfort them.” (Pollitt, 2018). Regardless of what profession, income, skills, or passions we have, we are told the most important goal is to be likeable. This goes past romantic relationships and especially into places such as the workplace or ”professional” settings. In the midst of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual allegations against, now, Supreme Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh, this trope was the basis of Dr. Ford’s portrayal during the Kavanaugh-Ford hearing. People’s level of belief of her testimony was based on how much they believed she appeared to be “likeable.” Through the lens of this analysis, we realize that we, as women, have been conditioned to be conscious of everything we do, wear, and say and how it will, or will not, appeal to the male population, especially ones in power. Just as the previously discussed trope, this trope is violent and harmful to an oppressed population of people.

Along with these two tropes, it is imperative to examine the commonly used “White Savior” Trope. Stemming from centuries of European colonialism, this trope is a product of the concept of “The White Man’s Burden.” The racialized term, originating from British novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling’s poem “The White Man’s Burden,” became a “euphemism for imperialism and expansionism” (“The White Man’s Burden,” n.d.). Most commonly used in film, the “White Savior” Trope strongly suggests that people of color (who are deemed an "other") need white people to save them from horrible and unfortunate circumstances. It also entails the concept of teaching people of color the differences between what is perceived to be right and wrong. Interestingly enough, this trope is often used specifically in “Oscar-bait movies” (Róisín, 2017), or movies that appear to be made specifically to be recognized by the Academy. Writers, directors, and producers often use this trope in films because it is common for movies with the White Savior trope to receive high honors from the Academy. What does this say about the white creators who make these films? More importantly, what does the overuse of this trope suggest about the white audiences consuming these films? The Oscar success of films such as The Blind Side (2009), The Help (2011), and 12 Years A Slave (2013) is very telling. Films centered around the White Savior trope allow “non-racist” or “conditionally racist” white audiences a means through which they can discharge their feelings of White guilt, shame and/or complicity for the ravages of White supremacy and its intransigent structures and institutions” (Seewood, 2017). It is clear that these three tropes model how the field of rhetoric needs to examine power and intersectionality in future discussion of tropes to shift the field of rhetoric.

Works Cited

Burke, K. (1941). Four Master Tropes. The Kenyon Review, 3(4), 421–438. Retrieved from JSTOR.

Definition of Trope (n.d.) Retrieved April 4, 2019 from Google Dictionary.

Definition of trope. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trope.

Pilgrim, D. (2012). The Sapphire Caricature. Retrieved April 15, 2019, from https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/antiblack/sapphire.htm.

Pollitt, K. (2018, October 2). A Woman Can Never Be Likable Enough. Retrieved from https://www.thenation.com/article/a-woman-can-never-be-likable-enough/.

Kerwin, A. M. (2017, September 27). The “Angry Black Woman” Makes Real Women Angry. Retrieved April 15, 2019, from https://adage.com/article/media/angry-black-woman-makes-real-women-angry/310633.

Róisín, F. (2017, September 14). Why Hollywood’s White Savior Obsession Is an Extension of Colonialism. Retrieved April 15, 2019, from Teen Vogue website: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/hollywoods-white-savior-obsession-colonialism.

Seewood, A. (2017, April 20). Crucifying the White Savior (Film). Retrieved April 15, 2019, from https://shadowandact.com/crucifying-the-white-savior-film.

Tropes. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2019, from http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Figures/Tropes.htm.

White, H. (1978). Tropics of Discourse. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.