Examples Of Stereotypes In Blackface

Growing up in America, I’ve been exposed to stereotypes of many races because they were prevalent throughout popular culture. I remember going back and watching movies and TV shows from my youth and realizing that many stereotypes( mainly jokes based on stereotypes) and adult jokes went over my head. As I was watching this film, I couldn’t help but to feel deeply disturbed and sad at the images I saw and the words I heard. I already knew about all of the stereotypes mentioned in this film and the history behind blackface, but I have never seen them displayed in a visual way.My one consistent thought throughout this film was that black people don’t look like the exaggerated and distorted way they were portrayed in cartoons and advertisements. I don’t understand how the white people at the time could look at these unrealistic images and believe what they were told to believe. I know that those images were created in a way to make people think that Black people were ugly which was an aspect of the Mammy Stereotype.
For example, the Sambo who was shown as laughing and childlike “proved” that slavery was good for the slave. It also made other white people think that the slaves were happy. The Mammy stereotype was also used as a justification for slavery because she was seen as obedient and happy to serve her white master. After the Civil War ended, another stereotype became prevalent. The new stereotype was that of a brute negro which was shown as a male character in movies who went after white women (mainly virgins) in a savage and violent way. This was used as justification for wanting to go back to slavery or to just kill black people in general because white people believed that without slavery to keep black people disciplined they would revert to