Ethnic Notions and Classified X

The film Ethnic Notions showed me how much the film industry has "progressed." It gave an insight into how the African people have been portrayed in the publics eye. It opened my eyes to how poorly African Americans were portrayed. The portrayal of the mammy was far too stereotypical, being that she was shown as a larger woman that was usually seen cleaning or cooking something. However, the portrayal of the coon didn't seem to bring about the same affect as that of the mammy. The coon can also been seen in western films where a white man is the coon.

Classified X with Melvin van Peebles, informed me about blaxploitation and Hollywood's affect on the portrayal of African Americans. This idea of blaxploitation was new to me in that I had never heard the word before. After watching the film though I felt I had a general idea as to what it was. In my feeling, blaxploitation is Hollywood's stereotypical abuse of Africans. Africans roles on the silver screen were greatly stereotyped, having them perform the part of servants or savages, only because old prejudices seem to die hard.