“He who controls the media, controls the mind.” -Jim Morrison
Film and television hold great power. They have the power to control our minds from what is at our disposal. It’s a medium that shapes our beliefs and values. The messages and images that we see from films stay with us as we are entertained from the many different stories. Movies and tv shows are set in a specific culture, which mirror what we believe and we exist together as people. They are often an escape and reflection of life. When the mirror is reflected back to us in films, it’s easier to see what our world is like and begin a conversation with ourselves. Essentially, films and tv respond to what is happening in social, cultural and political moments.
Films can be manipulative. Society often copies the fashion of a certain character, the hairstyles of another, or the music that comes from a film’s soundtrack. It is really important to understand what we digest from movies. Given the power that films hold, they can control the way people view other cultures and ways of living. Majority of the film industry in America is white. White creators are writing stories about black people’s lives for a white audience. Stories often have a one sided narrative about the view and understanding of cultures outside of one’s self. Which is why we are continuously getting a distorted and untruthful view of black people and their way of living.
The problem with this?
Since the beginning of film, black people have always been painted in a negative light. Films are reflective of society and what is happening at the very moment. Because of the racism that exists in the world, movies and tv shows reflect those ideas in the way writing and casting take place. It’s important to acknowledge the problem of the misrepresentation of black faces in the entertainment media industry, in order for film to move into a new direction of full, truthful representation.
Mainstream Film
Mainstream film and media have an agenda to reinforce the agenda of white supremacy. In turn, this affects the way the world views black people and black culture. Black people are seen as thugs and angry, both on and off screen. Oftentimes, when black characters are included in movies, there’s a lack of depth. It’s very surface level and they lack three dimensions. Because of the lack of black representation in Hollywood, we are seeing negative and false narratives of black people across the screen.
Travesheia Bass argues that “Images have the power to become a prison, as was the case of the pervasive nature of stereotypical images used to trap and enslave Blacks” (Bass 17).
In saying this, she means that the images and films have the power to enslave black people to the stereotypes being painted. Films and television embody the politics associated with it, representing the years of history surrounding the racism around black people. Although mainstream Hollywood no longer creates outright racist films and television, they still imbed certain racist ideals and stereotypes within their work.
Black people are represented on film, but often in minor roles that lack depth and three dimensions. They allow little to no room for creativity and to maneuver out of the racial paradigm. In addition to there being a lack of black representation of actors in film, there is also a lack of black writers, producers, directors, make up and hair stylists, and other positions of power behind the scenes that go into the production of films and tv. Due to this, there is a lack of knowledge about the black experience, which in turn creates the poor portrayal of Black culture and life on screen.
The beginning of it started with minstrel shows. Minstrel shows were shows performed by white individuals in blackface. Blackface is the use of makeup to over exaggerate skin tone and facial features in racist films and stage shows to present a stereotypical image of black people. The goal of minstrel shows were to control the viewers by portraying black people as uncivilized, animalistic, and comical beings.
The Most Racist Film
Birth of a Nation directed by D.W. Griffith
This is arguably one the most racist films of all time. This film set the premise for projecting Blacks in isolated and untruthful positions and roles that Hollywoods continues to follow suit of. The film told the narrative blacks illegally stuffed ballot boxes, while whites were denied their voting rights. Which in reality, it was the other way around. The movie glorifies the KKK as the come to rescue southern white people.
LINCOLN PERRY, black actor
- Considered to be the first African American movie star
- His career is an example of how Hollywood exploited darker individuals to tell a false narrative about how black people look and behaved
- He is known for his stage persona Stepin Fetchit, an incomprehensible, laughing, dancing fool. In real life, Perry was an intelligent man who used the demand for black foolishness and inferiority on the big screen to make a living.
Taking matters into their own hands.
As Black audiences grew tired of seeing themselves portrayed in such racist ways, they decided to change the narrative and make their own work. African Americans have been known to find alternate ways to express themselves in the light in which they should be seen. Blacks created an open space for them to be able to create work that reflected the truth and reality.
Race Movies
Between the 1910s and 1950s, African American movie theaters grew in popularity by featuring race movies. Race movies were produced for all black audiences and often featured an all-black cast, and made it a goal to combat stereotypical roles.
Black Arts Movement
In the late 1960s, the Black Arts Movement grew out of the Black Power Movement. Black artists felt inclined to incorporate their African heritage and roots in their artwork without the need of white society. Both moments in time were important for the Afro-American’s desire for self-determination and nationhood and help shape the film and theater industry.
Black film challenges the ideas of black life and presents black culture in a new three dimensional, full fleshed way. Black filmmakers are able to use their creative power to alter the view and perception of Blacks on a larger scale.
The results from a survey conducted by USA Today
91% believe the media has the power to influence society.
88% of Black Americans believe that the media perpetuates negative stereotypes of Black people.
80%, or 4 out of 5, Black Americans know its obvious when characters of color aren’t written by people of color.
75%, or 3 in 4 of all people surveyed (and 87% of Black Americans surveyed), believe the way Black Americans are portrayed in the media influences perceptions of them in the real world.
70% states that the entertainment industry needs to improve representation.
Black actors only portray 11% of the leading film roles and are often subjected to race related roles.
When it comes to writing diverse characters, characters outside of your everyday life and understanding, it's a tricky topic. Of course people want to be more inclusive with their writing and work, but they shouldn’t keep them surface level and stereotypical either. Writing diverse stories has consequences, both positive and negative. Writing touches and reaches people, just like films and television.
Writing is typically a transfer of experience and a reflection of one’s self. An idea of what a person is is shaped by one’s experiences, and one’s experiences are shaped by their place in society, their life, and their identity. No one can speak for an entire group, but they can broaden their understanding and knowledge.
Moving Forward. What should we do now?
Tips for writing black characters / stories:
- Slang shouldn’t be the go to speech for Black characters.
- They shouldn’t be there to support white main characters.
- They should be three dimensional and have full lives, with depth and completion.
- Understand and broaden knowledge of black people in real life.
- Write with good intentions and out of a good place.
- Don’t make diversity a trend
- Uplift and amplify black creators and writers
Below is a link that includes 15 up and coming black directors that are shaping the film industry and creating spaces for black creatives.
For the black creators trying to move in a new direction and build a career, the Hollywood film industry is often unwelcoming. But instead of waiting for a seat at the table, we should make our own table. Forget handouts and being given things. Black creators have the space to create their own work. For the people and by the people. Take back our own stories and write them ourselves. We already have the people we need to be successful.
Thank you for viewing this website and taking time to learn more about the misrepresentation of blacks in film. - Tymetrias Bolden