African American Women And The Media s Reoccurring...

Avery Wood Robert Welch ENGL 202 Nov 10, 2014 â€Å"African American Women and the Media’s Reoccurring Stereotype† In the early turn of the 21st century, infant stages of media were brought to audiences all over. Small motion pictures were a new invention, enticing its viewers and creating a medium open to innovation. Since the development of silent films, stereotypes and racial discrimination have been the central overtones of cinema. The midst of the century entailed a dominant white society, with racial tensions at the forefront. Post-slavery morale and ideologies still existed in the states, recognizing the African American populations as blatant minorities. These attitudes on race were distinctively acknowledged on the big screen,†¦show more content†¦Although much different than the turn of the century, African American women still struggle with the media and its limiting, bias circumstances. It is important to acknowledge early stereotypes of African American women, and the recurring struggles they faced throughout the development of the media’s message. It is also importan t to recognize African American women in today’s media, and the limiting circumstances that follow. A favorable outcome of the future in media would be equality of all actors and actresses, regardless of race and social standing; as well as the termination of old stereotypes that are often revisited in different genres of the media Since the early developments of cinema, racial tension and the dehumanization of African Americans were portrayed circumstantially on the big screen, and through media. As portrayed in â€Å"A Birth of a Nation†, African American’s roles consisted of discriminatory imagery, and low social stature. An early film, â€Å"Uncle Tom’s Cabin†, was the first film to cast a black actor as the main character—even then, the character portrayals were that of a male, white actor. In the early stages of film, African American women had very little, if any, roles in the film industry. â€Å"The use of white actors to portray b lack individuals was common practice carried from the stage to early films† (Collins 77). According to