Black Stereotypes
The American society has oppressed the black culture and society since the first slave was dragged onto American soil. Hollywood first embraced this oppressed image and depicted it on film. Early depictions of blacks on film (commonly played by whites in blackface) fulfilled the white stereotype of black society. As the American culture advanced, the image of blacks created on film was also altered. Blacks experienced a period of "whiteness" on film. During this time, Hollywood utilized "the equal-by-being-superior philosophy." (Bogle 178) This role was most successfully played by Sidney Poitier. As the cycle continued, the image of blacks on film regressed back to stereotypical depictions. Only this time blacks played the stereotyped characters. David Wark Griffith's epic film The Birth of a Nation (1915) used white people to play black characters. The whites wore blackface, common for the time, to create the appearance of being black. Under this guise, whites were able to portray a stereotyped depiction of the black people. The NAACP opposed the film immediately. Griffith himself was puzzled by the reactions. Griffith argued that The Birth of a Nation was about war and reconstruction, not
"The black film, as a genre of cinematic art, is degenerate, debased, and an insult to the integrity of audiences of black people, who, starved for the sight of anything black on the silver screen, flock to see these manifestations of celluloid prostitution." (Wesley 65) The 1970s created an era of "blaxploitation", characterized by overtly black films. The cycle of depictions of black images on film has made a full circle. Film started with overly stereotyped images of blacks, played by whites in blackface. For a period, blacks became represented as refined versions of the earlier stereotypes. Now, in the 1970s, blacks have returned to being portrayed as stereotypes. The difference is the fact that blacks played the stereotyped characters themselves. These depictions of blacks have recessed to the original stereotypes described by Vincent Rocchio in "Reel Racism: Confronting Hollywood's Construction of Afro-American Culture". Hollywood film has regressed beyond the integrationist era to show American society an image of an overly sexual and aggressive image of blacks. One possible explanation for this is the idea that "Hollywood has conditioned the American public to accept mediocrity." (Wesley 69) The integrationist era showed us the attempts of many black characters to interact freely within the "world" of the white characters. This attempt was often thwarted. Now during the 1970s, Hollywood is once again showing the interaction of blacks within American society. Only this time, they on-screen character demand respect. These characters of the 197
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Approximate Word count = 1060
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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