Stereotypes Of African Americans In The Film Industry

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Not all African Americans are thugs and people that do not work. A lot of them have successful careers and have put in the time and effort to have good work ethic and be good people. African Americans have had a difficult history in the American film industry. During the early 20th century of filmmaking, blacks were stereotyped as not worthy of being in films, and they were only certain types of characters such as servants, mammies, and butlers. From several decades of filmmaking, African Americans have been sought out to be trouble makers, incapables, intellectually limited, and also lazy. Although blacks have won Academy Awards for acting, screenwriting, and music production they still find trouble in getting quality roles within the film industry. (Common Black Stereotypes) Long before television and films were being produced, there were plays and different forms of entertainment where blacks were stereotyped. They were often played by white people in a demoralizing fashion. Over time blacks became seen as the same and that was bad people. They were identified as a certain type …show more content…

This is similar to a magical negro, but it is when a white person or a person from another race is in a crisis situation and an African American comes in and helps them out. For example, in The Devil Wears Prada, the best friend to the main character Anne Hathaway is black and keeps reminding her that she is losing touch with her values. (5 Common Black Stereotypes) This is a prime example of a black best friend and is not just portrayed in this one movie but many. This is something that has been around and shows blacks as not as important as other characters that may have a better role. There are many critics that say that these black best friend instances are common in Hollywood and often not seen very well. They have had to play rational and caretaking characters for white

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