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Racial stereotypes in movies and TV shows
Stereotypes in film analysis
Racial stereotypes in movies and TV shows
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Racial stereotypes have always invaded films, from the earliest silent film, to the most modern film production. Stereotypes in early America had significant influence over how other viewed African Americans, Latinos, Asians etc. The most stereotyped race in history is the black male. In most early films, they were portrayed as simple minded and careless individuals, but when African Americans started to stand up for themselves films portrayed them as more savage and bloodthirsty.
In the 1999 film The Green Mile directed by Frank Darabont, Michael Clarke Duncan is portrayed as John Coffey a giant simple minded black man in 1934 who is accused of raping and killing two white girls. This is a stereotype that has been used in films about black men for over four decades. Black males have always been thought of as savages who will rape of kill a white woman when they get a chance. This stereotype was more prevalent in the 1940’s and 1950’s when segregation was still the law.
One believes that the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s made America safer for all races, but in fact, racism and discrimination are still big factors that continue to plague films, music, and even video games. I the article Race the Power of an Illusion, Dalton Conley says, “the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s really marks both an opportunity and a new danger in terms of racial relations in America. On the one hand, the Civil Rights era officially ended inequality of opportunity. It officially ended de jure legal inequality, so it was no longer legal for employers, for landlords, or for any public institution or accommodations to discriminate based on race. At the same time, those civil rights triumphs did nothing to address the underlying economic and so...
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...ey to race equality.
In conclusion the movie The Green Mile captures the stereotypical black man as they were seen in the pre-Civil Rights era. Duncan’s character could have not been more of a insult to the black community. People of color should not be discriminated against for haw they look, like any other race they are intelligent and beautiful people with a rich culture that dates back thousands of years. This movie, though good, has its racial intonations. The character John Coffey was an innocent man who got caught in the crossfire of the race wars.
Works Cited
Conley, D. Race the Power of an Illusion, 2003, Interview with Dalton Conley, Class Readings
2014
Kruger, B., Mariani, P. Black Culture and Postmodernism 1998, Class Reading 2014.
The Green Mile. 1999, dir. Frank Darabont, Act. Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan. Warner
Brothers.
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Conley, D. Race the Power of an Illusion, 2003, Interview with Dalton Conley, Class Readings
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