Racism And Prejudice In Film

When we think of heroes we often think of a masked vigilanty or a cape crusader swooping down from the heavens and saving the day. Although heroes come in many shapes and sizes, they also tend to come from different backgrounds. The people of the United States pride themselves with freedom and equality. However, still to this day there is a struggle with discrimination. Matt Zoller Seitz’s article “The Offensive Movie Cliché That Won’t Die” definitely sparked some interest and was definitely right when it came to the offensive issue most people do not see. His argument clearly states that African Americans are playing more roles in Hollywood blockbusters as mentors or in this case “god like” for the main characters. However, many of the roles played by African Americans are that of mentors and are not receiving the proper applause they should be receiving. Matt Seitz presents great material in his article that doesn’t sound bias and enough information to make him credible.

When a regular viewer tunes in the hit show, Saturday Night Live, what do they see on their screen? They see a comedy show with primarily young Caucasian men and some Caucasian women. There is a problem with the level of diversity within Saturday Night Live, otherwise known as SNL. Since its beginning, Saturday Night Live has had a very long history with not displaying actors from a variety of races and backgrounds. I, Hannah Rabitoy, head writer for SNL, am writing to the executive producer, Lorne Michaels, to address this issue of diversity and what must be implemented in the future. In order to improve viewership and creativity within the hit television show, Saturday Night Live, the producers must enforce a plan to diversify the cast members by placing quotas on the Human Resources department to ensure all are represented properly, recruiting from more standup comedian centers rather than typical non-diverse comedy

The film, White Like Me is based on the works of Tim Wise, an American anti-racism activist and writer. The documentary explores racism in the United States through the concepts of white privileged and racial identity by Wise’s own experiences. He starts off by saying that the United States has overcome a lot of issues involving race from slavery to electing an African-American as president, but he disproves that theory by stating that racial inequality and racial bias still exists. Wise emphasizes that when the issues are ignored not only does injustice continues for the people of color but also damage is done to white people as well. Racism is seen to only impact the underprivileged and not the dominate group, but for every racist act against

In the 1941 film, Dumbo, the movie has racially charged tones surrounding several scenes, regarding crows with stereotypically black jive and a song promoting slavery. This isn’t the only example of racism, with Mickey Mouse wearing blackface, the movies Song of the South and The Jungle Book comparing African Americans to apes and depicting them as being lazy and unintelligent, blatant anti-semitism in several films, and racism to other groups of people, like Chinese and Native Americans, in other movies. Nowaday, Disney has been noticeably more diverse and inclusive of more cultures in its media. Moana, Disney’s latest princess movie, showcases a Polynesian cast, and many of Disney’s television projects have colored representation in their forefront. After the Civil Right movement, society has become more tolerant of differences and welcoming of diversity, and Disney grew along with the rest of

In recent years, there has been a movement for Disney animations to reach out to previously underrepresented audiences (e.g. Moana, Pocahontas). However, the films were not always received how the producers had originally intended. The Princess and the Frog was a Disney princess animation released in 2009, based off The Frog Princess. The story is a young African American waitress living with meager funds, working towards her dreams of opening a restaurant. When Prince Naveen who has been turned into a frog kisses her, thinking her a princess, turns her also into a frog. The two go on an adventure to break the curse, along the way they make friends with an alligator (Louise) and a firefly (Ray). The story is set in New Orleans, all the characters speak accented English (i.e. African American Vernacular English and American Southern English). Princess and the Frog is an exemplary case of how Disney presents African Americans in their animation films.

One of the most impactful films we watched in class was the video of Michelle Alexander’s lecture on her book, The New Jim Crow. I’ve heard bits about the book beforehand but watching the award winning author speak on it was truly eye-opening and the information she gave was phenomenal. The topic of her book and in turn the lecture was on the issue of mass incarceration within the U.S. and also how the “War on Drugs” is what made poor communities with people of color the main victims of mass incarceration. She discussed how some poor communities are seen as violent and sketchy because of their high levels of chronic joblessness. Her main point was making listeners aware of how even though we claim to be in an “era of colorblindness,” there

Monday Night Football revolutionized broadcast TV by creating a harmonious factor that energized and captivated the masses. It allowed for an entire generational gap to be brought together consensually by inserting influential shows and TV movies at specific time-slots to maintain a flow; and for a few hours a day, everything seemed to be much calmer in the world. The movie Brian's Song exemplified and proved to be a major crux for ABC and its viewers, simply because of the plot and the timeslot it held on national TV. It allowed a representation of cohesion and unity, which in turn made it for easier viewing and easier flow. However, many underlying factors must be taken into account when analyzing the overall effectiveness and legacy of primetime TV on Mondays. The concept of flow, and the movie's role in consensual space, and how the development of Brian's Song panned out, are critical points that justify just how powerful primetime TV was in the late 20th century.

Growing up, I was constantly reminded that for whatever reason, Asians had it easy in America. Like somehow, professions in medicine and law were handed to us on silver platters because everyone expected us to become doctors and lawyers anyway. Of course, the multitude of Asian-Americans who do end up in these fields must have worked tirelessly to get there. But I often look back at my childhood thinking, “What if everyone had supported me becoming an actor in the same way they support future doctors?” My dream of working in entertainment was taken as joke, and growing up, I understood that I would have to work twice as hard to become successful in this field because people like me did not receive support in pursuing the arts. Contrary to what

Many television shows have caused attention to themselves by not being racially diverse. For Example, HBO’s Girls has established a bad reputation from the absence of diversity among the major roles in the show. It is a show centered around four white women living in New York City. When nonwhite characters are casted they get only a few lines at best. The comedy shows Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother are other shows who have been called out on their lack of diversity. However, since these are more popular and adored shows people and critics are less likely to make a big deal about it.

“It’s not about boycotting anything, it’s just that we want opportunity. We want black actors to get the same opportunities.” As Chris rock explains, both the public and celebrities found the Oscar nominations offensive, because the nominees were all white for the second year–sparking #OscarsSoWhite. Actors boycotted the Oscars, so Hollywood provides equal opportunities for all races. America identifies as a melting pot because it consists of many cultures and races, yet Hollywood continues to overlook the minorities who represent this diversity. Hollywood fails to represent the growing diversity in America, equally showcases the growing minorities, and break the growing racial bias cycle.

Considering the arguments discussed throughout the chapters of my analysis, the history and evolution of African Americans will always intertwine with society, since the slavery era. This thesis outlined the African American stereotypes and if they’ve progressed over time. This research also observed how the film industry continued to change negative stereotypes into accurate representations of African American culture and experiences. D. W. Griffith’s film changed the history of films and remains the original foundation of Hollywood cinema, even though, it is the most racist film in history. The Birth of a Nation’s narrative assembles negative black stereotypes to empower white supremacy, always affecting the cinema’s engraving of race. It

After thorough research, I finally nailed down a recent current event immensely impacting the film and entertainment industry. Although, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is a one of a kind entity, industry leader, and entertainment media organization—they are not prone to controversy.

Every immigrant group has been stereotyped in Hollywood since the 19th Century. But in the case of ignorance towards black people, white people have created prejudice that has made the stereotypes last untill now. Gone with the wind, a 1939 Epic Civil War drama, shows slaves as well-treated, cheerful, and loyal to their masters. Slaves are portrayed as normal employees, and these are rewarded with presents if they’ve been appropriately loyal. This movie portrays slavery unrealistically and childlike. It portrays African Americans and slavery as happy and cheerful using really demeaning stereotypes such as the Mammy. Tropes are characterizations of plantation slaves from a white person perspective that started in the 19th century. There are many tropes found in movies, television and books. The Mammy trope is considered a stereotype since she has played a significant role in racist images, and perceptions worldwide.

The Camilla Festival was not my original idea for the curated section of my assignment. I was first inspired to curate an indigenous film festival with a similar premise; to showcase Indigenous writers and directors that are making films that do not specifically fall into the realms that are stereotypically believed to be ‘Indigenous Issues’. Disposition of land, colonisation, post-colonisation, living outside ‘privileged society’, belonging or kinship.I was inspired by an art show i had recently seen at the Latrobe University Gallery LUMA. An exhibition was being held that was advertised as “Indigenous group art show”, when reading the name of the group show i defaulted to believing i was going to go see a show with traditional Australian Indigenous Art. When i walked to the gallery i was surprised to see contemporary video

Racial stereotypes in films has occurred among people of color through characters, especially black. This has made challenges in opportunities, leading to a prevalence of stereotypes and lack of diversity on-screen, and they have also come a long way with many perspectives in the movie industry. The motion industry have had long history and criticism for its racially casting options since it has a significant role in a mass dissemination across the globe to audiences in every generation and have affected people’s belief systems. However, since a development in technologies and people’s perception, several modern filmmakers have already started to change the old stereotypes to be diverse and more positive. Furthermore,x black actors