Racial Tendencies : Black Superheroes Vs White Superheroes Essay

When they are represented positively in the media, it is often limited to depictions of their skills in music, sports, and physical achievements in general. There is an inflated proportion of the depiction of black male role models as rap or hip-hop stars and basketball players (Media Representation and Impact on the Lives of Black Men and Boys).

With the recent increase of diverse characters being depicted in media, people are becoming more tolerant towards other cultures and ethnicities. One such character is Black Panther. In most popular sources of media, people of color are not given the role of the main character; rather, they are supporting characters who are often overshadowed by the typical white protagonist. The scarcity of people of color in media has resulted in many children of color not having a role model to revere who shares their same culture and experiences regarding their race. Black Panther is the first black superhero in mainstream American comics (Johnson).

Superheroes have been around in the world since as long as we can remember and have become popular day by day, and year by year. The concept of superheroes saving mankind from evil or any other threat has appealed to an extensive amount of the population, especially after what has happened during 9/11. This is because people suddenly wanted escapism into a different world where the hero always triumphed and where distinctions between good and bad were easy to recognize. The public liked to see the fact that there is a savior out there, a hero who can defend the city and keep it from any form of trouble or threat. Even though this can’t be enforced in realty, the fact that there is a hero out there whose duty is to protect the city has performed as a comforter for many people and has made them feel more secure in today's world. Today, modernized special

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a… black Superman? With the representation of all identities growing in different forms of media, superhero comic books have picked up this trend and have begun to introduce characters with diverse backgrounds. Due to the previously mentioned occurrence, readers of different creeds, sexual orientation, and ethnicities are being introduced to the world of superheroes. With this new trend, many questions arise concerning the impact and necessity of underrepresentation and fairness. How have superhero comic books widened their depiction of underrepresented communities, and what role does history play on the characters of comic books? More specifically, how have Marvel and DC Comics been affected by history, and

“The sensitivity around stereotypes and distortions largely arises, then, form the powerlessness of historically marginalized groups to control their own representation.” Since Black people are the minority, they have no control over how they are represented in the media. As Shothat had mentioned in his article, “In the media there is a tendency to represent Black males as potential delinquents.” The misrepresentation of most Black males, affects them significantly; therefore, since they

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek” Barack Obama. The question is always asked does the media reflect the reality of society, or does society try and imitate the reality shown by the media? There are a number of stereotypes associated with African Americans in our society such as African American men are athletes, rappers, criminals, deviant, streetwise, uneducated, and unemployed just to name a few. African Americans in the media have changed through the years. The history of African Americans on TV or minorities in general is hampered by the racial conflicts and segregation that are embedded in American society. Historically, black actors have been grouped stereotypically and assigned to comedy. This has often been traced to the genre of black minstrelsy that was popular in the early 20th century.

A superhero to a seven year can be someone very different than one to an adult. A stereotypical superhero can only be someone that protects others or are city vigilantes. Children can see a superhero in anyone, even animals.

To start with, seeing how society identifies with a black man society sees him as violent and vicious, even the music they listen to has violent lyrics, they are also labeled in the worse way, because society don’t understand black men and are too afraid to converse with them, even in the media, African Americans males get a bad report especially in a drug or violent stories, Now, looking at the Caucasians, some view black men as uneducated, ill-mannered drug dealers, beneath them, and a threat to their livelihood, they are even afraid that they may hurt them in some way. As like in other races Caucasians fear that Black men will rob, or even kill them. Surprisingly, blacks, especially the older blacks perceive some black men as violent, drug dealers, gang bangers, they listen to loud obscene rap music, the clothes they wear, and jealousy among other blacks.

How are African American men portrayed? They have many stereotypes under their race and specifically the men of African Americans. There are numerous reasons why African Americans have dominant racial stereotypes. However, it does not make it right that African American men should be the scapegoat for every problem. Being a scapegoat is taking the sins of others. How can African Americans get equal rights and respect if all they get is racism, disrespect, and get blamed? They do not get equal rights in education, job force, etc. Some African Americans may be in a lower class than Caucasians but often time African Americans make it to the high-class hierarchy but they are still not appreciated or respected as much. This other stereotype that African American men may be boxed into is black masculinity. Conversely, if an African American man acts different from usual African Americans, their own people and Caucasians judge them for being different. African American men are getting blamed way too often for many things and even crimes they did not commit. The society needs to stop view African American men as the scapegoat because it is absolutely not fair to them. Even if those men are purely innocent, people think they are not masculine. African American men should not be blamed or deal with punishment that they did not commit.

As BLACK MEN we are often misunderstood and misrepresented in media. Common STEREOTYPES we see placed on black men are that we are criminals, aggressive, misogynistic.

None of the early superhero films starred had black main heroes, with the noteworthy exception of the 1977 Blaxploitation film afar: The First Black Superman. Blaxploitation cinemas were films created for a black audience, and consequently carry with them profound obstacles. These films, though containing black actors, were regressive given their use of stereotypes about African Americans. This exact film described a black man who gains powers and uses them to fight crime usually caused by racist white people. Though the film itself performed stereotypes about black men and women, it is perhaps the first African American superhero on film. Interestingly, Afar: The First Black Superman is still the only superhero film centering on an African

Since the arrival of Africans in America the image in America for the African Americans both male and female have been portrayed in a negative light. Although African Americans today have risen up to some of the highest positions in America such as entrepreneurs, CEOs, and even as high up as the President of the United States of America being an African American man. Though there are many other top job positions being held by African Americans both male and female that prove that the African Americans have made their mark in America, the race of African Americans as a whole still has a long way to go. However, though both African American men and women are both viewed in a negative light the African American man is the one who is stereotyped most of all. A prime example of how the image of the African American man is still portrayed in a negative light is in the film world. The film world has only contributed to help produce the negative image of African American men and the roles they play inside of films. Films portray the African American men being the aggressors, delinquents, criminals and more, since some of the older films in America. Then with the African American male stereotypes still being relevant in contemporary films today. The film world has made these stereotypes come to life and be seen by the world on screen. In this paper I will discuss the birth of the black male stereotypes from early films to current films today and how the image of the black male and

The portrayal of superheroes in films has changed in terms of their character, appearance, style and strength. Superheroes has been a popular theme in hollywood films since its inception. They are what peoples imagination can only think of. A perfect human being who saves the world .The first time superhero appeared on T.V was “The Adventures of Captain Marvel” in 1941. Superheroes was on the rise within popular comic books in 1930′s to the 1940’s as well in which they were considered the ‘Golden Age of Comic Books’ . Comic books became widespread and popular which translated into making films about them.

A superhero’s main characteristic is to be able to a unique individual which will separate them from being categorized with the typical other “heroes”. Coogan states that a “superhero” is an individual that exemplifies the three main characteristics mission, power and identity. A unique superhero must have a mission that involves the main motive to save civilians without there being any personal gain from this experience. Coogan states that without this personal mission that this “superhero” would just be a ordinary person that would be an extremely helpful in the event of a dilemma. A unique superhero must posses these extraordinary but mystical powers that reflect their human identity or personality. These powers have been greatly exaggerated

When you think of a superhero one normally thinks of Spiderman, Batman, or Superman, but there were superheroes long before these characters were created. First one must understand that the basis of this name is hero. What is a hero? A hero is a person who does something special or out of the ordinary in order to help others. It could also be someone who is admired for a characteristic about them, be it physical or mental. They are individuals that normal everyday people can look up to. This being the case, a superhero is nothing more then someone who is a hero, but not just that once and for that one person, but someone who helps many people, or leads them. As time went by the number of people who were true heroes diminished and just