Released in 2001, Disney Channel’s The Proud Family was a Black cartoon frequently watched by children who grew up during its airplay. Not vulgar or satirical, The Proud Family centered around Penny Proud and her family as she grew up through her years. As a child, I innocently watched this show, but picked up on unintended implications based off of the character’s skin color. The main character Penny was a lighter skinned girl, who appeared to possess “more Eurocentric phenotypic characteristics (Steele),” exhibited more intelligence, wealth, and virtue, as opposed to her darker skinned best friend, Dijonay, who was associated with deviance and sassiness, while speaking with a more Ebonic style of talking and possessed a more “ghetto” name. Although the show attempted to provide an accurate representation of a “traditional African American family,” it still regardlessly instilled these stereotypes of the African American community into my mindset, which were not disproved in my mind until later in my life (Steele). This problem is called Colorism. Colorism is racial bias, both intra and interracial, based on the tone of one’s skin. This can be as minor as social interactions, and as major as segregation. Colorism is a real and relevant problem; According to Shankar Vedantam, a writer for the New York Times, we have a way of thinking based off of “culture and history,” which tends to subconsciously privilege those who have lighter skinned as opposed to darker skin.
Stereotypes and generalizations about African Americans and their culture have evolved within American society dating back to the colonial years of settlement, particularly after slavery became a racial institution that was heritable. However in the clips we watched and from my own viewing of the movie Carmen Jones the movie explains two media stereotyped roles present in films with black characters, the black jezebel and the integrationist hero. Their representations of these roles have many implications on how their characters interact with each other and other characters throughout the film and the outcome of the film’s plot. For a number of years in American film, one could find two black stereotypical presences, the integrationist hero, who dominated the screen for a time, and the black jezebel, also present in many films. Hollywood made movies that featured the well liked,
This myth states that women are the weaker sex, should be the nurturers of the family, and that they do not belong in the work place.
Colorism can be defined by a practice of discrimination by which those with lighter skin
The movie 'Ethnic Notions' describes different ways in which African-Americans were presented during the 19th and 20th centuries. It traces and presents the evolution of the rooted stereotypes which have created prejudice towards African-Americans. This documentary movie is narrated to take the spectator back to the antebellum roots of African-American stereotypical names such as boy, girl, auntie, uncle, Sprinkling Sambo, Mammy Yams, the Salt and Pepper Shakers, etc. It does so by presenting us with multiple dehumanized characters and cartons portraying African-Americans as carefree Sambos, faithful Mammies, savage Brutes, and wide-eyed Pickaninnies. These representations of African-Americans roll
Since its start, the television industry has been criticized for perpetuating myths and stereotypes about African-Americans through characterizations, story lines, and plots. The situation comedy has been the area that has seemed to draw the most criticism, analysis, and disapproval for stereotyping. From Sanford and Son and The Jefferson’s in the 1970s to The Cosby Show (1984) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the 1990s, sitcoms featuring black casts and characters have always been controversial. However, their significance upon our American culture cannot be disregarded. During the 1950s and 1960s, 97% of the families were Caucasian. In the first five years of the
Stereotypes are defined as an oversimplified image or idea about a specific type of person. It is believed that stereotypes about African Americans began in the United States around the 18th century. Anti-Black stereotypes arguably the most developed racist stereotypes in racial framing and have been used as foundations for the capture, enslavement, and later, the subjugation of African American people. Stating that stereotypes are just a joke is an understatement of the consequential after – math racial images and stereotypes have on the African American population. Even stereotypes that are considered positive are often concealed with negative implications and reasons as to why they exist. Most people may think they only hold stereotypes in the back of their head, but studies show that people are more likely to fall back on them in making judgments when they feel challenged, face uncertainty, or experience sensory overload. Using information from class, comparisons from the films we have watched and Ed Guerrero’s Framing Blackness, this paper will analyze the stereotypes in the television show Empire.
The media has become such a prominent influence on Americans - especially those who identify as African-Americans. From news channels to comedy shows, there are many platforms to talk about Black people in the United States. Concerning shows, Black-ish contributes to the impression and perception of affluent African-Americans. In this comedy, the family consists of two parents and five children. Both parents have high paying jobs and can afford to send their children to a private school. This show focuses on many struggles many African-American families encounter on a day-to-day basis. These conflicts involve issues that occur within the Black community or problems which arise between the Black and White communities.
The stereotypical misrepresentations of African-American women and men in popular culture have influenced societal views of Blacks for centuries. The typical stereotypes about Black women range from the smiling, asexual and often obese Mammy to the promiscuous Jezebel who lures men with her sexual charms. However, the loud, smart mouthed, neck-rolling Black welfare mother is the popular image on reality television. The typical stereotype about Black men is the violent, misogynistic thug, and the ever-enduring pimp. These images portrayed in media and popular culture createpowerful ideology about race and gender, which affects daily experiences of Black women in America. With few healthy relationships portrayed in the media, Black women
Biologically speaking, all people are made up with approximately 99% of the same genes (Robbins et al. 2013:80). It does not matter if a person looks different or has a different skin colour; we are all humans and thus should be treated equally. Unfortunately, this is not the case in most of the world, especially in America. In America¬ (and other parts of the world), several communities and companies believe in white privilege. One of the first reports of white privilege in America was in the 1600s, when white people enslaved black people (Nkomo & Ariss 2013). Back then, having slaves raised a white person’s power and identity, while also making it beneficial from a business standpoint (Nkomo &
It is evident that no matter how hard we try to avoid it race plays a major role in today’s society. Your race and/or nationality and skin color plays a lot in how you are seen and perceived by the world. The first thing you see when you look at a person is their skin color, which just
After a thorough review of the textbook and the course material, the specific family system approach that I choose to explore is the Bowenian Approach for this literature review. This specific family system approach is also known as the Bowen Family System Theory as well (D.V. Papero, 2006). The Bowen Family System Theory was established by Murray Bowen, a theorist and psychiatrist who specialized in treating children who were deranged and had schizophrenia (Rockwell, 2010). In the 1950s, Bowen wanted to explore a new venture so he decided that he wanted all of the family members of each child to be involved in an therapeutic process at the same time (Rockwell, 2010).
The 1987 film documentary Ethnic Notions directed by Marlon Riggs, identifies the evolution of African American cultural depictions through ethnic stereotypes and caricatures in American culture. I feel Ethnic Notions exposes the roots of false generalization from the beginning and presents a series of classifications for racial depictions that still are noticeable in today's society. These racial depictions identified with in this film begin in the mid 1800's and continue thought to the 1960's. I now after viewing Ethnic notions agree that there are generalizations and depictions that are exaggerated in American popular culture and entertainment.
The film, Precious, is a powerfully charged story that delves into the family dynamics of a 16-year-old girl and her struggles to survive an onslaught of treacherous experiences. Throughout the film, the viewer is enveloped in a dramatic web of extreme situations, experienced by the main character, and those to whom she is close. The themes of domestic violence, rape, incest, drug addiction, gambling, poverty, social justice, social services, housing and education are laced together throughout the story. Particularly poignant attention is paid to various systems that help shape the experiences of the characters. The social services industry, and its associated workers, educators and administrators, set the foundation for the social themes that are highlighted by this film.
Different archetypes have been used to represent black people through television, live performances, and film. These stereotypes consisted of “Coon”, “Mulatto”, “Mammy”, and “Tom” (site—Johnson). Prior to films and television, African American’s were depicted by white actors wearing “blackface” in which white people entertained audiences through plots that portrayed African Americans in stereotypical ways that had prevailed since the time of slavery. “Coon” for instance, was created as a from of comedy and amusement for white individuals, as this image allowed for comic relief through idiocy. “Coons” had, in essence, a low level of intelligence with minimal common sense. Their dull-wittedness advocated the view that African American people were unintelligent beings who were incompetent and unable to formulate intelligible thoughts. This further reinforced the idea that African American people were in need of instruction and guidance from white individuals—just as they did during slavery—in order for African Americans to sustain and remain alive, or else they would be damaged by their own incapabilities. Similar to the “Coon”, Mammy was also a common character who was portrayed as an obese and grumpy woman who also provided comic relief to white folks. Mammy’s creation was
Colorism is the prejudice or discrimination against individuals with a dark skin tone, typically among people of the same ethnic or racial group. Colorism has been one of the most prominent dividing factors amongst multitudes of ethnicities and cultures. Lighter skin has been associated with higher levels of intelligence, wealth, attractiveness, and more. As a result, those of darker complexions have undergone drastic and harmful measures in order to meet these restrictive beauty standards. Advertisements exhibit men and women with creamy white skin and silky straight hair. Companies have profited off of colorism by selling skin bleaching and hair straightening products. The damage colorism has created amongst communities physically and psychologically is deplorable.