ILS 2385 African American Stereotyping in Film and Television Discussion

Description

I’m an international student, and this article is written very well. Could you please help me to make it simpler, the number of words is required, so don’t reduce the number of words too much if you can

2 attachmentsSlide 1 of 2attachment_1attachment_1attachment_2attachment_2

Unformatted Attachment Preview

xue1
African American Stereotyping in Film and Television
XueJin
ILS2385 Visual Literacy and the Sociology
Nery Villanueva
8/12/2020
Topic :
Critically analyze the representation of ONE marginalized group (African
Americans, women, LGBTQ, Native Americans, Hispanics, Muslims,
Appalachian, little people, autistic individuals, gypsies, or bikers, etc.) in film and
television, deconstructing these stereotypes.
xue2
Introduction
Despite extraordinary progress in society, racism and the resultant stereotypes remain
rooted in the psychological, political, and socioeconomic lives of African Americans. Various
research from sociologists and academic scholars throughout cultural and social sciences show
that African Americans’ legacy still affects black lives today. This legacy is a result of nearly 400
years of enslavement, being subjected to adverse psychological and physical conditioning and
institutionalized exploitation.
As a community, black people have and continue to struggle for human rights and
equality. Race analysts have reached the consensus that African Americans remain the most
vilified of all ethnic groups, and continue to experience challenges that no other racial
communities encounter (Sumerau and Eric 322-337). Racial discrimination, oppression, and
stereotyping of black people is a core systematic function, deeply rooted in the United States for
centuries up until now. The film and entertainment industry plays a significant part in
demonstrating negative African American stereotyping. This paper aims to critically analyze the
representation of the African American groups in film and television and to deconstruct such
stereotypes.
Sociology of Perception
The social construction of reality is mainly influenced by the powerful dimension
of perception. The stories propagated about the African American culture cultivate, values and
ideologies create a long-term impression that has negative impacts on this group. The Cultivation
Theory posits that mass media plays a crucial role in cultivating or contouring people’s
viewpoints regarding their environment (Potter 1015-1036). This theory is highly applicable to
the entertainment industry and is invaluable in analyzing various forms of mass-produced stories
xue3
produced in both small and big screens. Studies show that depicted images pertaining to the
culture, relationships, and interactions between individuals from different racial and ethnic
backgrounds have considerable impacts on the audience’s perception of different races.
According to Busselle and Jan, films and television programs have the tendency to
limited roles and exaggerated characteristics of African American characters to appeal to a
comprehensive audience (2013). Through the narratives, they construct and the pictures they
build, the films and television programs relay (sometimes unconsciously or indirectly)
discriminatory ideas about the black community. Thus, films and television programs are used as
visual communication platforms to propagate impactful narratives that are often unquestioned
and internalized by viewers, whether intended or unintended.
Representation of African American Community in Film and Television
Many African Americans have managed to earn roles in film and television. However,
most black characters are given roles that depict stereotypes such as maids, drug dealers, and
thugs. The commonness of these roles in film and television shows how blacks constantly
struggle for substantial roles screens, notwithstanding most having won Academy awards (Tyree
394-413). For instance, the characters from ‘Magical Negro’ have for long, played roles that fuel
a stereotype across society. These characters are black people with unique powers, who make
special appearances only to support white characters out of dilemmas or crises while they seem
indifferent about their lives (Glenn and Landra 135-152).
According to Glenn and Landra, the ‘Magical Negro’ is a symbol of patronizing cynicism
at worst, and lazy writing at its best (135-152). ‘Magical Negroes’ depict a problematic
stereotype since they lack inner desires about their lives. Rather, they exist exclusively as a
backing system for white characters. This reinforces the notion that blacks are not as human or as
xue4
valuable as White Americans. Simply, their lives do not matter as much, hence they do not
require plots or storylines of their own.
‘The Black Best Friend’ stereotype is normally used in film and television to depict that
black lives do not matter as much as white lives do. Typically, the black best friend does not
have unique powers like ‘Magical Negros’. Nevertheless, they function to guide and support
white characters out of stressful, challenging, or difficult situations. Normally female, the black
best friends are sassy, with attitude and a keen interest in the life and relationships of their white
friends, according to Nittle (2020). They often don’t have much happening in their lives, but
show up at the right time to support their friends.
In ‘The Ghost Whisperer’, Aisha Tyler plays the black best friend to Hewitt Jennifer,
supporting her through life. Similarly, Tracie Thoms plays the black friend to Anne Hathaway on
‘The Devil Wears Prada’, reminding Anne of her ability to achieve greater things. Many other
films have similar storylines, where the lives of the black best friend do not matter as much as
those of the whites. According to Nittle, people of color have had to play the role of a rational,
nurturing caretakers to white main characters, and studios are not making efforts to end that
tradition (2020).
The film industry certainly has no shortage of African American characters playing the
roles of con-artists, pimps, drug dealers, and other forms of criminals (Tukachinsky 538-556).
These characters are portrayed in films such as ‘Training Day’ and ‘The Wire’. The
disproportionate number of blacks playing the roles of thugs in TV shows and films progresses
the ethnic label that African American men are drawn to illegal activities, thus dangerous.
Typically, such television programs and films provide insufficient social settings for why
African American men are more likely to end up in the criminal justice system than other racial
xue5
groups. Films and television programs that portray black males as thugs overlook how economic
and racial injustices make it extremely difficult for young African American males to avoid
prison (Gilliam et al. 755-780). Moreover, they overlook how racial profiling makes young black
men the police’s targets. Moreover, film productions fail to ask whether society plays a critical
role in establishing a cradle-to-prison path for black men. The figure below depicts how films
propagate the ‘thug’ stereotype about the black community.
‘The Angry Black Woman’ is a common stereotype in film and television programs.
Black women are regularly portrayed as sassy characters with considerable attitude issues (Tyree
394-413). The general societal acceptance of reality TV shows worsens the stereotype, as it adds
fuel to the fire. Television shows such as ‘Basketball Wives’ manage to maintain drama by
featuring loud and highly aggressive black women. Most black women claim that these
depictions bring real-life consequences to their careers and love lives. The show ‘Married to
Medicine’ debuted by Bravo sparked petitions from black female doctors to have the network
cancel the program due to its negative depiction of the group.
xue6
The black female physicians claimed that the show falsely stereotypes their character and
integrity, affecting their careers. Due to the small proportions of black women in the profession
(1%), the show’s depiction of black women doctors highly distorts the society’s perception of the
character of all current and future black female doctors (Nittle 2020). Unfortunately, the black
female physicians were unsuccessful in their petitions, as the show was ultimately aired.
Therefore, the film and entertainment sector has failed to live up to reality due to its constant
negative depiction of African American womanhood (Child, 544-561).
For many centuries in the United States, blacks were forced into slavery and servitude.
Therefore, the earliest stereotype to emerge about blacks in film and television is that of the
mammy, maid, or domestic worker (Nelson 185-216). Movies and television shows in the early
20th century such as ‘Gone with the Wind’ capitalize on the domestic worker stereotype. More
recent movies such as ‘The Help’ and ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ feature black women as domestic
workers. Even though Latinos are debatably the most ethnic group to be stereotyped as
housemaids, the argument over the depiction of black maids in Hollywood films still remains.
The film ‘The Help’ faced multiple criticisms in 2011 because African American maids helped
support white lead characters out of difficult situations, while their lives remained uninteresting.
The figure below depicts the character of a black domestic worker, tending to a white lead
character.
xue7
Conclusion
Through a destructive norm of providing insignificant and stereotyping roles for African
American actors, Hollywood films and television programs have oppressed the black
community. Films and television project negative images to audiences through exploiting the
African Americans, where black bodies are commercialized and distorted for the sake of
entertainment. Throughout history, the existence of the black community in the United States has
comprised of sustained discrimination and oppression. African Americans have always been
characterized as unintelligent, irrelevant, subhuman, lazy, and irresponsible. This tradition has
been passed on to the film and television industry, where white lead characters are given more
intelligent, superior roles. Some of the stereotypes fueled by films and televisions include the
magical negro, the black best friend, angry black women, black male criminals, and the domestic
worker. These stereotypes reinforce the notion that African American’s lives and humanity
matter less than those of the whites.
xue8
Work cited :
Busselle, Rick, and Jan Van den Bulck. “Cultivation Theory, Media, Stories, Processes, and
Reality.” Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research (2019).
Childs, Erica Chito. “Looking behind the stereotypes of the “angry black woman” an exploration
of Black women’s responses to interracial relationships.” Gender & Society 19.4 (2005):
544-561.
Gilliam Jr, Franklin D., Nicholas A. Valentino, and Matthew N. Beckmann. “Where you live and
what you watch: The impact of racial proximity and local television news on attitudes
about race and crime.” Political Research Quarterly 55.4 (2002): 755-780.
Glenn, Cerise L., and Landra J. Cunningham. “The power of black magic: The magical negro
and white salvation in film.” Journal of Black Studies 40.2 (2009): 135-152.
Nelson, Angela M. “African American stereotypes in prime-time television: An overview, 1948–
2007.” African Americans and popular culture 1 (2008): 185-216.
Nittle, Nadra K. “The 5 Most Common African American Stereotypes in TV and
Film.” ThoughtCo, 2018, www.thoughtco.com/common-black-stereotypes-in-tv-film2834653.
Potter, W. James. “A critical analysis of cultivation theory.” Journal of Communication 64.6
(2014): 1015-1036.
Sumerau, Jason E., and Eric Anthony Grollman. “Obscuring oppression: Racism, cissexism, and
the persistence of social inequality.” Sociology of race and ethnicity 4.3 (2018): 322-337.
Tukachinsky, Riva, Dana Mastro, and Moran Yarchi. “The effect of prime time television
ethnic/racial stereotypes on Latino and Black Americans: A longitudinal national level
study.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 61.3 (2017): 538-556.
xue9
Tyree, Tia. “African American stereotypes in reality television.” Howard Journal of
Communications 22.4 (2011): 394-413.
xue1
African American Stereotyping in Film and Television
ILS2385 Visual Literacy and the Sociology
8/12/2020
Topic :
Critically analyze the representation of ONE marginalized group (African
Americans, women, LGBTQ, Native Americans, Hispanics, Muslims,
Appalachian, little people, autistic individuals, gypsies, or bikers, etc.) in film and
television, deconstructing these stereotypes.
xue2
Introduction
Despite extraordinary progress in society, racism and the resultant stereotypes remain
rooted in the psychological, political, and socioeconomic lives of African Americans. Various
research from sociologists and academic scholars throughout cultural and social sciences show
that African Americans’ legacy still affects black lives today. This legacy is a result of nearly 400
years of enslavement, being subjected to adverse psychological and physical conditioning and
institutionalized exploitation.
As a community, black people have and continue to struggle for human rights and
equality. Race analysts have reached the consensus that African Americans remain the most
vilified of all ethnic groups, and continue to experience challenges that no other racial
communities encounter (Sumerau and Eric 322-337). Racial discrimination, oppression, and
stereotyping of black people is a core systematic function, deeply rooted in the United States for
centuries up until now. The film and entertainment industry plays a significant part in
demonstrating negative African American stereotyping. This paper aims to critically analyze the
representation of the African American groups in film and television and to deconstruct such
stereotypes.
Sociology of Perception
The social construction of reality is mainly influenced by the powerful dimension
of perception. The stories propagated about the African American culture cultivate, values and
ideologies create a long-term impression that has negative impacts on this group. The Cultivation
Theory posits that mass media plays a crucial role in cultivating or contouring people’s
viewpoints regarding their environment (Potter 1015-1036). This theory is highly applicable to
the entertainment industry and is invaluable in analyzing various forms of mass-produced stories
xue3
produced in both small and big screens. Studies show that depicted images pertaining to the
culture, relationships, and interactions between individuals from different racial and ethnic
backgrounds have considerable impacts on the audience’s perception of different races.
According to Busselle and Jan, films and television programs have the tendency to
limited roles and exaggerated characteristics of African American characters to appeal to a
comprehensive audience (2013). Through the narratives, they construct and the pictures they
build, the films and television programs relay (sometimes unconsciously or indirectly)
discriminatory ideas about the black community. Thus, films and television programs are used as
visual communication platforms to propagate impactful narratives that are often unquestioned
and internalized by viewers, whether intended or unintended.
Representation of African American Community in Film and Television
Many African Americans have managed to earn roles in film and television. However,
most black characters are given roles that depict stereotypes such as maids, drug dealers, and
thugs. The commonness of these roles in film and television shows how blacks constantly
struggle for substantial roles screens, notwithstanding most having won Academy awards (Tyree
394-413). For instance, the characters from ‘Magical Negro’ have for long, played roles that fuel
a stereotype across society. These characters are black people with unique powers, who make
special appearances only to support white characters out of dilemmas or crises while they seem
indifferent about their lives (Glenn and Landra 135-152).
According to Glenn and Landra, the ‘Magical Negro’ is a symbol of patronizing cynicism
at worst, and lazy writing at its best (135-152). ‘Magical Negroes’ depict a problematic
stereotype since they lack inner desires about their lives. Rather, they exist exclusively as a
backing system for white characters. This reinforces the notion that blacks are not as human or as
xue4
valuable as White Americans. Simply, their lives do not matter as much, hence they do not
require plots or storylines of their own.
‘The Black Best Friend’ stereotype is normally used in film and television to depict that
black lives do not matter as much as white lives do. Typically, the black best friend does not
have unique powers like ‘Magical Negros’. Nevertheless, they function to guide and support
white characters out of stressful, challenging, or difficult situations. Normally female, the black
best friends are sassy, with attitude and a keen interest in the life and relationships of their white
friends, according to Nittle (2020). They often don’t have much happening in their lives, but
show up at the right time to support their friends.
In ‘The Ghost Whisperer’, Aisha Tyler plays the black best friend to Hewitt Jennifer,
supporting her through life. Similarly, Tracie Thoms plays the black friend to Anne Hathaway on
‘The Devil Wears Prada’, reminding Anne of her ability to achieve greater things. Many other
films have similar storylines, where the lives of the black best friend do not matter as much as
those of the whites. According to Nittle, people of color have had to play the role of a rational,
nurturing caretakers to white main characters, and studios are not making efforts to end that
tradition (2020).
The film industry certainly has no shortage of African American characters playing the
roles of con-artists, pimps, drug dealers, and other forms of criminals (Tukachinsky 538-556).
These characters are portrayed in films such as ‘Training Day’ and ‘The Wire’. The
disproportionate number of blacks playing the roles of thugs in TV shows and films progresses
the ethnic label that African American men are drawn to illegal activities, thus dangerous.
Typically, such television programs and films provide insufficient social settings for why
African American men are more likely to end up in the criminal justice system than other racial
xue5
groups. Films and television programs that portray black males as thugs overlook how economic
and racial injustices make it extremely difficult for young African American males to avoid
prison (Gilliam et al. 755-780). Moreover, they overlook how racial profiling makes young black
men the police’s targets. Moreover, film productions fail to ask whether society plays a critical
role in establishing a cradle-to-prison path for black men. The figure below depicts how films
propagate the ‘thug’ stereotype about the black community.
‘The Angry Black Woman’ is a common stereotype in film and television programs.
Black women are regularly portrayed as sassy characters with considerable attitude issues (Tyree
394-413). The general societal acceptance of reality TV shows worsens the stereotype, as it adds
fuel to the fire. Television shows such as ‘Basketball Wives’ manage to maintain drama by
featuring loud and highly aggressive black women. Most black women claim that these
depictions bring real-life consequences to their careers and love lives. The show ‘Married to
Medicine’ debuted by Bravo sparked petitions from black female doctors to have the network
cancel the program due to its negative depiction of the group.
xue6
The black female physicians claimed that the show falsely stereotypes their character and
integrity, affecting their careers. Due to the small proportions of black women in the profession
(1%), the show’s depiction of black women doctors highly distorts the society’s perception of the
character of all current and future black female doctors (Nittle 2020). Unfortunately, the black
female physicians were unsuccessful in their petitions, as the show was ultimately aired.
Therefore, the film and entertainment sector has failed to live up to reality due to its constant
negative depiction of African American womanhood (Child, 544-561).
For many centuries in the United States, blacks were forced into slavery and servitude.
Therefore, the earliest stereotype to emerge about blacks in film and television is that of the
mammy, maid, or domestic worker (Nelson 185-216). Movies and television shows in the early
20th century such as ‘Gone with the Wind’ capitalize on the domestic worker stereotype. More
recent movies such as ‘The Help’ and ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ feature black women as domestic
workers. Even though Latinos are debatably the most ethnic group to be stereotyped as
housemaids, the argument over the depiction of black maids in Hollywood films still remains.
The film ‘The Help’ faced multiple criticisms in 2011 because African American maids helped
support white lead characters out of difficult situations, while their lives remained uninteresting.
The figure below depicts the character of a black domestic worker, tending to a white lead
character.
xue7
Conclusion
Through a destructive norm of providing insignificant and stereotyping roles for African
American actors, Hollywood films and television programs have oppressed the black
community. Films and television project negative images to audiences through exploiting the
African Americans, where black bodies are commercialized and distorted for the sake of
entertainment. Throughout history, the existence of the black community in the United States has
comprised of sustained discrimination and oppression. African Americans have always been
characterized as unintelligent, irrelevant, subhuman, lazy, and irresponsible. This tradition has
been passed on to the film and television industry, where white lead characters are given more
intelligent, superior roles. Some of the stereotypes fueled by films and televisions include the
magical negro, the black best friend, angry black women, black male criminals, and the domestic
worker. These stereotypes reinforce the notion that African American’s lives and humanity
matter less than those of the whites.
xue8
Work cited :
Busselle, Rick, and Jan Van den Bulck. “Cultivation Theory, Media, Stories, Processes, and
Reality.” Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research (2019).
Childs, Erica Chito. “Looking behind the stereotypes of the “angry black woman” an exploration
of Black women’s responses to interracial relationships.” Gender & Society 19.4 (2005):
544-561.
Gilliam Jr, Franklin D., Nicholas A. Valentino, and Matthew N. Beckmann. “Where you live and
what you watch: The impact of racial proximity and local television news on attitudes
about race and crime.” Political Research Quarterly 55.4 (2002): 755-780.
Glenn, Cerise L., and Landra J. Cunningham. “The power of black magic: The magical negro
and white salvation in film.” Journal of Black Studies 40.2 (2009): 135-152.
Nelson, Angela M. “African American stereotypes in prime-time television: An overview, 1948–
2007.” African Americans and popular culture 1 (2008): 185-216.
Nittle, Nadra K. “The 5 Most Common African American Stereotypes in TV and
Film.” ThoughtCo, 2018, www.thoughtco.com/common-black-stereotypes-in-tv-film2834653.
Potter, W. James. “A critical analysis of cultivation theory.” Journal of Communication 64.6
(2014): 1015-1036.
Sumerau, Jason E., and Eric Anthony Grollman. “Obscuring oppression: Racism, cissexism, and
the persistence of social inequality.” Sociology of race and ethnicity 4.3 (2018): 322-337.
Tukachinsky, Riva, Dana Mastro, and Moran Yarchi. “The effect of prime time television
ethnic/racial stereotypes on Latino and Black Americans: A longitudinal national level
study.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 61.3 (2017): 538-556.
xue9
Tyree, Tia. “African American stereotypes in reality television.” Howard Journal of
Communications 22.4 (2011): 394-413.

Purchase answer to see full
attachment

Tags:
African American Stereotyping

sgtereotype

criminal association with black people

violence in black community

black community perception

User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool’s honor code & terms of service.