Performers, however, are a small minority of African Americans, yet represent a majority that differs greatly from them. (I thought this related back to how in the post Civil War South most whites were thought to own slaves, but only a small percentage were actually wealthy enough to own slaves).
Today there are many different types of colored performers. An observation that African Americans are often cast as a "side-kick" in cinema and television was made in class. This is true in some cases, however I do not believe this to be an over prevalent pattern.
I am very familiar with Disney, and I have noticed that their movies and television shows cast a very diverse array of actors.
Some Disney productions I immediately thought of include:
-"That's So Raven," which starred a colored girl and family.
- "Sister, Sister" which also starred a colored family as well as twin girls
- Really all of the Princess movies. "The Princess and the Frog" most recently came out to round out a very politically correct profile of princesses from India to New Orleans.
It is questionable whether certain shows and movies, such as "The Princess and the Frog" are made in order to fulfill a racial quota, however, I believe efforts are being made (at least in the case of Disney) to even out the types of people they are casting.
P.S. I do not believe that African Americans are well represented by other stations and production companies, but am hopeful that they will follow the example set by Disney, and hopefully there will be more diverse Academy Award nominations next year.
Carolyn- While I am also glad to see Disney showing a diverse array of characters, I would argue that some of these characters further contribute to stereotypes. Maybe Disney is just trying to create strong female characters, but I feel like Raven from That's So Raven and Lisa (the mom) from Sister Sister both contribute to that caricature-like idea of the "sassy black woman" that we were talking about in class. I'm still a bit divided on Mama Odie from The Princess and The Frog, but I think she could fit that profile too.
ReplyDeleteWhile I wonder why it took so long, in terms of the Princess and The Frog, I was very glad to see an African-American princess/protagonist in a Disney movie at long last. That said, I think Disney also kind of "whitewashed" over the important issue of African-American Tiana and European Naveen's interracial relationship, which would have been especially controversial considering the times and Naveen's prince status. Because Tiana and Naveen meet, get acquainted, fall in love, and so on, as frogs, they are essentially the same race up until they turn back into humans and are already sealing their promise to stay together with a climactic kiss. I love a good ending, and it's great that the pair could live "happily ever after", but Disney basically made a convenient shortcut around the social consequences of their relationship that would have existed in real life.
Also, just a side note in the interest of political correctness, and I really don't mean to offend, but I don't think that "colored performers" is really a politically correct term anymore, but rather "performers of color," "black performers," or "African-American performers" would be suitable substitutes. Also, when you said "princesses from India to New Orleans" I thought India might be referring to Princess Jasmine and I'm not sure but I think she was from Saudi Arabia or another Arab nation (hence the song "Arabian Nights".)Again, I mean this with all due respect. This was a very thoughtful post and I really enjoyed it.