Film: The Role Of African Americans In Film
African Americans have a unique history with motion pictures one that many people would find racist and wrong. The first time an African American was put in a film they were portrayed as individual that was inferior to the rest of the cast. Now African Americans have leading roles in films that have won academy awards. The type of roles that are played by African Americans have drastically changed for the better. It wasn’t for them to earn respect in the film industry, rather it was a long and agonizing process one that required folks to change their ideologies. It is different now to when all the films about this race had a prejudicial feel to it. Racism in the film industry was at its peak during 1900-1970. There was two ways where blacks
were portrayed in film at that time.
One was blackface which is a form of theatrical makeup used by to represent a black person. Even to this day blackface is common especially as a Halloween costume. Many people don’t think that’s a racist thing so they continue to do it. Blackface acts consists of exaggerated racist representation of black people. At the time those acts were considered normal. In today those acts would not be tolerated which is a showing of how far we have come. The people whose rights were being rights were being violated didn’t have any rights or a voice in politics to do something about it.
The racist imagery was particularly vicious as well, as it commonly depicted black people as being literally sub-human, mentally retarded, cowardly, incompetent, and often crazed. They would be depicted as child-like gluttons and rapists, and babbling simpletons.As a result, blackface is seen today as an artifact of a time characterized by overt, pervasive, cruel, and destructive racism against blacks - and blackface depictions themselves were by definition denigrating and abusive.This rightly gives blackface a bad connotation regardless of any individual historical event.
were portrayed in film at that time.
One was blackface which is a form of theatrical makeup used by to represent a black person. Even to this day blackface is common especially as a Halloween costume. Many people don’t think that’s a racist thing so they continue to do it. Blackface acts consists of exaggerated racist representation of black people. At the time those acts were considered normal. In today those acts would not be tolerated which is a showing of how far we have come. The people whose rights were being rights were being violated didn’t have any rights or a voice in politics to do something about it.
The racist imagery was particularly vicious as well, as it commonly depicted black people as being literally sub-human, mentally retarded, cowardly, incompetent, and often crazed. They would be depicted as child-like gluttons and rapists, and babbling simpletons.As a result, blackface is seen today as an artifact of a time characterized by overt, pervasive, cruel, and destructive racism against blacks - and blackface depictions themselves were by definition denigrating and abusive.This rightly gives blackface a bad connotation regardless of any individual historical event.