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The Vicious Cycle of Racial Stereotypes

Imagine a modern day minstrel show. The Year is 2000 and a prominent television
network decides to make a rehashing of minstrel shows. Interestingly enough the show receives
positive feedback by the viewers and ratings skyrocket.
In the year 2000 Spike Lee debuted the film Bamboozled written and directed by
himself. Bamboozled is a story about a Pierre Delacroixs (an employee for a television network)
satire on minstrelsy gone completely misinterpreted. Spike Lee exposes societys current state of
susceptibility to media influence.
Historically, the subtle patterns found in the depiction of certain characters based on race
and ethnicity in film and music, has profoundly and covertly influenced viewers since the birth
of modern media. Racial stereotyping can be extremely crippling to a certain races cultural
identity and how they are treated by society. African Americans have been a prime victim of
racial stereotyping since early theater and the stereotypes have continued to evolve and thrive
within the mainstream media.
Racial stereotypes have been fabricated and perpetuated in the entertainment industry
since the minstrel shows in the mid 1800s, and are responsible for molding social perception and
creating a climate of fear based on lack of understanding and misrepresentation of culture.
With the invention of film into the early 1900s, exposure to media came to a climatic
turn. With the Hollywood debut of Birth of a Nation in 1915 and it's extreme success. Minstrel
shows, beginning in the late 1800s, became one of the most popular forms of entertainment,
involving white actors who covered their faces in charred cork and red lipstick to depict African
Americans in a rather demeaning fashion. In the minstrel show white entertainers put on
blackface and "imitated" or "caricatured" slaves in the South and ex-slaves in the North.
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Although Minstrelsy origins are not documented, the spark of its popularity is, with the creation
of Jim Crow, Dartmouth Daddy Rice developed the first popularly known blackface minstrel
character (called Jim Crow) in 1830 and became the Father of Minstrelsy. Thomas
Dartmouth Rice who developed the black face caricatures emphasized demeanor and movement
of African Americans through observation of African Americans in an integrated northern
neighborhood Through his experiences growing up in an integrated northern neighborhood and
as an actor touring the South, he had an opportunity to observe African American speech, song
and dance over the years
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. Rices degrading new form of entertainment was widely successful
in the north and the south thus leading on to permeate its influence.
Many stereotypes were developed as a product of some minstrel show caricatures
including the mammies, sambos, uncle toms, hannahs etc. The Sambo character had
resembled an uneducated rural slave characterized by outlandish clothing, The USF Library
gives insight into the demeaning culture Clumsy attempts at sophisticated speech. The
Mammy caricature posed as a sort of overly helpful, coddling mother figure which interestingly
enough still exist today in the form of aunt jemima Perhaps the most enduring mammy icon is
Aunt Jemima. conceived through a song written by an African American minstrel performer for
a white minstrel artist. Then performed by/with a Chris Rutt who then commercialized and sold
the Aunt Jemima brand to the Davis Company, which has unfortunately kept the degrading face
of Aunt Jemima on their syrup since The song was performed in 1889 with a man named Chris
Rutt in the audience. Rutt, seeing an opportunity for commercializing the Aunt Jemima
character, went on to trademark the name and sold it to The Davis Company.
As these degrading stereotypes stood the test of time, a new era emerged in the 1920s for

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http://exhibits.lib.usf.edu/exhibits/show/minstrelsy/jimcrow-to-jolson/jump-jim-crow
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the African American community. A shift in African American cultural paradigm occurred with
a time known as the Harlem Renaissance, and Harlem became a stomping grounds for artistic
and cultural development. According to the JCU literature resources page "The Harlem
Renaissance, also known as the New Negro movement, was a literary, artistic, cultural,
intellectual movement that began in Harlem, New York after World War I". Although extreme
bigotry and a vehement racism still existed, the community of African American intellectuals
who thrived during the Harlem Renaissance had established a cultural and community identity,
ultimately paving the way for the civil rights movement.
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But before the Harlem Renaissance existed, there was D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation.
Released in 1915 as a degrading klu klux klan propaganda device, it became hugely influential in
film, and established demeaning stereotypes that still exist today. "The Birth of a Nation, which
appeared in March 1915, was both one of the landmarks in the history of American cinema and a
landmark In American racism." Initially, Birth of a Nation depicted an extremely degenerate,
violent, and primitive black caricature conceiving a stereotype that portrays african americans as
violent, animal like, and sub-human. Ed Guerrero author of framing blackness says "It openly
depicts southern blacks as vicious and lascivious, their northern white allies as cunning,
unscrupulous, and arrogant." The film also glorifies Klu Klux Klan activity by making them
appear heroic or gallant. D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation invoked a racist ideology on a
massive scale with the film being so widely popular. The film also sparked major conflict with
the NAACP Roy Rozenweig Center for History and new Media addresses the topic of the
controversy and says "black leaders began laying plans for a nationwide protest campaign". The
NAACP initially attempted to have the film banned and failed. They then switch their motives

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http://jcu.edu/harlem/literature/page_1.htm
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and attempted to have the more racist scenes of the film censored The NAACPs ongoing
national campaign to censor the film produced decidedly mixed results. Despite success in
Boston and Chicago in securing several minor cuts in the films release print, by years end
distributors could show The Birth of a Nation almost anywhere in the country. Although
attempts to have the film banned and censored failed, the public reaction helped raise black
awareness on a large scale as well as helping the NAACP gain support from more African
Americans and liberals alike.
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As the film industry grew and technology progressed into the 1930s, racial stereotypes
became so common-place that many film-makers began exploring the symbolism behind these
stereotypes. The debut of King Kong in 1933 spawned yet another animalistic caricature of the
African American through a Savage ape brought to the United States by chains who ultimately
causes chaos within New York City. David N. Rosen, civil rights law lecturer wrote in 1975,
"consider the plot of the film: Kong is forcibly taken from his jungle home, brought in chains to
the United States, where he is put on stage as a freak entertainment attraction. He breaks his
chains and goes on a rampage in the metropolis, until finally he is felled by the forces of the law
and order."
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Towards the end of king kong it seems that beauty killed the beast. It seems that a
fatal attraction to a white beauty is king kongs demise. According to Rosen this is not an
unusual pattern in this genre This type of plot device is a recurrent element in films of the
jungle adventure genre The white woman comes along on the safari not only to provide romantic
interest. She is usually a focus of tension between the white males and the natives, furnishing
an opportunity for some of the former to display their virile heroism against the savages. In

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http://chnm.gmu.edu/episodes/the-birth-of-a-nation-and-black-protest/
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http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/onlinessays/JC06folder/KingKong.html
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addition to the depiction of the beast the indigenous people are perceived as savages and
primitive. This furthers the idea of the other and sustains subconscious social inequities.
Later in the thirties, more specifically 1939, emerged Gone With The Wind, a film
establishing the Mammy caricature and fabricating a world where slaves love and cherish their
masters and make slavery appear to be something enjoyable. There was also Amos n Andy
which was a radio show formed during the early thirties and eventually evolved into a television
show around the 1950s. Amos n Andy portrayed racial stereotypes diluted by balanced
attributes, Mel watkins of the New York Times says: The stereotypical portrayals of Amos
Jones and Andy H. Brown were balanced by other attributes. Amos was unquestionably dense
and naive, but he was also honest, dedicated and hardworking. And Andy, although lazy,
conniving and pretentious as minstrelsy's venal Jim Dandy, was also a good-natured fellow
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.
Although, Amos N Andy dominated airwaves and television for four decades embedding their
emphatic portrayal of african american demeanor into the American psyche, according to Mel
Watkins : (Amos N Andy)...not only dominated this country's listening habits for 15 minutes,
five days a week, but also significantly influenced its daily routines..
Out of the 1950s grew an unfortunate reality for African Americans. The birth of the non-
accessible american dream shrouded African Americans in a deep disillusionment, with the harsh
reality of unequal opportunities and the media portraying a world void of affluent or even middle
class black families. Fortunately, African American authors like James Baldwin provided context
and insight into the harsh living conditions of the disillusioned communities through an
intellectual perspective.

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http://www.nytimes.com/1991/07/07/books/what-was-it-about-amos-n-andy.html
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The 1960 and 1970s brought about a time of cultural change for the African American
community. The 1960s was the peak of the civil rights movement, with white resistance on a
massive scale, African Americans pushed for direct action by civil disobedience (nonviolent
resistance). Through the civil rights movement the African American community attempted to
rebrand itself through both peaceful and militant means. As the image of the African American
was shifting at an extreme rate, Hollywood showed a fascination with black characters. Luis
Bunuels The Young One ,for example , portrays a strong black man with enough wits to
stand against racism UCB resources media says: this film shocked American audiences with its
depiction of a strong, sarchastic black man, capable of holding his own against racism.
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This is
extremely significant to the identity of the African American culture in the way that it marks the
rebranding of the African American image. It refutes all previous notions of sub-human behavior
etc. in the African American and gives light to fact that the African American is just as strong
or intelligent as any member of society. After the progress made during the civil rights
movement the 1970s blaxploitation evolved, which demonstrated the romanticization of criminal
behavior. Ed Guerrero, author of Framing Blackness describes how the rising black social and
political consciousness helped pave way to the blaxploitation era: "First and most obvious to the
observers of the late 1960s scene is that these [blaxploitation] films were made possible by the
rising political and social consciousness of black people (taking the form of broadly expressed
black nationalist impulse at the end of the civil rights movement)"
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. Sweet Sweetback's
Baadasssss Song released in 1971 directed by Melvin Van Peebles is not only the epitome
blaxploitation film but also lead to the creation of the genre. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
depicts a sly confident African American male with strong sexual prowess who becomes

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http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/youngone.html
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Framing Blackness, pg.69 Ed Guerrero
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successful in a predominantly white world JoAnne Allen an established Journalist explains how
Sweetbacks audacity wins the African American audience with the romanticization of an
unrealistic violent representation of African American culture, Joanne Allen a journalist says At
one point, after seeing two white police beat up a black boy, the protagonist, Sweet, proceeds to
crack their heads open with handcuffs. The audacity that the character had was appealing to the
black audience because in reality, black people would not have gotten away with such behavior.
Even more exciting was the fact that Sweetback took on the white establishment (through violent
means) and won. This characterization remains one of the unique elements of blaxploitation
films.
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At the most basic level this era of film depicted a glorification of an unrealistic reality in
which crime and violence prevails within the African American community because of rising
pressures to rebrand the African American image which in turn lead to a negative depiction of
African American culture.
In 1980 began the emergence of commercial Hip-hop, with the debut of Wild Style in
1983 produced by Charlie Ahearn, a film that subsequently influenced many hip-hop artist. The
1980s is credited as being the golden age of Hip-hop characterized by the eras innovativeness
and influence, writer/historian Brian Coleman captures how originality was vital to the eras
existence In the 80s youd get laughed off the stage for copying someone elses style. That was
considered heresy.
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The golden age of hip-hop was instrumental to the african american
community as far as brandishing a new original genre of music that not only influences African
American culture but American culture in general. But unfortunately the golden age of hip-hop
wasnt the only influence on the era, in 1984 came the crack epidemic that devastated african
american communities and had an extremely detrimental effect on popular culture. Hip-hop

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http://besser.tsoa.nyu.edu/impact/s99/Projects/paper/joanne.html
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http://www.today.com/id/5430999#.U4POZpRdWwE
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begun to be attributed with the dangerous street culture of drug dealing and using drugs.
In the 1990s, after the devastating effects of the crack epidemic struck the African
American communities, came finally a time where black film not only captured significant social
context but also captured the societal issues embedded within the black community. According
to the University of Florida library: The "New Black Wave", beginning in the 1980s (led by
directors such as Spike Lee and John Singleton) was the culmination of a century of filmmaking
and yearning. Films such as DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) and BOYZ N THE HOOD (1991)
tackled serious topics that crossed racial lines and appealed to mainstream audiences.
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Boyz N
the Hood written and directed by John Singleton tells a story of three African American boys
trying to abandon the harsh conditions of the ghetto lifestyle in South Central Los Angeles
according to John Ridleys editorial on Boyz N The Hood Singleton says he just wanted to put a
young, black, male experience of Los Angeles up on the screen
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the film contextualizes gang
violence and gives an internalized account of the ghetto experience.
Finally, in the 2000s, mainstream Hip-Hop culture regressed and countered the progress
made by those who strove to depict an accurate and non stereotypical image of African
American culture. Hip-Hop was in a detrimental state, with most of the lyrical content glorifying
misogyny, violence, homophobia, and a culture based on a harsh materialism and lasciviousness
instead of contextualizing those harsh living conditions to provoke thought within the listener.
Walter Dawkins sums up the current state of hip-hop in a few words: The only topics discussed
are bling-bling materialism, how many guns you have, and "ho's."
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Mainstream contemporary hip-hop has molded an even more corrupted caricature of the

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http://www.library.ufl.edu/spec/belknap/cinema/cinemaaa.htm
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http://www.npr.org/2011/07/08/137675331/boyz-n-the-hood-rings-out-20-years-later
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http://www.daveyd.com/commentaryishiphopdead.html
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African American blending aspects of blaxploitation and the earlier ignorant violent caricatures
brandished in the 1900s to form a dangerous threat to the young minds within African American
communities. Rappers such as Chief Keef pose as a prime example of a contemporary artist
perpetuating said vicious stereotypes with lyrics like: These hoes love Chief Sosa Hit him with
that cobra being fed to the public on a massive scale could be crippling to the African
Americans image as a normally functioning member of society.
In addition to what the mainstream music industry was producing, directors like Tyler
Perry completely relies on stereotypes within his films. We have the almost anti-mammy
caricature in his Madea character still nurturing yet still expressing an emphatic violent
demeanor and within his film temptation we have yet another violent sociopathic drug abusing
black character being completely misogynistic and devaluing a woman. It almost seems that we
have only regressed further into perpetuating racial stereotypes instead of building a strong
intellectual cultural identity for ourselves within the mainstream media. Although some socially
conscious material exist, its the same stereotypes that are perpetuated at the forefront of what we
watch and listen to on a daily basis.
Overall, the film and music industries are responsible for the perpetuation of racial
stereotypes, and with each passing era, beginning with the conception of minstrel shows, these
industries have only exploited and demeaned the image of African Americans. This ultimately
leads to a deep fear of the other and this misinterpretation is the causation of racism embedded
into the psyche of our society. Contemporary film-makers such as Spike Lee, and socially
conscious musicians have fought to debunk these stereotypes and empower the African
American community through entertainment.
We rely on awareness from these socially conscious artists, film-makers, etc to help debunk
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these vicious stereotypes of ignorance, violence, and lasciviousness and create a positive social
and cultural identity where individuality is valued and the where an intellect prospers in the
African American communities.
Works Cited
"AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA." AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA. Web. 27
May 2014.
"The Birth of a Nation and Black Protest." Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and
New Media RSS. Web. 25 May 2014.
"Black-Face Minstrelsy." Black-Face Minstrelsy. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
"Blaxploitation Films." Blaxploitation Films. Web. 27 May 2014.
Gurrero, Ed. Framing Blackness. 69. Print.
"Harlem Renaissance - Literature - Home." Harlem Renaissance - Literature - Home.
Web. 27 May 2014.
"Is Hip Hop Dead?" Is Hip Hop Dead? Web. 27 May 2014.
"JUMP CUTA REVIEW OF CONTEMPORARY MEDIA." King Kong by David N.
Rosen. Web. 27 May 2014.
"No Blacks or Whites: The Making of Luis Bunuel's 'The Young One.'" Luis Bunuel's
'The Young One: Cineaste. Web. 27 May 2014.
"Remembering the Golden Age of Hip-hop." TODAY.com. Web. 27 May 2014.
Ridley, John. "'Boyz N The Hood' Rings Out, 20 Years Later." NPR. NPR. Web. 27
May 2014.
"USF Library Special & Digital Collections Exhibits | The History of Minstrelsy :
"Jump Jim Crow"." Omeka RSS. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
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"What Was It About 'Amos 'n' Andy'?" The New York Times. The New York Times,
06 July 1991. Web. 23 May 2014.