After reading the article Black Women and Literacy in Feature Films, I was able to learn a lot from Dowdy’s position. In the reading Dowdy explains to us how mainstream media and Hollywood are depicted by stereotypes of Black women. She says that in films the women are usually dark skinned and they have the traits or cultural symbols that viewers identify as being black. These symbols make it easy for viewers to see the typical stereotypes. Black women are always portrayed as a mammy, sapphire or jezebel. They are also portrayed as nurses or cooks for white people.
I agree with Dowdy’s position on the stereotypical black roles of movies in Hollywood. There are rarely, if any movies that portray black women as positive, successful, independent women. Instead, we are seen as being poor, addicted to drugs, promiscuous, and ignorant. Although it is true that some black women are drug addicts or poor; it is not inclusively just black women. There are women and men of other races that have these same characteristics. The fact that the only people cast for these roles are black women, this leads the rest of the world to believe that all black women act one particular way or have the same negative characteristics. In the end, other people around the world or left to think that the phrase black women has a negative connotation; because they don’t have any other examples.
Dowdy goes on to explain the plots of nine different movies over a 16 year period. ( 1985-2001) After reading the summaries of the movies, I was able to see that they were very similar. Although the leading role was a black female, they all shared a common flaw. They all were illiterate. (Except a schoolteacher). Since the women did not have a degree or even a diploma, they were portrayed as being dependent. The movies made the black women seem as if they couldn’t succeed or accomplish anything without the help of another white woman. In my opinion, it is vital for black people to get more involved in the media, so that we can monitor what is being put out to represent all of us. It is up to the actors and actresses to turn down the stereotypical rules and demand a positive and influential role.
Jerrika leslie
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ReplyDeleteI totally agree with what the writer has stated. I believe that the media portrays black women in a negative light. In leading roles, we are often cast as illiterate, black women with children who are getting government assistance. Unfortunately, for some Americans this is all they see and begin to make generalizations. As a call to action it is our job to change the stereotype of black women by what we watch, what we listen to, and what we participate in.
ReplyDelete-Darcye S