I found the images that were portrayed in the film to very dentramental to the African American effort to pick themselves out of the pit of racial inequality. With the institution of such characters as the Sambo, mistral, zipco, black mammy, and the baffoon there seemed to building up of more and more physical, as well as behavioral flaws in the portrayal of African Americans. They presented characters in blackface and huge lips. They also gave characters such as the mammy to be large in size and given roles that made her seem almost asexual in nature. There was never an instance where the mammy gave an image of beauty or desire. The characters would merely entertain, serve, and be submissive.
These images were accepted as a cultural norm for most people who were not involved with the culture first hand. They took what they saw and let it be fact. They saw these cartoons, advertisements, and movies and took the life of a slave to be that of solitude and happiness. The women in the society were the dominant figure and the men were more submissive. This alone hinted at the race being inferior in nature.
Even after the Civil War these caricatures were reinforced with displays of brute behavior. They portrayed these people as savages. Even with African Americans volunteering in the war the movies would show them as mere puppets in a game where they were brought for entertainment. These images of the past have an adverse effect on the present. When I was growing up I remember seeing images of racial inequality portrayed through such cartoons as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Popeye. Even walking down the supermarket in the 21st century you will come across images such as the Aunt Jamima Syrup container that shows a now slender mammy. These images will be with us for years to come.
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Although you could say that the images of African Americans has been "cleaned up" a bit from previous years,the images will be with us for a while. I agree that the way they portrayed black women as dominant household figures, definitely set the tone the the African American race was inferior to whites.
It was quite surpising how there was never an instance where the mammy gave an image of beauty or desire. When I watched the video, I felt that the image of mammy was more masculine, which is why they were precieved as strong. African Americans must have felt extremely insulted through these images.
I also remember the bugs bunny cartoons. What I think is so bad about these cartoon images is that as a child I never even realized that stereotypes were being portrayed and I am sure most childr.en of the same age also did not realize it. I would hope these cartoons are not as readily avalible now
The examples of stereotyped figures you write about really gives an idea about the motivations behind the creation of these figures. They were designed to denigrate and marginalize African-Americans, to make it clear that they were inferior to whites and not to be trusted.
I agree with both you and Ashton. I remember the bugs bunny cartoons as well and never even knew that is was portraying these stereotypes. We just dont realize how impressionable children really are and that what they see is what they will believe. It's sad to think that these images that hurt a certain race are so easily let into our homes as fun and entertaining for the family and children.
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