The Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) has honored African American studies professor Adilifu Nama with a Ray and Pat Browne Award for his 2015 publication, “Race on the QT: Blackness and the Films of Quentin Tarantino”. The book received the award in the Best Reference/Primary Source category, and will be announced at the PCA/ACA Annual Conference, which will take place March 22-25, 2016.
“Race on the QT” examines the complex racial politics of Quentin Tarantino’s films, from “Reservoir Dogs” to “Django Unchained”. Tarantino’s films are controversial for their violence, their liberal use of the n-word, and their portrayals of black characters. In “Race on the QT,” Nama uncovers a thread of radical racial politics present, though not always apparent, throughout Tarantino’s films.
Nama’s latest book builds on his award-winning scholarship in black aesthetics and pop culture. His previous book, “Super Black: American Pop Culture and Black Superheroes” (University of Texas Press, 2012) won the Before Columbus Foundation’s American Book Award. His first book, “Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Film” (University of Texas Press, 2008) won the Rollins Book Award from the Southwest Texas Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association in 2008.
