My resources for all the research I've done thus far:
1.Typecasting: On the Arts and Sciences of Human Inequality by Ewen and Ewen
2.Black Like You by John Strausbaugh
3.http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/
4.www.gamespot.com
5.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT-d_KIRipc
6.http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/mulatto/
7.http://abagond.wordpress.com/2008/03/19/the-tragic-mulatto/
8.Mirror, mirror on the wall: African American female role restrictions in animation Animation Thesis by Cortnee Bryant
Monday, September 28, 2009
Positive African American Females
There are many African American women in the world who are great examples of what a strong positive woman should be.
Phylicia Rashad
Debbie Allen
Janet Hubert
Tina Turner
Angela Bassett
Oprah Winfrey
Michelle Obama
Again I asked myself, "Do you think any of the women listed here could identify with an African American female character in a videogame today?
Let's start a new chapter in videogames. A chapter full of new and sophisticated character designs.
Phylicia Rashad
Debbie Allen
Janet Hubert
Tina Turner
Angela Bassett
Oprah Winfrey
Michelle Obama
Again I asked myself, "Do you think any of the women listed here could identify with an African American female character in a videogame today?
Let's start a new chapter in videogames. A chapter full of new and sophisticated character designs.
Stereotypes of the African American Female in the Media
The Original Sin
The common stereotype of a woman’s inferiority to a man can be traced all the way back to the beginning of mankind. If you believe in the stories of Christianity from the Bible, you remember the story of Adam and Eve from the first book of the Bible. God makes man in his image and gives him the power to rule over the land and all the animals that live there. He also makes a woman from a part of the man’s body. God makes the woman because Adam is lonely. Even in the beginning, woman is created in response to a man’s desires. Adam is even given the power to name her.
They were living in perfect peace when the woman, Eve, does something that will change everything. She is tricked into eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge. This is the tree that God said not to eat from.
Then she gets Adam to eat the fruit and they both relies they have sinned. God asks Adam how did this happen? Adam tells God, “The woman made me do it.” After this they are cursed forever. Now everyone thinks that all man’s problems are because of women. Now this is just women in general, I haven't even talked about African American women yet.
Media of the Past
I discussed the Blackface Minstrel Shows and all the stereotypical characters they contained like the Sambo, Coons, and Zip Dandies. Those were the male stereotypes. This female stereotype I’m about to discuss is called the “mammy.”
The stereotypical “mammy”, was brought about in early minstrel shows and was meant to be an African American nanny/cook for the Caucasian family. She was a very large woman who was always happy and always singing.
In 1890 an African American women who was born a slave, named Nancy Green portrayed this mammy stereotype and coined the popular phrase Aunt Jemima. Which we still see today.
The next African American who would take the mammy character to the next level would be Hattie McDaniel. She would even go on to star in her own show called the “Beulah Show” in 1952. In the show Hattie would go around solving the problems of a Caucasian family, while smiling and singing.
Even in the animation world the mammy character was a hit. A character by the name of "Mammy two shoes" would appear randomly throughout the Tom and Jerry show to fix problems brought on by Tom and Jerry’s fighting. You would never see her face but you could tell by her large figure, her old maid clothes, and her loud voice, she was a mammy.
The Wench or "The Tragic Mulatto"
The wench character also became known in the Minstrel Shows. This was a role that started out as a man in Blackface dressed in an elegant dress. It became the most important specialist role in the minstrel show as the male actor would try to seduce the beautiful wench.
Later Mulatto women would play the role of the wench. Mulattos are born from an African American and a Causation. Many writers portrayed the Mulatto’s life as tragic because they hated their African American roots and also hated the Whites, but still wanted to be accepted by them. Of course it was easier for white society to accept the mulattos because their skin color was closer to white. A writer by the name of Lydia Maria Child told two short stories about the mulatto: "The Quadroons" (1842) and "Slavery's Pleasant Homes" (1843). She told the story of a light skinned woman as the child of a White slaveholder and his Black female slave. She grew up not knowing her mother was black and she believed she was White and free. Her heart was pure, her manners great, her language polished, and her face beautiful. When her father died her "negro blood" was discovered and she was forced into slavery, deserted by her White lover, and died a victim of slavery and White male violence. A good example of the Tragic Mulatto story is Peola in “Imitation of Life” (1934).
Popular Mulattos of the Past
Dorothy Dandridge was a famous actress who would led the way for many other successful African American female actors. She was sexy, intelligent, and a very talented singer. She brought the character of Carman Jones to life and grossed $60,000 during the first week and $47,000 in the second upon its release in 1955.
In 1999, actress Halle Berry would portray her life story on the HBO movie: Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.
2000).jpg)
Lena Horne is another African American singer and actress.
.jpg)
The Black Heroine
Pam Grier also broke down barriers for women in the media. Although most of her earlier films were Blaxploitation films, she proved to the world that an African American female can be a lead action star in a film, while still being sexy, intelligent, and deadly. Pam Grier’s roles always consisted of her shouting, shooting, and fighting. She let everyone know that she was a lady, but she could hold her own in a fight.
Some of her well known films included, Cleopatra Jones (1973) , Coffy (1973) , and Foxy Brown (1974). Although this started a new chapter for African American women in the media it still had it’s drawbacks. Although Pam Grier was a strong sexy women she was still considered by high society as the girl no respectable man would ever marry. She was seen a “Forbidden Fruit.”
Media of the Present
Video Models on Black Entertainment Television(BET) have set a very bad example of what an African American female is like. Some of them have goals to become actors, but who’s going to take you seriously looking like this. They’re just objects to make the rappers look good. For the amusement of young teenage boys. The African American female went from being very subtle in to putting themselves completely out there. If other cultures see this they might think the majority of African American women are hoes or prostitutes.
You can still see little stereotypes here and there even in the cartoon called the Proud Family on the Disney channel. The main lead character is Penny Proud and she a mulatto, who’s smart, beautiful, and kind. Her Best friend Deshone is the sidekick of the show. As you can see she’s much darker than the main character and a lot bigger. Her hair is in a weird style and her expression is comical, not to be taken seriously. Her characteristics are loud, quick to anger, and unintelligent. Why is that? The two lighter toned kids are well dressed while the two darker toned kids looks lazy, uneducated, and badly dressed.
In Cortnee Bryant’s thesis on African American female role restrictions in animation, she asks why are African American women always sidekicks? Roles that are uncommon to African American women in animation are the lead roles, anti-heroines, and the romantic interest. Is this statement also true in videogames?
But I feel a change may come. This is the first African American Disney princess, called Tiana from the new Disney animated film "The Princess and the Frog".
The common stereotype of a woman’s inferiority to a man can be traced all the way back to the beginning of mankind. If you believe in the stories of Christianity from the Bible, you remember the story of Adam and Eve from the first book of the Bible. God makes man in his image and gives him the power to rule over the land and all the animals that live there. He also makes a woman from a part of the man’s body. God makes the woman because Adam is lonely. Even in the beginning, woman is created in response to a man’s desires. Adam is even given the power to name her.
They were living in perfect peace when the woman, Eve, does something that will change everything. She is tricked into eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge. This is the tree that God said not to eat from.
Then she gets Adam to eat the fruit and they both relies they have sinned. God asks Adam how did this happen? Adam tells God, “The woman made me do it.” After this they are cursed forever. Now everyone thinks that all man’s problems are because of women. Now this is just women in general, I haven't even talked about African American women yet.
Media of the Past
I discussed the Blackface Minstrel Shows and all the stereotypical characters they contained like the Sambo, Coons, and Zip Dandies. Those were the male stereotypes. This female stereotype I’m about to discuss is called the “mammy.”
The stereotypical “mammy”, was brought about in early minstrel shows and was meant to be an African American nanny/cook for the Caucasian family. She was a very large woman who was always happy and always singing.
In 1890 an African American women who was born a slave, named Nancy Green portrayed this mammy stereotype and coined the popular phrase Aunt Jemima. Which we still see today.
The next African American who would take the mammy character to the next level would be Hattie McDaniel. She would even go on to star in her own show called the “Beulah Show” in 1952. In the show Hattie would go around solving the problems of a Caucasian family, while smiling and singing.
Even in the animation world the mammy character was a hit. A character by the name of "Mammy two shoes" would appear randomly throughout the Tom and Jerry show to fix problems brought on by Tom and Jerry’s fighting. You would never see her face but you could tell by her large figure, her old maid clothes, and her loud voice, she was a mammy.
The Wench or "The Tragic Mulatto"
The wench character also became known in the Minstrel Shows. This was a role that started out as a man in Blackface dressed in an elegant dress. It became the most important specialist role in the minstrel show as the male actor would try to seduce the beautiful wench.
Later Mulatto women would play the role of the wench. Mulattos are born from an African American and a Causation. Many writers portrayed the Mulatto’s life as tragic because they hated their African American roots and also hated the Whites, but still wanted to be accepted by them. Of course it was easier for white society to accept the mulattos because their skin color was closer to white. A writer by the name of Lydia Maria Child told two short stories about the mulatto: "The Quadroons" (1842) and "Slavery's Pleasant Homes" (1843). She told the story of a light skinned woman as the child of a White slaveholder and his Black female slave. She grew up not knowing her mother was black and she believed she was White and free. Her heart was pure, her manners great, her language polished, and her face beautiful. When her father died her "negro blood" was discovered and she was forced into slavery, deserted by her White lover, and died a victim of slavery and White male violence. A good example of the Tragic Mulatto story is Peola in “Imitation of Life” (1934).
Popular Mulattos of the Past
Dorothy Dandridge was a famous actress who would led the way for many other successful African American female actors. She was sexy, intelligent, and a very talented singer. She brought the character of Carman Jones to life and grossed $60,000 during the first week and $47,000 in the second upon its release in 1955.
In 1999, actress Halle Berry would portray her life story on the HBO movie: Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.
2000).jpg)
Lena Horne is another African American singer and actress.
.jpg)
The Black Heroine
Pam Grier also broke down barriers for women in the media. Although most of her earlier films were Blaxploitation films, she proved to the world that an African American female can be a lead action star in a film, while still being sexy, intelligent, and deadly. Pam Grier’s roles always consisted of her shouting, shooting, and fighting. She let everyone know that she was a lady, but she could hold her own in a fight.
Some of her well known films included, Cleopatra Jones (1973) , Coffy (1973) , and Foxy Brown (1974). Although this started a new chapter for African American women in the media it still had it’s drawbacks. Although Pam Grier was a strong sexy women she was still considered by high society as the girl no respectable man would ever marry. She was seen a “Forbidden Fruit.”
Media of the Present
Video Models on Black Entertainment Television(BET) have set a very bad example of what an African American female is like. Some of them have goals to become actors, but who’s going to take you seriously looking like this. They’re just objects to make the rappers look good. For the amusement of young teenage boys. The African American female went from being very subtle in to putting themselves completely out there. If other cultures see this they might think the majority of African American women are hoes or prostitutes.
You can still see little stereotypes here and there even in the cartoon called the Proud Family on the Disney channel. The main lead character is Penny Proud and she a mulatto, who’s smart, beautiful, and kind. Her Best friend Deshone is the sidekick of the show. As you can see she’s much darker than the main character and a lot bigger. Her hair is in a weird style and her expression is comical, not to be taken seriously. Her characteristics are loud, quick to anger, and unintelligent. Why is that? The two lighter toned kids are well dressed while the two darker toned kids looks lazy, uneducated, and badly dressed.
In Cortnee Bryant’s thesis on African American female role restrictions in animation, she asks why are African American women always sidekicks? Roles that are uncommon to African American women in animation are the lead roles, anti-heroines, and the romantic interest. Is this statement also true in videogames?
But I feel a change may come. This is the first African American Disney princess, called Tiana from the new Disney animated film "The Princess and the Frog".
Positive African American Males
Let’s not forget about the positive African American males who helped shape this country. I think they would serve as good reference material for a positive African American male character in a videogame.
Thurgood Marshall was the first African American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. He helped pave the way for hot shot lawyer Johnnie Cochran.
Daniel Hale Williams was a medical Pioneer. He is credited with performing the first open-heart surgery. He helped pave the way for Ben Carson who is an American Neurosurgeon and the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery.
Sir Sidney Poitier became the first black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor. He helped pave the way for Denzel Washington who became the second African American male to win for Best Actor.
One of the most influential African Americans of all time, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The first African American President, Barack Obama.
I asked myself this question, "Do you think any of the men listed here could identify with the African American male characters in videogames today?"
Thurgood Marshall was the first African American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. He helped pave the way for hot shot lawyer Johnnie Cochran.
Daniel Hale Williams was a medical Pioneer. He is credited with performing the first open-heart surgery. He helped pave the way for Ben Carson who is an American Neurosurgeon and the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery.
Sir Sidney Poitier became the first black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor. He helped pave the way for Denzel Washington who became the second African American male to win for Best Actor.
One of the most influential African Americans of all time, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The first African American President, Barack Obama.
I asked myself this question, "Do you think any of the men listed here could identify with the African American male characters in videogames today?"
Stereotypes of the African American Male in the Media
Media of the Past
One big stereotype that really stood out around the 1830s was the “Jim Crow” figure. It all started from a comedian from New York named Thomas Dartmouth Rice . He created the character after going down South and seeing a crippled, elderly black man sing and dancing. In Rice’s act he would blacken his face with charcoal paste, put on some old rag clothes, and dance around like a clown. This act became one of many “minstrel shows.” Minstrel shows are stereotypical caricatures of Afro-American slave life performed by whites in black face. After the Civil War, black performers began appearing in the shows. Jim Crow was just one of many negative stereotypical characters in minstrel shows. You also had “Sambos”, “Coons”, and “Zip Dandies.”
Sambos
It is Hispanic in origins, rooted in the word Zambo, which means a bowlegged monkey-like person. Its characteristics were that of a childish, dependent black person who posed no harm or threat to white society. One of the more popular was the book called “The Story of Little Black Sambo”, by Helen Bannerman.
Coons
This was another word used to describe African Americans. It was associated with so-called coon songs that parodied black language, attitudes, and manners. One popular song was “All Coons Look Alike to Me.” Many songs were written by black composers and performed by black entertainers.
Zip Dandies
Performers would dressed in ties and tails with a top hat but had especially deformed physical features such as "beef-steak lips." The intention was to show how ridiculous blacks could be when they tried to act in the manners of white gentlemen.
Blackface in Animation
Even in the world of animation you could see signs of the minstrel show.
Check out this link to see some examples that I found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LMrdcs4ucc
The black face stereotypes were easy to accept because the symbolism was basic:
White = Light = Day = Good
Black = Dark = Night = Evil
Europeans carried the symbolism over to “light” and “dark” skin. This is why in the days of slavery, if you were an African American that had very light skin you didn’t have to work in the fields like the other slaves. You lived in the house with the slave master and was treated a little better. As a result many African Americans with darker skin sometimes wished they had lighter skin.
Media of the Present
Many people look at Black Entertainment Television(BET) as a way to see how African Americans live and behave. Black Entertainment Television started as a great way for African Americans to show how much we’ve learned from our past. It was a place on television that focused more on showcasing new African American music. Now it’s turned into one big updated Minstrel Show. Many performers on this channel are displayed as thugs and gangsters and are considered to be cool. Today it’s become a glamorized show that’s enjoyed by upper class Caucasian kids. Actually Caucasian kids buy more than 70% of all rap music.
When foreign cultures see this they think all African Americans act in this manner.
“We are told about the world before we see it. We imagine most things before we experience them.”
-Walter Lippmann on the power of stereotypes
One big stereotype that really stood out around the 1830s was the “Jim Crow” figure. It all started from a comedian from New York named Thomas Dartmouth Rice . He created the character after going down South and seeing a crippled, elderly black man sing and dancing. In Rice’s act he would blacken his face with charcoal paste, put on some old rag clothes, and dance around like a clown. This act became one of many “minstrel shows.” Minstrel shows are stereotypical caricatures of Afro-American slave life performed by whites in black face. After the Civil War, black performers began appearing in the shows. Jim Crow was just one of many negative stereotypical characters in minstrel shows. You also had “Sambos”, “Coons”, and “Zip Dandies.”
Sambos
It is Hispanic in origins, rooted in the word Zambo, which means a bowlegged monkey-like person. Its characteristics were that of a childish, dependent black person who posed no harm or threat to white society. One of the more popular was the book called “The Story of Little Black Sambo”, by Helen Bannerman.
Coons
This was another word used to describe African Americans. It was associated with so-called coon songs that parodied black language, attitudes, and manners. One popular song was “All Coons Look Alike to Me.” Many songs were written by black composers and performed by black entertainers.
Zip Dandies
Performers would dressed in ties and tails with a top hat but had especially deformed physical features such as "beef-steak lips." The intention was to show how ridiculous blacks could be when they tried to act in the manners of white gentlemen.
Blackface in Animation
Even in the world of animation you could see signs of the minstrel show.
Check out this link to see some examples that I found:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LMrdcs4ucc
The black face stereotypes were easy to accept because the symbolism was basic:
White = Light = Day = Good
Black = Dark = Night = Evil
Europeans carried the symbolism over to “light” and “dark” skin. This is why in the days of slavery, if you were an African American that had very light skin you didn’t have to work in the fields like the other slaves. You lived in the house with the slave master and was treated a little better. As a result many African Americans with darker skin sometimes wished they had lighter skin.
Media of the Present
Many people look at Black Entertainment Television(BET) as a way to see how African Americans live and behave. Black Entertainment Television started as a great way for African Americans to show how much we’ve learned from our past. It was a place on television that focused more on showcasing new African American music. Now it’s turned into one big updated Minstrel Show. Many performers on this channel are displayed as thugs and gangsters and are considered to be cool. Today it’s become a glamorized show that’s enjoyed by upper class Caucasian kids. Actually Caucasian kids buy more than 70% of all rap music.
When foreign cultures see this they think all African Americans act in this manner.“We are told about the world before we see it. We imagine most things before we experience them.”
-Walter Lippmann on the power of stereotypes
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