Prize Year

2023

Document Type

Unrestricted

Abstract

When film was first created in the late 1800s, Black actors would not be seen on the big screen until many years later. Black actresses, in particular, had an even harder time landing roles than their male counterparts. When finally allowed to become actresses around the mid 1900s, they were limited to subordinate roles that served the perceptions white people held of them and held true to their intersectional marginalization. Namely, Black women portrayed characters that were maids or servants to white families. As time goes on, the presence of Black women in film and television is certainly increasing, as filmmakers strive to reach diversity quotas. However, the portrayals of Black women have not changed very much due to cross-over appeal. This research paper will expand on the historical development of Black women’s presence in media briefly mentioned here, then discuss and examine these common portrayals and stereotypical roles or tropes, some including the mammy, jezebel, sapphire, and various forms of tokenism that are known to create single stories. Following specific examples of these tropes and types of tokenism, this paper will then describe the implications of these roles developed by media socialization and cultivation theory as explained in “That’s Not Me I See on TV . . . : African American Youth Interpret Media Images of Black Females.” What makes these stereotypes harmful? How do they impact racial representation, Black femininity, the interpersonal advancement of Black women in society, or the way Black women begin to perceive themselves in their day-to-day lives on an intrapersonal level? Lastly, various solutions will be proposed to restructure the film world to allow Black actresses, filmmakers, and writers to creatively tell their own stories, shed a positive light on their experiences, and remold the narratives working against them for far too long.

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