Stereotypes In African American Cinema

African Americans have been in American cinema for many years. Since the introduction of African American in cinema, there has always been a misrepresentation or negative outlook on this race in cinema. For instance, in early cinema there was a wide use of blackface in many films. Blackface was designed to represent a Black person by a White character. For example, the actors would dress as mammy's, sing folk songs, or use improper language. This act was insensitive and misleading but was used as a comical source of entertainment. Using stereotypes to represent African Americans in cinema was highly visible then and is visible now. Today's depictions are just as offensive as the use of blackface in early cinema. It is offensive because many people use stereotypes as a source of identifying races. For example, In "Effects of Stereotypical Television Portrayals of African-Americans on Person Perception", Thomas E Ford states, “Television portrayals of African-Americans and other minorities have
Alonzo Harris is perceived by the audience to be a crooked cop who doesn’t follow the same path as a police officer. In this movie he is portrayed to be a drug dealer, thug, abusive and obsessive profanity users. These characteristics are the top stereotypes placed on African American males. Training Day makes Black males look like a bad influence and a harm, especially to the White race. For instance, In the scene where Harris forces Hoyt to smoke confiscated narcotics. It looks like Harris is bullying Hoyt, therefore being a negative influence to his life and new career. The only thing that this film does is reinforce those stereotypes to a younger audience. As Americans, we need to break this recurring cycle and promote films that aren’t