Empire and Black Images in Popular Culture

FOX''s musical drama Empire has been hailed as the savior of broadcast television, drawing 15 million viewers a week. A "hip-hopera" inspired by Shakespeare''s King Lear and 1980s prime-time soap Dynasty, the series is at the forefront of a black popular culture Renaissance--yet has stirred controversy in the black community. Is Empire shifting paradigms or promoting pernicious stereotypes?

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