In the early 70’s, the common genre of blaxploitation set the stage for African-American films we see today. Two films in particular, Superfly and Shaft, brilliantly use stereotypes and imaging to tackle racial controversies in our society. Although the plots of these films are quite different, they both deal with the idea of black characters “sticking it to the man.” Contrary to earlier films that presented black characters with inferior roles of slavery and/or poverty, the main characters are depicted with positions of authority and power. The directors use these characters to defy the stereotypes and misconceptions that blacks are labeled with. In addition to exciting and intense storylines, these two movies provide insight into the urban lifestyles African-Americans held in our society during the 70’s.
Gloria Pierce Robin Miltimore English 112 02 February 2013 Symbolism in “Battle Royal” “Battle Royal” provides a vivid picture of the intense fight black Americans have battled in a country of predominately white men. Ellison uses several symbols, such as a stripper, a white blindfold, and the battle royal itself, to illustrate the fight for equality that black Americans faced. The stripper is symbolic of the freedom the narrator and the black race yearn for, but have not yet achieved. In the story the white men forced the young black men to look at the stripper; however, they were not allowed to touch her. The narrator tells of his desire and “to feel the soft thighs, to caress her and destroy her, to love her and murder her, to hide from her, and yet to stroke where below the small American flag tattooed upon her belly her thighs formed a capital V” (506).
At the same time, Ryna is abandoned and left with the children, yet her name lives on through a scary, haunting gulch. Carr says‘The community rewards Solomon’s abandonment of his children but punishes Ryna’s inability to take care of them alone’ . This shows the oppressive, sexists attitudes the society in the novel has and portrays the plight Morrison presents black women to
Through skilfully employing film techniques, Kramer utilises the textual form to represent opposing views on the protagonist John. Set in America at a time when interracial marriages were unacceptable, Kramer portrays several contradictory views on the Afro-American man, Dr John Prentice. Through using close-up on the taxi driver, Kramer highlights the look of disgust on the driver’s face as John enters the taxi. This outlook upon John is contrasted by his girlfriend, Joey stating “there’s no problem”. Kramer effectively uses powerful dialogue paired with symbolism to depict the polarities in their views.
Harper Amaty Pitt starts off as Joe’s valium-addicted, sociopathic wife. A deranged sociopath that is sex-deprived and out of touch with the external world and reality in general, she recoils into her mental delusions and drug abuse. With the assistance of some of her companions and mother-in-law, she manages to liberate herself from her plummeting matrimony. Her desperation to be noticed and have emboldening contact with other human beings and conversation leads her to seek an affiliation just slightly better than what her marriage offers her. This is why she turns to
Black is Funny Bamboozled as satire film by director Spike Lee, in the film Bamboozled Spike Lee is satirizing social and political comments about race, identity negotiation and politics by reconstructing a blackface minstrel show. Pierre Delacroix the main character an African American who works at the television station CNS, constantly getting his creative ideas shut down and rejected and the pressure from his boss Dunwitty who claims to be blacker than him to come up with an entertaining “black show” or he’ll be fired. Delacroix figures that getting fired would be easier and he would finally be free, he shoots the idea of, “Mantan’s New Millennium Minstrel Show” complete with black actors in blackface; believing the network would reject it for being racist Dunwitty loves it and embraces it fully. Bamboozled shows races of all kinds including black in black face proclaiming themselves as “niggas”. Bamboozled brings up the question “Must African American culture remain mired in images of promiscuity and criminality for white consumption?” This movie is a satire based on the minimal evolution of our world, showing that racism is not dead and that the media will portray the black man in any way that will make him look bad or bring him down.
As the book progresses further, we soon learn more and more why Irene’s feelings of resentment towards Clare are justifiable. Growing up, Clare had “never been exactly one of the group” (Larsen 20) and always wanted more out of life. Her desires and light skin eventually landed her in the “other world,” passing off as white. Irene finds especially shocking how Clare could just drop her entire heritage like a brick and live with someone who considers African-Americans “black scrimy devils” (Larsen 40). Here we see the first signs of racial and sexual tension that exists between the two women.
For whereas American democracy is based on the idea of equality among people, the truth is that social discrimination still exists and the divisions among the classes cannot be overcome. Myrtle's attempt to break into the group to which the Buchanans belong is doomed to fail. Taking advantage of her vivacity, her lively nature, she seeks to escape from her own class. She enters into an affair with Tom and takes on his way of living. But she only becomes vulgar and corrupt like the rich.
Married to John, and has 3 sons. Conflicts she encountered: * Elizabeth and John Proctor are in conflict with one another because John has had an affair with Abigail Williams, a young woman who used to work for them and whom Elizabeth fired due to her involvement with John. * Abigail hates Elizabeth for firing her and taking her away from close proximity to John, which causes her to be one of the wrongly accused people of witchcraft. How did she deal with the conflict? * Elizabeth dealt with her husband’s affair by coming to realize that she may have been partly at fault for her husband's unfaithfulness, because she was not always as warm and loving as she could have been.
By poking fun at the misconceptions the gang infers about African Americans, the audience is able to see how pre-existing ideas about race still influence our everyday interactions. Language, activities and interests, as well as social status are negative racial stereotypes displayed in the African American portrayal in the episode “The Gang Gets Racist.” The authors of The Real World: an Introduction to Sociology define stereotyping as: “judging others based on preconceived generalizations about groups or categories of people” (Ferris and Stein 114). In the show, black people use exaggerated slang, listen to hip hop music, and live in lower income neighborhoods. For example, Terrell, the main African American character and Dee’s friend from acting class in the episode “The Gang Gets Racist,” uses derogatory and “racially relevant” slang. While showcasing his skills as a bar promoter he states: “Everybody and their mommas gonna be there, you know what I’m sayin?