The Portrayal of Young Black Men in Hollywood Films Black Knight is a film starring Martin Lawrence which is a DreamWorks production released in July 2002 by AOL Time Warner. DreamWorks and AOL Time Warner are large companies that have achieved high levels of recognition and status within the film industry. The fact it was produced by two large companies connotes that it is a film with a large budget so any special effects are likely to be impressive, and have the ability to employ high budget actors/actresses which will bring in bigger crowds. The fact it is produced by a reputable company also means that the film should not be discriminatory or prejudiced. Black Knight is a text of the comedy genre but provides a mixed representation of young black males, as it opposes the dominant ideology yet also, eventually conforms to it. Martin Lawrence is shown as different to everyone else repeatedly throughout the film, he is then shown as the hero, but then this is taken away when he wakes up and it was all a dream. This gives the impression that the only time black people can actually be successful is in dreams. The narrative follows Todorov's Narrative Theory and focuses around Jamal (Martin Lawrence) who is employed in a menial job at a medieval theme park. This is important as it shows black people to be employed in jobs which take a low brain capacity. Through a series of comedic events, Jamal falls into the moat while reaching for a gold amulet. He is then transported by the amulet, back into medieval times. Jamal reaching for the gold amulet provides negative connotations as it gives the impression that he is inc... ... middle of paper ... ... this age range are impressionable and there are many subliminal messages given out in the duration of the films which could be interpreted as racist. The representation of black people in the film Black Knight are mainly negative and even when Martin Lawrence's character is shown in a positive way, it is only temporarily as he is then quickly shown in a negative manner. The representation of women in the film is also derogatory because they are shown simply as sex objects and play no major role in the film except to seduce the men. Women were given no positive moments in the film and this gives sexist connotations. The lack of disabled characters in the film shows the attitude of Hollywoodtowards the handicapped, the fact that they have no representatives in the film shows that they are not considered important.
Minstrel shows were developed in the 1840's and reached its peak after the Civil War. They managed to remain popular into the early 1900s. The Minstrel shows were shows in which white performers would paint their faces black and act the role of an African American. This was called black facing. The minstrel show evolved from two types of entertainment popular in America before 1830: the impersonation of blacks given by white actors between acts of plays or during circuses, and the performances of black musicians who sang, with banjo accompaniment, in city streets. The 'father of American minstrelsy' was Thomas Dartmouth 'Daddy' Rice, who between 1828 and 1831 developed a song-and-dance routine in which he impersonated an old, crippled black slave, dubbed Jim Crow. Jim Crow was a fool who just spent his whole day slacking off, dancing the day away with an occasional mischievous prank such as stealing a watermelon from a farm. Most of the skits performed on the Minstrel shows symbolized the life of the African American plantations slaves. This routine achieved immediate popularity, and Rice performed it with great success in the United States and Britain, where he introduced it in 1836. Throughout the 1830s, up to the founding of the minstrel show proper, Rice had many imitators.
The entire film is based on significantly different racial opinions, opinions of different writing styles and stereotyping of different people in general. Race is a huge issue in the film and many stereotypes are made.
Asian Americans only make up a small percent of the American population. Even more significant is that this percentage live mostly on the west and east coasts of mainland United States and Hawaii; leaving the rest of the American population to most likely get their exposures to Asians through television and movies. However the exposure they have receive throughout the history of cinematography has been hardly flattering. Throughout the course of history Asians in film have been portrayed as evil or the "yellow peril" as described by others. If Asians are not being classified as evil in this picture then they are most likely the comic relief, with their lack of coordination or grasp of the English language. With these common stereotypes in place, it gives a white American viewer a sense or need to destroy this Asian villain or superiority over the comedic character portrayed in the film.
Investigating the Relationship Between Television Portrayal of African Americans and Behavior Responses Toward African Americans
In today’s society there are many stereotypes surrounding the black community, specifically young black males. Stereotypes are not always blatantly expressed; it tends to happen subconsciously. Being born as a black male puts a target on your back before you can even make an impact on the world. Majority of these negative stereotypes come from the media, which does not always portray black males in the best light. Around the country black males are stereotyped to be violent, mischievous, disrespectful, lazy and more. Black males are seen as a threat to people of different ethnicities whether it is in the business world, interactions with law enforcement or even being in the general public. The misperceptions of black males the make it extremely difficult for us to thrive and live in modern society. Ultimately, giving us an unfair advantage simply due to the color of our skin; something of which we have no control.
For many years, racial and ethnic stereotypes have been portrayed on multiple television programs. These stereotypes are still illustrated on a day-to-day basis even though times have changed. Racial or ethnic stereotypes should not be perpetuated on certain television programs. These stereotypes provide false information about groups, do not account for every person, allow older generations to influence younger generations, create tension between groups, and affect people in many ways.
helping. Television is making the shows out to seem like one race is better than another. For
Before we get into the movie specifically, we should first talk about representation and how race is represented in the media in general. Representation is defined as the assigning of meaning through language and in culture. (CITE) Representation isn't reality, but rather a mere construction of reality and the meaning behind it. (CITE) Through representation we are able to shape how people are seen by others. Race is an aspect of people which is often represented in the media in different ways. Race itself is not a category of nature, but rather...
Asian American actors and actresses are portrayed in Hollywood movies as always being the silent and yielding foreign victims to social injustice and prejudice. Whether or not these depictions are true, they are nonetheless stereotypes that Hollywood producers have come up with. According to the US Census in the year 2000, Asian Americans make up 4.2% of the entire American population, and knowing that most Asian Americans live on the west and east coast of the United States, many Americans living in central parts of this country have not really been exposed to any Asian Americans. Because of this fact, it is highly probable that most Americans get their exposure to the Asian American lifestyle only through television and movies. Even if Hollywood companies, directors, producers, editors, writers, etc. decide to give their Asian American actors the leading role in their movies, film makers will still try to employ stereotypes on the Asian American community in hopes of satisfying America’s view on what is Asian. And even more bothersome is that they will also try to instill European American beliefs, values, and ideals into the Asian American culture. Therefore, Americans must be warned that what they are seeing in Hollywood movies of so-called Asian characters are actually not legitimate portrayals of real Asian American people.
The first social issue portrayed through the film is racial inequality. The audience witnesses the inequality in the film when justice is not properly served to the police officer who executed Oscar Grant. As shown through the film, the ind...
In conclusion, after view this film, it is clear that one can see how black youth are being viewed as killers and savages. This is not true. There have been many admirable scholars and scientists who come from the African American culture. This movie, though it depicts what goes on in South America, takes the violence committed by black youth too far. One cannot view a film and take it that this is what a race is like. The filmmakers depicted black youth in a harsher light.
We live in the society where two major generations mix we have people from the 20th Century and the population of the 21st century is constantly growing, but as days go on especially here in America it feels as if the term “Freedom of Speech” has been changed. Now in these next few minutes we will be talking about a word. A single word that has held a tight grip on the american culture. For years, decades even, this word has been used negatively and slowly but surely gained a positive connotation. It has caused the public to outrage over its use. Has also caused the president to receive backlash from the use of the word. That word is “Nigger”. Due to public outlook on this people see it as a theoretically banned word but, this word should be
Many aspects of Hollywood have seen dramatic improvement . For instance, when comparing the special effects in movies such as “Jaws” (1975) to more recent movies such as “Avatar” (2009) there is a remarkable improvement in computer generated imagery. Unfortunately, a certain aspect of the movie industry has not seen nearly as much improvement.
The underrepresentation of minorities in Hollywood goes further than the typical surface level marginalization of certain racial groups, it also includes the exclusion of people who have distinct sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion that are often not even given the opportunity to show their talent. We say “It’s 20xx” to remind ourselves and surrounding people that we have progressed from the time that our country was narrow minded, yet hollywood in the recent years has had a significant decline in minority talent portrayal.
no longer a drunken fool, but a hero that now can live or die with himself.