Singleton, John. “Boys n da Hood” and Matsoukas, Melina. “Queen & Slim”. Movie
Being directed by black directors, John Singleton for Boyz n the Hood, and Melina Matsoukas for Queen & Slim, the two films give a clear picture of how the Blacks commoditized in the society dominated by the Whites. Institutions of power, such as the Police department, which are required to maintain law and order, appear to infringe rights of the Black by brutally handling them. In the film the Boyz n the Hood, the police threatened Tre after pulling over with his gun without a probable cause. It was the same police who had harassed Tre’s father seven years ago. The same is evident in the film Queen & Slim, where a police officer pulls a gun on Slim when Slim complains that it is cold and they should hurry home. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Considering that the depiction comes from Black perspectives, these movies are significant since they help us to create a clear picture of how Blackness impacts our lives. In both films, Black lives seem not to matter in society. The police are supposed to protect the rights of civilians and give them a sense of security and not to threaten them using their guns, as evident in the film. These films are important because they make us understand that the Black characters in the movies were mistreated and brutally handled by the police not because of their mistakes, but because of their Blackness. The movies are relevant and essential to us because they remind us of previous racism in society and mandate us to stand and fight for our rights. Through this, we will ensure equality and eradicate racism in society.
From these films, it is evident that blacks were not entitled to the same rights as the whites in society. They were considered to be less important and influential. That is why it was easier for police officers to treat them without the fear of being sued brutally. Through this representation, the two movies reinforce the racial stereotypes portrayed in typical Hollywood movies that give a clear portrait of society.
Haggis, Paul. “Crash.”Movie
In the film, Crash (2004), prejudice, stereotyping, and racial tension are evident. The whites think high of themselves and downplay characters of other races, such as the Blacks and Hispanics. In the film, Jean, Rick’s wife, argues with her husband that the locks should be changed again because she thinks that Daniel Luiz is a gangster because of his outfit and tattoos. Being a non-white, Jean thought Daniel to be a gangster just because of his physical appearance. Also, Sergeant John Ryan and Tom Hansen commoditized director Cameron Thayer and his wife, Christine, for performing fellatio on him. Despite knowing that the two were a couple and they were having their “good” time, Ryan molests Christine in front of her husband by body searching her and touching her inappropriately until Cameron, Christine’s husband, apologized. This enables us to understand that blacks, such as Cameron and other non-whites, were living at the mercies of the whites.
The way the whites downplayed people from other races such as Cameron, black, is significant because it shows us how the whites thought of themselves to be superior to other races and how they wished for people from other races to bow for them. Ideally, Ryan and Hansen should have arrested Cameron and his wife Christine for the fellatio they were having while driving and not molesting Christine in front of her husband. The act of molesting Christine in front of Cameron shows us that Ryan only wanted to make Cameron feel insufficient and that he would not do anything manly to save his wife apart from bowing and apologizing to them, Ryan and Hansen. This is useful because it tells us that the whites, Ryan and Hansen, were not after implementing the law; instead, they wanted to show their superiority of the Blacks, Cameron, and Christine.
Even though a white director, Paul Haggis, directed the film, it still maintained Hollywood’s take on research study themes such as racism, gender, and police brutality. Despite being a white, Haggis does not shy away from denoting the way whites think high of themselves and how they consider blacks and other non-whites less important. His black representation is similar to black directors’ black representation.
Molina-Guzmán, Isabel “OscarsSoWhite: how Stuart Hall explains why nothing changes in Hollywood and everything is changing.” Critical studies in media communication.
Through the years, a lot has changed in terms of themes, ideologies, representations, culture, and cinematic devices in Hollywood movies. The way the blacks were represented in the 19th century Hollywood movies is quite different from the way the 20th and the 21st Hollywood films represent them. The difference is significant to us since it enables us to keep track of how society is evolving and how filmmaking through Hollywood is documenting the changes in Black representation. In her article, Molina-Guzman found out that there was a development of a new theme in the recent films, 2014 – 2015, that was caught between new changes in technology, economics and demographics, and the traditional white patriarchal structure of cultural representation. These new themes give us an upper hand in understanding what were are seeing in modern films and news presentation on our televisions.
Unlike traditional films and news presentations, modern films and new presentations are marked with three discursive journalistic frames: institutional racism and sexism, economic imperatives, and Hollywood exceptionalism. These three journalistic frames are essential since they enable us to understand changes that are taking place in the film production industry and newsrooms. Directors are increasingly becoming sensitive to gender and racial sensitivity by ensuring women and blacks are given “important” roles in the production. It is of the essence for us to know this since it helps us to figure out how far we are from achieving true racial and gender equality in Hollywood film production, and news presentations industry.
With the increased involvement of women and blacks in news presentation and Hollywood film production, it would appear that blacks and women have improved significantly in the society. This is not so because they are rarely given critical roles to play in their entire production. Rather, they are working under whites, or they are closely monitored by white from behind the camera. This implies that white supremacy has only changed its form to maintain the status quo.
Njee, Nyambura, and Logwood, Dyann “Share Cropping Blackness: White Supremacy and the Hyper Consumption of Black Popular Culture” McNair Scholars Research Journal.
In the United States of America, most Africans have lost their identity, and they are conforming to be commodified for consumption within the White supremacist culture. Upon interacting with the Whites, most Blacks abandon their cultural identity and try adopting the white lifestyle, which they consider to be of higher value than theirs. The authors of the article assert that most Blacks change event dressing codes upon interacting with the whites since they do not wish to be considered to be dressing as “ancient” beings; instead, they are readily absorbing the dressing codes of the Whites. Such leaves the blacks at the mercies of being objectified by the whites. Such conformations are vital since they help us understand why most Black are losing their sense of identity and trying to embrace the culture of the whites.
The conformation of Blacks enables us to understand the way “Blackness” is constructed and commodified for consumption within the White supremacist culture. Such explains some of the consequences that are evident in films, arts, and interviews that depict Blackness in the twenty-first century. In those film, arts, and interviews, Blacks represents themselves in different ways that do not reflect their culture or show their identity; rather, they appear to be a unique way that is more similar to those of the Whites. This explains why the Blacks are losing their sense of identity, and the whites are developing their sense of supremacy over the Black.
By retracing the way they represent themselves, the blacks have chances of reconnecting with the diminishing culture and improving their sense of identity. Blacks need to appreciate their culture and maintain what makes them unique from the Whites and people from other races. Such will enable them to solidify their culture to preserve their identity.
Dublin, Stephen C. “Symbolic Slavery: Black Representations in Popular Culture” 122-140. Print
The Civil War is one of the significant milestones of Black liberation. For the better part of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Blacks were perceived to be like oxen that were owned by their White bosses. The blacks were treated objectified to be sources of labor that would provide the workforce required in the fields of the white. In his article, Dublin paints a clear picture of the way Blacks were degrades and stereotyped between 1890 and 1950s. He also depicts the changes that occurred in degrading blacks after the Civil War. This is important since it helps us to understand the way the blacks were represented and degraded before the Civil War and what changed after the Civil War.
An overview of the pre-civil war is significant to us since it enables us to learn and understand the way the blacks were represented in society. We also understand how their white bosses were using them as objects to do hard and forced labor at low wages or no pay. This is helpful since it enables us to understand the suffering that the blacks underwent during that period and compare it to the way the blacks were represented after the Civil War. The knowledge of how the blacks were represented after the Civil war is also important since it enables us to identify any improvement in black people’s liberation and how the society considered them after the abolishment of slavery.
Although the Blacks experienced a significant gain on how they were represented in the society after the Civil War, they did not fully have equality with the whites. Rather, the whites developed new ways of maintaining the supremacy over the blacks. For instance, they place ‘silent’ limits to positions the blacks would hold in the society. Even though the blacks were free, they were still limited in some aspects of their lives.
Ferguson, Ann Arnett: Naughty by nature. Print.
Historically, American society has been and will always be linked to racisms against African Americans males. Even though American society admires the culture of African American males, such as their clothes, tattoos, and styles, stereotypes hate them and consider them to be sources of problems in society and schools. This perception is important since it helps us to understand why society treats Black males as it does. In her read, Ann contends that teachers at Rosa Parks School device punishments that are harsh on Black males to eliminate them from the school since they mean trouble to other white students. This is important as it enables us to understand why images of black males are portrayed as criminals in print and electronic media.
The way the author represents black males is significant since it enables us to understand why black males are considered to be sources of problems in schools and the entire society. Through her representation of black males, we learn that schools are exercising partiality when deciding on ways to punish offending students. Black males seem to be punished heavily due to the notion that teachers in schools have that by punishing Black males and getting them off from the school, they will have eliminated trouble from their schools. Also, it enables us to understand why the imagines of black males became familiar in print and electronic media. Such information is useful as it allows us to have an understanding of why society considers African American males to be criminals.
Considering that society uses print and electronic media to portray Black males to be criminals and sources of trouble in schools and society, such representation has devastating impacts on the lives of black males from young ages. They reduce their self-esteem, self-confidence and develop a sense of being unwanted in society. This has severe effects on the social, academic, and psychological aspects of their lives.