The Transcendence of African American Stereotypes Through Literature, Advertisement and Film From 1900 to 2000
Progress of blacks in American society since the abolition of slavery and the struggle of the Civil Rights Movement is evident in the increase of roles of African American characters in literature, advertisement and film. But despite these improvements, has the black character in popular media truly escaped the racial stereotypes of the early 1900s? Are the images of blacks more positive today than in the racially troubled past? Modern movies along with magazine ads continue to cling to black stereotypes and claim that racism and discrimination is non-existent. In this research, I intend to analyze the African American characters in the following modern films: Unforgiven (1992), Snatch (2000), and Finding Forrester (2000), and compare them to the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. I have chosen these movies because of the misrepresentations of blacks embedded within the screenplays such as the gifted black student that is lost without the guidance of the sympathetic white teacher, and/or questionable historical content that does not acknowledge the presence of slavery. I will focus on the examples of the black characters in the context of the movies' settings and storylines and compare these images with that of literature from the beginning of the 1900s, particularly Charles Chesnutt's stereotypical depiction of black life in the novel The Marrow of Tradition (1901). To further show how these images transcend media, I plan to examine and critique a current advertisement from "Vibe Magazine" (August 2001) to show the similarities in the perception of blacks. The goal of this research is to give a critical analysis of the use of black culture as it is deliberately exploited in film, advertisement and literature for the sake of entertainment, economy and arguably, education.
Written as the conclusion to my research will be a personal statement concerning my response to the images of African Americans in media. I intend to discuss the subject of their authenticity, purpose, and ultimate affect on society's perception of African American culture.
Written as the conclusion to my research will be a personal statement concerning my response to the images of African Americans in media. I intend to discuss the subject of their authenticity, purpose, and ultimate affect on society's perception of African American culture.
School:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department:
English Literature and Rhetoric in Creative Writing
Research Advisor:
Michael Madonick
Department of Research Advisor:
English
Year of Publication:
2002