Representation of Black People in Hollywood Cinema - Research Paper Example

Representation of Black People in Hollywood Cinema al Affiliation) Hollywood cinema today still depicts racism in the roles that the black people play in film and television. The blacks mostly play the maid, servant or slave. This is in relation to the historical stereotype that they were slaves, fools or the domestic help and that is why the white thinks these ranks they best suite them. The common racial factor that the culture of the black has not evolved is also a main cause to these forms of these representations in the film industry. The main objective of this paper is to neutralize the state of representation of black people in the film industry. Thus, a methodology is necessary to fulfill the objective. The first step will be through analyzing the reason behind these forms of representation of the black people in the film industry. The objective will also try understanding the potential opportunities of the blacks in the film industry. Another major aim for the objective will be to recognize the challenges that the black people face in the film industry and formulate possible solutions to overcome these challenges. The overall aim of the paper will be to bring to attention the need to have fair representation for both the black and white people in the film industry1. Hollywood like any other mainstream institution in the US has the capability to condition a great population socially and thus the society too. This social conditioning has far-reaching ramifications especially for the black people in the film industry2. In Hollywood, the black people continually bare the social racist condition of the perpetual slave in films. American films have a long stained history of depicting the blacks negatively in films. The motives are barely solid, just pure white supremacy themes and institutional racism. Hollywood is not the only institution with black racism but many other institutions worldwide too. Most film institution including Holly wood is ideal when it comes to racism. White supremacy and institutional racism are now a big mix up that even racism is hardly detectable only until a significant damage comes to realization. The film institutions have no conscience on what the long-term effects may be on these racial factors. However much the movies with black slaves sell, there is still the stereotype of racism as a theme in the movies and that is what the white person wants to continue believing in. The fact that black people only submit to this positions only makes the whites dominate the film industry selling these racism as part of entertainment. The fact also allows for stereotypes that are more destructive since the only positions they can get are the minor racist parts3. Involving more blacks into the 21st century filming industry does not proof end of racism. In fact, this has only kept the media and the people blind with the thinking that there is no more racism since more blacks have roles in the films. The films are even more stereotypical and racist blinding people with giving the actors awards for supporting actor. An example of a film in the 21st century is the movie, 12 years of a slave. Even in these civilized times there is still the stereotype of the black woman slave in that movie. The slave girl Lupita Ny’ongo has the representation of a help, a slave, and someone that is force able into sexual interactions. This is a clear form of racism and what the white supremacy wants to keep believing in. this is among the many films in this century that have the racism effect in it including representing the blacks as ‘ghetto’. It is almost normal now that the black face is the one that suites the servant role. Racism in the Hollywood industry is suffocating and now the black people are absorbing it without noticing. The black people are also continually redirecting the whole racism towards themselves and their society4. The Hollywood industry enjoys awarding the black people who are willing to play these small discriminatory roles. This is the reason why the white owned co-operations like to promote images that are racially stereotypes in music. This is in the expense of these young progressive talented musicians. At the end of the day, what rings in the mind of the white is that the black is yet to evolve. This happens to be a sad lie while all that is going on under people’s noses is the suppressing of the talented black face and encouraging racial stereotypes5. Words like pimp and nigga can get a black person an award more than having a sensible statement. As long as the Hollywood is concerned, the end to these representations of the blacks is almost unending. America is one of the countries with some institutions that are not ready to face the fact that this is a present and not a past. Black people have evolved and some are even billionaires. But the film industry still wants to hold on to the notion that the blacks are either slaves or helps and now it has evolved to the point where the black are associated to the ghetto and are considered a threat6. It is time that films produced start to show a bit of fair grounds for both the white and the black people. White superiority in the Hollywood industry should not be the focus of the whole film. Hollywood should give chances to films that are historically precise, socially conscious, and culturally educational. The following is a methodology on how fairness can be achievable in film industries as far as holly wood is concerned. Hollywood films tend to save the main acts for the white people only. There are several reasons that cause this to happen. One major reason behind this is the empathy gap between the white person and the black person. A film is about people performing certain tasks to achieve certain goals. However, the white person does not recognize with feeling to empathize with the black person. Nevertheless, the white person can easily empathize with the person of his own race. The degree of reaction to person of the same race is higher in comparison to that towards a different race. Since Hollywood aims to entertain majorly the white people then the white people will have what they prefer. The fact that Americans have a blind cultural racism against the black is also a major reason to such representation in the film industries. The blind racism is where people believe in the existence of cultural stereotypes such as existence of minor groups. They may not generally feel that they are being personally segregate to this group since this is a culture to them. It is embedded in there mentality and they keep cultivating this generation after generation. This is the same in the Hollywood film industry; the positions to the actors might or might not seem to the director as personally racist to the blacks. Nevertheless, in the end they really do not care for result of these decisions. The continuing American tradition for confirming whiteness and condemn blackness is a key issue in the representation of the blacks in films. The biased linking of the black people to criminality goes back in time and did not begin in this present century. Between a black and a white person, chances are the white will receive a good role in a movie and the black will receive a role that suites his race as they think. A role for a robber would rather be to a black person than to a white person; with the white person acting as threatened one in the film. This sort of tradition affects the role-playing by black people in the Hollywood filming industry. The white privilege is also a major root cause to the role played by blacks in the Hollywood film industry. The blacks are subject to minor parts since they do not have the white normalcy. The white normalcy is the association of the white with civilization, good manners, and good hygiene conditions among other things. This is a reason why black actors in the film industry get such representation. The white privilege denies the black talented actor the chance to prove that they can be equal with the white in any level of filming. This hence leaves the small racial parts to the black people. The media completes the cycle of racism by displaying images with the black group as a minority with some characteristics such as being gang members. The children watching this will grow up knowing this is true and in the end will never give the black people a shot for being better individuals. This applies to the filming industry including Hollywood where the directors will have that picture in their minds7. They will think having the minority play such parts as robbers will best describe them. It is rare to see a film with a gang made of white people, which is racist. A robber can be white, black, Asian or any other race. The whole black’s society was not meant to have only robbers, slaves, or helps; there can be some important talented people in this society. However, there have been production of black movies; but still the racial factor is still there. White people will prefer watching a movie full of whites other than a movie with blacks. This shows that the racial mentality is deeply embedded in the white person that even giving the black people a chance is hard enough for them. The 21st century has had some improvements in the roles given to the black people in comparison to the past years. However, the issue of racism is and minor representation of the blacks stands out in many major films. There are several ways that this can be fixed other than pretending to have a harmonized ground for both the black and white in the filming industry8. Hollywood can recognize and accept the evolution of the black generation. Times are changing and the filming industry needs to realize this in order to move forward. Instead of insisting on representing the blacks negatively in films, the industry should instead evolve as an institution. The filming industry is failing to recognize that the black today is not the black 100 years ago. The should give the black today a chance to prove himself instead of just pushing those racial parts to them during filming9. This insistence of representing the blacks negatively in films is wasting away a lot talent that could bring millions to the industry. The filming industry also seems to be a major influence on the continuing of racism in generation after generation in America. Once they produce these racial films, the med only begin with the filming industry that happens to have began the whole cycle of racism. The filming industry can achieve this by first accepting that the black people can have better parts in films. This way the white society cannot grow with the mentality that blacks are of a certain perception. As far as opportunities are concerned, the blacks have no upper hand in the filming industry in comparison to the white people. The only opportunities that the blacks have is trying the independent black filmmakers or any other film industry that is willing to recognize the blacks as having potential talent and treating them equally. This way the Hollywood filmmakers can be able to see the viable talent in these independent films. As a result, the Hollywood industry may willingly give the black people a chance to have better parts in their casting. The black play writers can also write their ideas for this independent company and if the Hollywood finds some remarkable talent then black people can stand a fair chance in the filming10. There is the idea of going solo. Many black people for example Kevin Hart hosts his own comedy show. This opportunity can help Hollywood recognize the many suppressed talents all in the minor position that only depict racism. Many black actors are missing in action, and where they appear, they only play stereotypic roles. This then only makes the film the entertainers console zone and not the actors. This in turn creates the notion that the black are of a certain culture. The opportunity for a black actor lies with how well he plays his or her degrading role. This is the case with most movies throughout the centuries. There is a clear line that black actors will always face great difficulties when trying to succeed in the Hollywood filming industry. Even with a good education in filming, the best part in a movie that a black can get is the one depicting their society as uncouth and uncivilized. Numerous black actors are the films today but there is no point if all of them have to play the same roles from ages ago. These blacks are capable of thinking and understanding. Stereotyping them will only stop them from bringing fresh ideas on the table. Maybe Hollywood should refresh its mission and goals because all that they spell through the media is inequality and racism. This should not be the case since those times are over they are our past. To build a better future the filming industry should be able to understand that they are dealing with people like themselves and not a community of people that comes from the bush. If the whole racism issue cannot get over then black people can start making their own roles for themselves. An example of a black who is succeeding in this move is Tyler Perry. She is representing the black people as talented and who can bring fresh ideas to the table. She has her own television company and movies. This is one way the filming industry can realize potential ideas that can come as a contribution from the black actors. This way developing from the stereotype generation can be an easier process. If the black people can come together and show, something remarkable then the Hollywood filming industry can find a way to appreciate the black individuals. The black individuals do not need to be in Hollywood only in order to succeed. They can make their own independent movies and if the ideas are great they can nature, a fare ground for both black and white people in the filming industry. The cooperate ownership of the Hollywood film industry basically gives light to top projects that are a guaranteed sell to the American population, mostly the teens and example is Transformers. The executives will only willingly give a chance to the top rated actors in the film industry only. This leaves the black filmmakers with the option of running their own filming companies, directing their films, and even distributing their own films. However, there will be stiff competition since the films are black but this can be a fresh start to having other filming companies respect the black race. Oscar Micheaux is an exemplary black person who was independent in his history of filmmaking career. Black filmmakers can pick a leaf from his book and begin their journey to their own success11. Black filmmakers are also to blame since they have made their success dependent on the Hollywood industry. Tyler Perry had a great idea to make a movie once the movie hit her started getting funds for other of her projects. The Hollywood filming industry is also about business, the investors will only invest where there is a certain possibility for a notable profit. Black filmmakers can use the idea of creating a unique story and making an original movie as a porthole to get the attention of Hollywood filmmakers. Once the investors see something unique in the movie they will definitely respect and be drawn to funding more projects for these characters12. The Hollywood film industry is majorly to blame in the representation of the black people in their films. However much the black fill participants are inactive, Hollywood plays a bigger role in the representation of blacks negatively. If the film industry can evolve and understand that what they depict in the films as the black community is false and that they incline children’s thinking to racism then the a fair ground can be set for both races of filmmakers. Nonetheless black people can make their own dreams come true by showing how innovative they can be through producing their own films. This way they can honor their right to fair treatment in casting by the filming industry. The black filmmakers should also understand that Hollywood is also a business thus making an investment will require a certain possibility of profit. They blacks can make this possibility by coming together and putting new ideas together that can give great results13. ia will show these on television and people can access the films in the cinema. Once children or young minds get to see this they will develop believing in these scenes. Redefining their culture will Bibliography Brookey, Robert Alan. Hollywood Gamers Digital Convergence in the Film and Video Game Industries. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010. . Courtney, Susan. Hollywood Fantasies of Miscegenation: Spectacular Narratives of Gender and Race. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2004. Frost, Jennifer. Hedda Hoppers Hollywood Celebrity Gossip and American Conservatism. New York: New York University Press, 2010. Hilliard, Robert L. Hollywood Speaks Out Pictures That Dared to Protest Real World Issues. Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. . Hilmes, Michele. Hollywood and Broadcasting: From Radio to Cable. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990. 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