Understanding the representation of ethnic

minorities in western television and cinema

Gramsci's notion of hegemony can be used to identify

both elements of the old racist stereotypes and new, but
destructive, representations of racial minorities in the
media of a seemingly liberal society.

Unsurprising racism, though perhaps more covertly,

still pervades society.
Less Liberal Society:

Hall outlines three base images of the 'grammar of race'

employed in ‘movies'.
The first is the slave figure which could take the form of
either the 'dependable, loving… devoted "Mammy" with
the rolling eyes, or the faithful - attached and devoted to
"his" master'

The underlying message of such images is clear: the

slave is someone who is willing to serve their master;
their devotion allows a white audience to displace any
guilt about their history of colonialism and slavery. The
consequence of such messages relates to Gramsci's idea
of 'spontaneous consent' or 'consensual control', whereby
individuals '"voluntarily" assimilate the world-view or
hegemony of the dominant group'
Second Image is – the native - although loving, the
slave is simultaneously depicted as unpredictable
and capable of 'turning nasty', Their primitive
nature means they are cheating, cunning, savage
and barbarian. In movies, we expect them 'to appear
at any moment out of the darkness to execute the
beautiful heroine, kidnap the children

The primitivism of black people demonstrates their

suitability to their servile positions; the fear of their
unpredictability provides justification for
maintaining control over them, while the image of
the civilised white man 'confronting his Destiny'
makes the exercise of this control not only
acceptable, but also respectable.
The third image is that of the clown or entertainer, implying an
'innate' humour in the black man.

Interestingly, the distinction is never made as to whether we are

laughing with or at the clown or the covert racism

Tony Freeth (producer, director and active member of the

Campaign Against Racism in the Media, CARM) adeptly puts
this concept into the context of his experience of the BBC: 'It all
takes place in an atmosphere of smiling, middle-class gentility,
an air of righteous indignation if confronted with charges of
racism. No one in TV shouts racist abuse at black people… No
one in TV physically assaults black people, they simply feed us
on a diet of "Blacks are the problem"'
Thus inferential racism – indirectly stating that racism is
inferred and reinforced in 'the routine structures of everyday
thought'

‘Many Films portrays ignorant darkie whose life revolved

around song and dance', perpetuating 'the myth that blacks were
happy with their slave status'

Using comedy perpetuates the myth of the black

clown - a recent example is Will Smith's character in
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
In America, the early 1970s saw Hollywood developing a liberal
conscience - the industry appears to have responded to the black
liberal movement in two ways. First was the production of
historical anti-racism films - such as Cry Freedom (1987),
Malcolm X (1992) and Schindler's List (1993) all focus on the
issue of race with a informative as well as 'entertainment'
purpose.

Second is the development of the 'blaxploitation' genre -; characters

'Black Caesar‘ black revolutionist Angela Davis (such as Foxy Brown,
1974) showed black individuals as the central protagonists and in control
- in contrast to the marginal roles they were accustomed to in other
Hollywood movies. The genre has endured, to some extent in which we
could include films such as Bad Boys, Pulp Fiction, and White Men
Can't Jump.
Despite these apparent positive developments in Britain and
America, the white hegemonic hold over the television and
film industries -media industry is still dominated by whites

Are they repackaging the old stereotypes into forms more

acceptable in a 'liberalist' society

preconceived ideas about racial minorities can be seen as a

form of elitism in which 'liberal' media practitioners see
themselves as intellectually superior to the people the
programme is about or for.
black images

Positive images based on normative white ideals

 Images in late 80’s: e.g.
 --the middle-class household of
The Cosby Show points out that
there is 'nothing black' about
the Huxtable's lifestyle
(Mercer 1989:6 qtd in Mystry).
Strategies of containment
Sympathy shown for the minorities,
but with the whites as the real heroes.
e.g. Cry Freedom; Counter Hegemonic
Practices: e.g. Hip Hop.