If you were to write something like this, it would b a good way in to the more 'modern' film and TV textss which we have studied...
"Whenever a media product or institution decides to depict a
particular group or demographic, then that group is being ‘represented’. By its
very nature, the media only allows institutions to depict a particular facet or
aspect of a particular social group. This process, if not handled carefully,
can be damaging. If people from a particular social group are shown in a
negative light, or sometimes even if they are shown in a positive light, the
media institution can create an image of an entire demographic which is
inaccurate or misleading. This can lead to ‘real-life’ stereotyping of
individual due to media portrayal. When it comes to the representation of black
youths in the media in the 20th and 21st centuries, this
issue becomes particularly difficult to manage.
This particular social group has been at the centre of many
controversies with regards to their treatment and portrayal over recent decades
and centuries. When we take into account that Hollywood began producing movies
within only 80 years of the abolition of slavery, it is no surprise that there
have been many issues regarding the portrayal of black youths, as peoples’
attitudes have changed so dramatically. Perhaps even more important is the fact
that Hollywood was in its prime long before the civil rights movement of the
1960s, having already had its ‘golden age’. The fact that so many movies were
made long before this adjustment in social attitudes means that it is almost
certain that black youths in cinema would be portrayed in a negative and
detrimental way.
This is reflected in the fact that, according to film
historian Donald Bogle in 1973, black characters in ‘classic’ films could
largely be separated into five basic stereotypes, ‘Toms, Coons, Mulattoes,
Mammies and Bucks’. The fact that a social group can be categorised into such a
small amount of groups is shocking alone. When we look at the definitions of
the roles, however, it becomes even more so. A Tom – A kindly, subservient
black man who does the will of the white man. A Coon – An often lazy black
person who sings and dances, attempting to ‘act the fool’ in order to entertain
the white man. A Buck – Someone who is portrayed a sexually dangerous. There
are many examples of characters in these roles. Perhaps one of the most famous
actors of the ‘Golden Age’ of Hollywood was Lincoln Theodore Monroe – otherwise
knwn by the stage name ‘Stepin Fetchit’. Fetchit played roles in numerous
films, but most were based around his character ‘The laziest man in the World’,
reinforcing the ‘coon’ stereotype as outlined by Bogle. The fact that a
character such as this was so popular and so prolific across a period of around
half a century demonstrates the attitudes that many felt towards black people
at the time. In essence, good for ‘comic relief’, but not for serious roles.
One can only imagine the detrimental effect this would have had on attitudes
towards young black people in society.
We also have to take into account that when actors such as
Stepin Fetchit began working in the movie industry, it would actually have been
seen as ‘forward thinking’ by some to even allow a black man to play a black
role. In the early phases of Hollywood, it was far more traditional for white
actors to ‘black up’, and pretend to be of that race. This, we imagine, simply
added to the ridicule with which black characters in film were viewed. That
said, it appears that it was still far earlier that black actors became ‘the
norm’ in American cinema, with ‘Dark Manhattan’ being the first film to feature
an all-black cast in 1937. In the UK, attitudes towards race were largely very
different and it was very uncommon to see black characters or actors in British
films of this era.
One of the periods of controversy which faced British media
in this respect was the portrayal of young black people in comedy television
shows during the 1970s…."
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