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Black Stereotypes as Reflected in Popular Culture
Stereotypes on african american men
Black Stereotypes as Reflected in Popular Culture
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An Exploration of the Dynamics of Ghetto Masculinity and the Upholding of Negative Representations in Training Day I am going to look at the ways in which 'Training Day' uses mythic stereotypes of black males and 'ghetto masculinity' to portray negative representations of black society in America, and how hegemonic values of white audiences leaves these representations unquestioned. My main focus will be the representation of the main protagonist, Alonzo, an African America police officer played by Denzel Washington. First I will look at the history and background of Black representation in film. Early Black cinema, known as The Plantation Genre, began in 1915 with the release of 'Birth of a Nation' an overtly anti-black film which represented black slaves as untrustworthy and immoral and included positive representations of the Klu Klux Klan. In 1939 'Gone With the Wind' contradicted these representations by portraying black slaves as loyal and happy, a representation that is said to be unrealistic. The Era of the Integrated Negro came about during the 1950s and 60s after the rise of civil rights movements in the 1940s. Black representation in film was focused on black protest and the integrated Negro. One of the first integrated Negroes in Hollywood was Sidney Poitier who starred in films such as 'Guess who's coming to dinner' which represented black males as intelligent, handsome, well spoken and respectful. Next came 'The Blaxploitation Years' from 1969 to 1975 when many films focused around black characters and narratives were released and media saturation of black culture occurred. This era saw the establishment of 'gh... ... middle of paper ... ... he has morals that Alonzo doesn't. He continues to take the law into his own hands throughout the film, searching a house without a warrant, holding a group of teenagers at gun point and forcing Jake so smoke drugs. This leaves an enigma code of whether or not he will get his comeuppance, interpellating the audience into these representations. At the end of the film, these mythic representations are challenged as the roles of Alonzo and Jake are reversed. A high angle shot looking down at Alonzo and a low angle shot looking up at Jake as he holds Alonzo at gun point shows this as Jake says, "it's no fun when the rabbit has a gun is it?". The rest of the black community turn on Alonzo and allow Jake to escape. This acceptance of Jake into the ghetto challenges hegemonic views and breaks down the barriers of the ghetto.
Harding, D. J. (2010). Living the Drame: Community, Conflict, and Culture Among Inner-City Boys. Chicago, IL: The University Of Chicago Press.
Criminal justice institutions in Oakland challenge masculinity as a means of rehabilitation. For instance, from a boy’s perspective, being a man involves standing up to peers who challenge self-confidence. This results in law breaking and violent fights, which can create opportunities for arrests. On the other hand, probation officers believe that being a man involves obtaining an education to support your family. However, by living in a poor neighborhood where punitive social control is ratified, the boys can hardly find employment. Thus, it generates hypermasculinity, which “often influenced the young men to perpetrate defiance, crime, and violence, sanctioning police to brutalize or arrest them” (p. 138). To reiterate, probation officers tell the boys to “get a job, do well in school and stay out of trouble” (p. 139). But the odds of succeeding are low, because “most avenues of legitimate success were out of reach” (p.
It is often the case that media and more specifically, film, perpetuates the stereotypes of black men. These stereotypes include not showing emotion, being physically aggressive, embrace violence, supposed criminality, associated with drug use, lack a father figure, sexually exploit women, and others. In the film, Boyz n the Hood, Tre’s father, Furious Styles, encourages Tre to demonstrate loyalty to other people in relationships, resist aggressive behavior, and foster and exhibit sexual responsibility. Thus, throughout the film, Tre challenges the society’s stereotyped norms of black masculinity and what it means to be a black man.
Jackson Katz is the founder of Mentors in Violence Prevention which is an education program that has been focused on military and sporting organizations in attempts to put a halt on gender violence. Other than being an educator, Katz is also an author and filmmaker. In 2013, he produced the film Tough Guise 2. In this film, Katz reviews the normalization of male jurisdiction in America. The film looks at the messages of gun violence, sexism, and bullying that are sent to men throughout their entire life. Tough Guise 2 argues the statement that male brutality is a rooted back to our cultural standards of manhood. A pivotal point of the film is that a male’s masculinity is not just handed to them, it must be earned. During the course of the film, this point is supported by examples such as gun violence, homophobic messages and mass shootings.
Throughout the article “The Code of the Streets,” Elijah Anderson explains the differences between “decent” and “street” people that can be applied to the approaches of social control, labeling, and social conflict theories when talking about the violence among inner cities due to cultural adaptations.
Boyz N the Hood was a film created to convey an anti-gang message as well as to provide societal members an in-depth look at life in “the hood” so he or she can expand their culturally awareness of identifying societal issues (Stevenson, 1991). Upon the debut of “Boyz N the Hood” violence erupted at theaters across the nation, resulting in multiple shows pulling the film from scheduled showings to alleviate future violent behaviors (Stevenson, 1991). The film profoundly illustrates the realty of the events revealed within the storyline that frequently occur on a daily basis within every impoverish community; however, is overlooked by the individuals who are not directly involved and or affected (Leon-Guerrero, 2016) Children of lower socioeconomic status often are raised in ghetto neighborhoods where they often witness, crime, violence, gang activity, abuse, and drugs (Leon-Guerrero, 2016). Ghetto communities envelop tumultuous cycles of violence and substance abuse creating a pervasive occurrence within the residents of the community. This is prevalent in lower developed communities that unfortunately many children and the youth populace indirectly inherit and sadly conform to, as there are no other means to an end for them (Leon-Guerrero,
Wilson, William Julius. (1998) "Ghetto-Related Behavior and the Structure of Opportunity" in Reading Between the Lines: Toward an Understanding of Current Social Problems. Ed Amanda Konradi and Martha Schmidt. London: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Jefferson, T. (1996). From “little fairy boy”to the “compleat destroyer”: subjectivity and transformation in the biography of Mike Tyson. Understanding Masculinities, 281–301.
Summers, Martin. The Black Middle Class and the Transformation of Masculinity. Chapel Hill: University of Carolina Press, 2004.
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.
"How Fight Club Relates to Men's Struggles with Masculinity and Violence in Contemporary Culture." HubPages. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. .
break the stereotypes placed on them by showing characteristics of masculinity in the work place
Unfortunately, young black males are already the victims of a barrage of negative stereotypes. These young men are labeled as thugs, “gangstas”, menaces, and criminals. Hip-hop culture has corrupted the image of African American men, especially young men. I personally have a very close...
Steven Spielberg, Bill Gates, Rosa Parks, Colin Simmons, all household names that people should be and most likely are aware of. Brenda Berkman needs to be on that list of household names. In the early 80s this one woman single-handedly took on the New York Fire Department, and became the city 's first female firefighter.
In this narrative essay, Brent Staples provides a personal account of his experiences as a black man in modern society. “Black Men and Public Space” acts as a journey for the readers to follow as Staples discovers the many societal biases against him, simply because of his skin color. The essay begins when Staples was twenty-two years old, walking the streets of Chicago late in the evening, and a woman responds to his presence with fear. Being a larger black man, he learned that he would be stereotyped by others around him as a “mugger, rapist, or worse” (135).