Unlocking the Cage: Empowering Literacy Representations in Netflix's Luke Cage Series

Popular culture aids in the conditioning of U.S. society, assisting in the determination of who is esteemed as literate and who is disgraced with illiteracy. Unfortunately, pop culture depictions of black male literacy often reify the stereotype that black males are less literate than their peers. Although a real issue presents itself in the opportunity gap that exists between black males and other racial groups, however, focusing on the negative fails to complicate the narrative. The purpose of this article is to confound monolithic representations by acknowledging positive, nuanced, and complex black male literacy practices. The author uses critical rhetorical analysis and positioning theory to highlight Netflix's Luke Cage series as a site where empowering literacy practices prevail. For educators, the author suggests using a critical rhetorical analysis of popular culture to examine and question content that presents static representations of black male literacy.