Derrik Horman

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Alexander Langshall
Film and Culture
18 April 2014
Final Essay
Diversity of a Culture in Society and Films
African Americans have been oppressed by both society and in movies. Most African
Americans have been taken from their own country and sold into slavery. They were treated horribly by
their slave owners and had to live and work in unbearable conditions. After slavery, they were still
segregated from the rest of society. Not until individuals stood up, rallied others and gave their culture
a voice were blacks offered any equality. The same prinicple applies to the filming industry. Starting
out in the early 1900's, African-Americans were mocked and mistreated. The white dominate
entertainment industry gave the African-American culture a bad reputation by misconstruing the truth
of their lifestyle into myth and stereotypes. A nation of people were forcefully taken from their own
country and brought to America, the land of the free and home of the brave, and had to fight for their
place in society.
The topic of slavery and segregation is well known in American history. According to AfricanAmerican history on the website www.about.com, historians normally date the start of slavery in the
North American colonies to 1619. Since the beginning of slavery the black people have been treated
as property or even less equal than animals. This type of treatment continued until the Emancipation
Proclamation was delivered by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. The famous speech delivered on this day
stated, that all persons held as slaves are, and henceforward shall be free (www.archives.gov).
Even after the announcement of freedom, the mistreatment of the black culture did not end and
continued into the 20th century. The segregation from society this culture had to endure was
insufferable. African-Americans were restricted to specific areas of residence outside of the

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community. They had separate schools, churches, restaurants, restrooms and even drinking fountains.
When compared to the mistreatment that blacks had to endure in society, the entertainment
industry is not far off the mark. During the antebellum or pre-Civil war period of time, the minstrel
show was a very popular form of entertainment. Minstrel shows were a stage act of singing and
dancing, but the actors were white done up in make-up to look black. Blackface (America on Film
79) is the term used when this style of acting is being used. The white person has his face made up in
makeup that gives the impression that he is black. However, the actor playing the black person does not
portray the character as a civilized or intelligent individual, but rather from a demeaning perspective.
Blackface and the minstrel show contributed to the white man's misguided perception of what black
lives were actually like (America on Film 79).
The movie The Birth of a Nation ,released in 1915, is an example of how African-Americans
were treated with inequality. The two main characters, Silas and Gus, were done in blackface and those
cast members who were actually black were in the background of the movie as extras. Silas was a man
who lusted after white women and Gus was the black buck (America on Film 79) character who
chased a woman through the woods until she committed suicide to protect her virtue. Next, the two
main settings of the movie, which were occupied by kind, peaceful whites, were ambushed and mobbed
by the African-American extras. The Birth of a Nation bolstered the previous misconception of the
black culture being unintelligent and happy, to violent and mob-like with little regard for the law.
During the classical Hollywood cinema period of the 1930's-1940's, African Americans were
still shunted aside as minor characters. One of the reasons Hollywood kept African American actors in
smaller, supporting roles was so that prejudiced audiences would not have to watch an entire movie
about a Negro, or worse yet, see a black character who was smart, strong, and independent (America
on Film 83). A great example of an excellent actor, singer, dancer not playing any major roles was Bill
Bojangles Robinson. According to Fred Astaire, Bill was the greatest dancer of all time. But due to

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Production Code mandate, miscegenation or a relationship of people from different races, was strictly
prohibited. Therefore, Mr. Robinson always had to play a minor character such as a butler or a servant.
He was able to dance with the very young Shirley Temple because this adult-child dance couple was
'safe' and inoffensive (America on Film 84).
Martin Luther King Jr., was and is a very famous advocate who fought to gain equality for the
African-American people within the United States. He was born in 1929, grew up in a regligious
environment due to his grandfather and father who were both pastors for the Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Martin Luther was an educated person earning his bachelor's degree from Morehouse College, a
destinguished Negro institution of Atlanta (www.nobleprize.org). He continued his education at a
seminary school in Pennsylvania, an institue named Crozer Theological Seminary, then enrolled for
graduate studies at Boston University. Martin Luther was able to complete his doctorate degree in 1955
and awarded the Nobel Peace Price at the age of 35. His most famous speech was the I Have a
Dream speech delivered in August of 1963. Martin Luther delivered this speech infront of 250,000 of
his fellow African-Americans during a massive march in Washington D.C. He was later assassinated in
1968 while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee (www.nobelprize.org).
This speech was the catalyst of calling the black society together to gain equality within the white
dominated culture.
Just as the rise of the black culture was happening across the United States the same effect was
beginning to form in Hollywood. Blaxploitation became known during the 1960's as a new genre of
movies. These types of films were centered around the exploitation of blacks, and were directed
towards appealling to the African American audiences. Blaxploitation introduced a new concept of
opportunities for African-American actors and artists in Hollywood. Although these movies were
generally directed by a white male, black actors, writers, and musicians were able to begin making a
name and reputation for themselves. These movies centered around the traditional gangster, crime

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thriller, horror category while the leading roles were violent, flashy, and charismatic (American on
Film 88).
This new classification of film did come with multiple controversies. For example, African
American audiences would pay their hard earned dollar to watch these movies. However, in the end, it
was the white male dominated entertainment owners who were making the big bucks. These movies
also had a tremendous amount of violence, blood and sex. The protagonist of the movie was a superstud type of person, such as a black James Bond (American on Film 89). Becuase of movies such as
these with a slick, suave lead character who kills a lot of people and has spontaneous sex, the youth of
communities started dressing and acting like these fictional characters. An uprising of the American
people was created and the question of what is Hollywood's intent was asked. The National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People quickly formed a smaller group called the Committee Against
Blaxploitation. Unfortunately, this group was disbanded shorlty thereafter due to the black filmmaking
industry seeking needed employment within these films. The era of blaxploitation came to a close by
the end of the 1970's, however, movie audiences were able to become familiar with rising Hollywood
stars such as, Cicely Tyson, James Earl Jones, Diana Ross and Billy Dee Williams (American on
Film 89).
Rev. Jesse Jackson became known in the public spotlight during the 1980's for continuing the
effort for black civil rights. He encouraged blacks to be more involved in politics and to participate in
greater numbers by voting when elections arrived. In 1984, Jackson ran for the Democratic
nomination for president (www.history.com), but was not able to progress any further after the
primary elections. He ran again for president in the 1988 election and was able to win over 7 states. He
finished second, but once again did not advance into a political office. Although Rev. Jackson has not
been nominated into a political office, he still has a strong influence in the Democratic Party. He has
used this guidance to ensure that African-American issues had an important role in the party's

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platform (www.history.com).
Bill Cosby and Oprah Winfrey were two of the biggest names used in the entertainment industry
during the 1980's. Bill Cosby was the lead patriarch in his comedy series The Cosby Show, while Oprah
began her own national talk show in 1986 titled The Oprah Winfrey Show. The Cosby Show was able
to redefine the stereotype of the African-American people. No longer was this culture viewed as
uncivilized or violent, but rather dignified, educated and demonstating the value of close family ties.
Oprah was able to discuss many difficult issues on her show and still be straightforward about the
topics. Her career progressed upward to owning a film and television production and publishing
establishment, and she became the first black female billionare. Oprah has been giving generously to
black South Africans and to the historically black Morehouse College, among other causes
(www.history.com).
The incident of the beating of Rodney King in March 1991 shook the African-American
community. The people of East Los Angeles had been suspicious of the racial profiling and the added
abuse blacks had suffered by the police. The four police officers who had beaten Rodney King were
tried in court by members of an 11 white and 1 Hispanic jury and found the officers not guilty. This
judgement caused a violent reaction by the black citizens of East LA. The riots continued for
approximately four days. By the time the riots finished, some 55 people were dead, more than 2,300
injured, and more than 1,000 buildings had been burned (www.history.com). During the following
year, two out of the four police officers had retired and then were convicted in a federal court for
violating Rodney King's civil rights.
Just as Rodney King finally recieved his reward of a settlement for 3.8 million dollars, a new
African-American dirctor in Hollywood was climbing the status ladder. Spike Lee had learned film
directing at the New York University film school, where he directed a 50 minute short, titled Joe's BedStuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads, which won him significant praise. Spike Lee delved into sensitive

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issues concerning race and racism. Some examples of his works include: Mo' Better Blue (1990),
Crooklyn (1994), Girl 6 (1996), He Got Game (1998) (America on Film 92). His most famous film
was Malcolm X (1992), which was an authoritative presentation of the assassinated civil rights leader.
The development of his career as a movie director has lead Spike Lee into becoming a forerunner for
African-American civil rights. An example of this occured when Warner Brothers was willing to take
Malcolm X from him due to being over budget. Mr. Lee's open media reply was, white directors go
over budget all the time without the studio threatening to take their films away (America on Film 93).
As a result, Mr. Lee was able to complete the movie without any further complications.
Colin Powell was the first African-American to be a chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from
1989 to 1993. He is a four-star general and played an enourmous role executing the Persian Gulf War.
After retirement from the military, he was nominated by George W. Bush as the secretaty of state in
2001. Once again, he was the first African-American to hold a position as America's top diplomat. He
served with President Bush until his retirement in 2004. However, Condoleeza Rice succeeded Colin
Powell as the first African-American woman to serve as secretary of state.
Just like the rise of the black culture had extended into national political office, the rise of black
Hollywood stars had reached a pinnacle. In 2001, at the Academy Awards, two African-Americans
were honored with top acting awards, Denzel Washington and Halle Barry who won best actor and
actress. Both Mr. Washington and Ms. Barry were the first two black actors to ever win these trophies.
These awards were able to start a new trend in Hollywood society. Finally African-Americans were
getting recognized for their directing, writing, producing, and other filmmaking abilities.
The African-American culture has come a long way since the early 1900's of movie making.
The black members of society were owned and sold like cattle during the time of slavery. And even
afterward, have been mistreated by unnecessary segregation. Then a young religious leader who was
tired of his civil rights being infringed upon stood up and rallied his culture into starting the movement

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of equality. This process of equality is reflected both in the world and in movies. Black leaders have
provided a path for the people to follow, just as black actors and directors have stepped up to
implement and a new promising public view-point of their culture. Even now, in the year 2014, the
President of the United States is African-American.

Works Cited
African American History. history.com. History Channel. 2014. Web. 16 April 2014
African American Segregation. britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. 2014. Web. 14 April 2014
Benshoff, Harry M., and Sean Griffin. America on film: representing race, class, gender, and sexuality
at the movies. 2nd ed. Malden, MA, USA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.
Emancipation Proclamation. archives.gov. National Archives & Records Administration. Web. 2014.
14 April 2014
Martin Luther King. nobelprize.org. Nobel Prize. 2014. Web. 16 April 2014
The Start of Slavery in North America. about.com. African-American History. 2014. Web. 14 April
2014