Class in Cinema

Scene from The Great Gatsby

One of the joys of watching films is the escape from reality they provide, allowing its viewers to imagine themselves in another world. Filmmakers throughout the history of film have used this at their advantage to play on the imagination of viewers. As described in America on Film (Benshoff & Griffin, 2009, p.181), classical Hollywood melodramas “almost always center on wealthy people enjoying privileged lives. Those types of movies thus presented beautiful worlds free of economic strife that filmgoers could enter and dream about for the price of a ticket”. A few years ago, I watched The Great Gatsby for the first time. This film shows the life of high class Mr. Jay Gatsby, who throws lavish and luxurious for hundreds of his friends. I remember watching it in awe of this glamorous lifestyle and picturing myself attending parties like those!

Scene from 8 Mile

In movies from today as well as the past, there seems to be an ongoing idea wrapped about the glamour of the upper-class lifestyle. Whether the main character is rich or poor, there is an underlining theme of reaching the upper class status, and achieving the “American Dream”. For example, in the movie 8 mile, Eminem plays Jimmy Smith, a poor, uneducated man in Detroit, who many would consider to be “trailer trash”. Jimmy’s dream is to become a successful rapper, and despite endless critique and lack of support, achieves his dream of stardom. This idea of the American Dream portrays that if you work hard and never give up on your goal, you will achieve success and wealth. As “cheesy” and cliche as this storyline sounds, it has worked for decades in the film industry. There’s something about this “happy ending” that keeps us coming back for more as the viewer. If Jimmy Smith were to work hard to pursue his dream and fail miserably (which unfortunately happens in reality!), it would make for a depressing and un-motivating movie!

      This obsession with wealth, fame, and the upper-class status is not only evident in the movies, but in the entire Hollywood pop culture scene.  America on Film points out that instead of discussing important, pressing world issues (ie healthcare, economy, etc), Americans focus on the unimportant events of the “rich and famous”. For example, when standing in any grocery line, you will see endless tabloids and magazines flashing images of the most famous celebrities, advertising articles about who so-and-so is dating, or what so-and-so was wearing. On occasion, you might see a Time magazine, displaying topics of important world topics, but this cover easily gets lost in the sea of celebrity gossip magazines! Over the past century, it has slowly become a part of American culture to idolize the wealth and materialism of our movie stars. 

African American Cinematic Stereotypes

Over the past few decades, human rights movements have allowed major advancements towards the goal of equality for all races. Although not nearly as severe and prevalent as it once was, racism is still alive and strong, and is reflected in today’s Hollywood film industry. Whether done intentionally or not, minorities such as African-Americans often represented in film by characters ridden with stereotypes. In this blog, we will be taking a look back in time at the stereotypical African-American characters, and see how these stereotypes are still evident in films of today.

Pickaninny from Black-face.com

 From the beginning of early film, African-Americans have been represented with characteristics which often portray them as a race that is subordinate to that of the white race. These stereotypes, (for example, that African-Americans are uneducated, poor, unemployed, etc) are given to the characters by Hollywood filmmakers, which happen to be dominated by white males. A website called “Blackface” (http://black-face.com/) describes the history of stereotypical characters such as Jim Crow, Mammy, and Pickaninny that have been used to portray various African-American stereotypical characters throughout history, and are still prevalent today. I remember watching cartoons as a child that use the Pickininny character, which is a black child with big bulging eyes, scrappy unkempt hair, always with a large piece of watermelon in hand and carelessly spitting watermelon seeds. As a child, I was oblivious to the image that this character painted of African Americans. Now, as an adult (and also thanks to this Cinema History class), it is obvious the subliminal influence that Hollywood has in representing African Americans with these stereotypical characters.     

One of my all-time favorite movies is Crash (2004) which masterfully displays the prevalence of racism in the lives of multiple inter-related characters living in Los Angeles. Terrence Howard plays a black film director named Cameron Thayer (aka Cam). In this film there is a scene in which Cam is wrapping up a successful set, when his white co-worker (played by Tony Danza) suggests that they do another take of a perfectly acted scene. Tony Danza asks Cam if the black actor in the scene is seeing a speech therapist, stating he is talking “a lot less black” because the actor changed this line from “don’t be talkin ‘bout that” to “don’t talk to me about that”. Cam questions his co-workers concern, asking him if the though the audience won’t recognize the actor as a black man because he is using correct English. Cam, feeling pressured by his white, domineering co-worker, reluctantly re-shoots the scene after asking the black actor to use the original, more “black” line. (I was unable to embed this scene from Crash from YouTube, but it can be viewed on YouTube, search for: Crash scene with Tony Danza).

Although this was a staged scene in a movie, it is an excellent example of how Hollywood casts African-American characters under their racial stereotypes. Tony Danza didn’t want the black actor to appear educated by using correct English, since the stereotypical African-Americans uneducated. Unfortunately, Hollywood is driven by white patriarchal capitalism which allows African Americans, along with other minority groups, to be misrepresented by these unfair characteristics. However, it seems that this unjust system is slowly being recognized, and hopefully in the near future, minorities can break through the glass ceiling of Hollywood and break this misrepresentation of their race.