From D.W. Griffith's controversial and cinematic masterpiece The Birth of a Nation (1915) to the viral “#OscarsSoWhite” trend of the 2016 Academy Awards, Hollywood has not been able escape the barrage of racist accusations. While blackface, discriminatory employment and offensive stereotypes were prevalent during the birth of film in the late 19th and early 20th century, some moviegoers and experts would say such practices are no longer a problem, and are largely absent in modern day cinema. The apparent prejudices and appropriations are merely due to the demographics of America or are completely groundless. Some people believe racism has evolved to portray African Americans in different, but still unequal, ways when compared to whites, such as when black actors play storytellers or ultra-down-to-earth quasi-magical beings. However, there are many other theater patrons who still believe the movie industry is consistently and deliberately racist.They believe the majority of roles are written for whites or are offensive to African-Americans. While it is clear Hollywood has made steps towards racial equality - apparent from the lack of minstrels in the recent blockbusters - the size of these steps is debateable.
While racism was a defining characteristic of early cinema, there is evidence that vast improvements in this area have been made through the years. According to the US Census Bureau’s 1940-2010 review, roughly 10-10.5% of the US population during the 1950’s and 1960’s was African American; according to IMDb estimates, during the same time period African American actors made up less than 5% of the total film actors active in America. Clearly, African Americans were not properly represented in the film industry. Many roles that were written as ethnic characters were given to white actors. One can simply watch classic films such as Ben-Hur (1959) to see a white actor putting on makeup on to pass for an African. Yet, as recently as 2014, a drastic improvement can be seen. The 2014 US Census report shows the African American population proportion rose to 13% while the white population was at 73%. The same year shows 73% of film characters were white and 13% of the film characters were of color (Santhanam and Hickey). African Americans are perfectly represented so far as numbers go.
Looking at the characters themselves, more improvements can be found. Mid 20th century black characters would often play subservient roles to white co-actors. The roles were, for the most part, either slaves, servants, uneducated former slaves, or no good scoundrels with very few exceptions. Yet recently African Americans have risen to play strong roles such as Morgan Freeman playing God in Bruce Almighty (2003) and its sequel Evan Almighty (2007), a role that would have caused riots years before (Hughey). Many other directors and screenwriters have purposefully developed racially aware cinema. This is evident from Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing (1989) to deliberately diverse casting in J.J. Abrams Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). Despite many accusations of purely white Oscars, films such as 12 Years a Slave (2013) with its African American actress Lupita Nyong’o having won Academy Awards just three years ago. Proof does exist to establish an argument claiming racism in Hollywood is dead.
A closer look at the representation of African Americans in film through the years show progress as well as offensive stereotypes. The 1940s saw a rise in cinema that began to actually deal with the issue of racism. Almost immediately following the decline of minstrel shows in the mid 20th century, a more progressive stereotype was displayed, known as the “Ebony Saint” (Hughey). This new portrayal, as Hughey observes, was “a friendly, desexualized … [and] mostly positive one” yet many contemporary critics have condemned it as “the ideal negro.” The 1970s and 1980s saw a new and nearly opposite stereotype: the “bad-ass” and “black-as-cool” (Hughey). These decades saw various roles such as pimps, “bad” cops and the suave scoundrels being filled with African American talent like Lando Calrissian from Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). During the same time period, shows like The Cosby Show (1984-1992) purposefully avoided scripts with racism at its focus, while other programs began to make ultra-positive black characters centered in their stories (Hughey). Films of the 1990s placed their colored actors in roles that were above or on par with whites. During this time period Hughey asserts “race was far from being ignored, but was instead specifically addressed.” The start of the new millennium evolved Afro-stereotypes even further into gangsters and criminals (especially among younger African American). A white character mistaking a black one for a thug became a common trope and were even emphasized within African American cinema such as the recent film Straight Outta Compton (2015). The mid 20th century saw various steps forwards and back in regards to colored portrayal in movies.
Many people believe traditional racism (the kind of racism from the 50s) is still alive and prevalent in modern films, the kind of racism that consigned blacks to certain roles or had white people playing characters that should have been played by someone of African descent. Many African American actors working in the film industry today play stereotypical roles of slaves and gangsters and/or what Matthew Hughey calls the “Magical Negro.” The Magical Negro (MN) is a lower class, uneducated person, somehow with supernatural wisdom or power. The MN’s primary role in movies is to help the white, typically male, protagonist become a competent character capable of achieving the American Dream. Characters like John Coffey in The Green Mile (1999) as well as Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson in The Help (2011) are prime examples of the Magical Negro. African American characters can also be seen being moderately whitewashed. The up and coming movie Nina (2016), a biopic detailing the life of African-American singer Nina Simone, has cast Zoe Saldana as the title role. While she is African American her skin is significantly lighter than the real life Simone. Simone was not only a racial activist for all African Americans but fought for color distinction within the African American community and the casting of Zoe Saldana is “ rendered invisible by yet another lighter-is-better narrative” (Hornaday). Even the use of makeup to change the race of a white actor is used in modern films such as Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) where white actors Christopher Abbott and Alfred Molina play major Afghan characters in the movie. The two recent swords-and-sandals epics Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) and Gods of Egypt (2016) also cast virtually entirely North American or European cast members to portray Northern Africans (Hornaday). Many directors claim all white casts not only save money during casting but draw audiences (Hornaday), yet the all white cast of Gods of Egypt did nothing for their dismal box office performance. The apparent lack of black nominations in the recent Oscars and the Academy Awards in general is also cause for concern. Not a single nomination in the last two years were black as well as more than 90% of the Academy (the council that votes for the Oscar nominations and winners) is white. It is clear why certain critics claim that Hollywood is terribly and savagely racist.
A look at every aspect of racism can easily show that Hollywood is, infact, far removed from the industry in the mid 1900s. As seen earlier, African American actors have received better representation in recent years with the percentage of African American roles (Santhanam and Hickey) matching the percentage of African Americans living in the US (United States. Census Bureau. US Department of Commerce. 2014). The supposed lack of African American actors in the film industry can be accounted for by simple demographics. If most of the country is white then most movies will include mostly white people since that is what most audiences will relate to, It is only logical that the demographics of a national population will directly correlate with the demographics of the nation that the workforce resides in. Even the alleged problems of cinema casting white actors to play roles that are traditionally for people of color can be attributed to simple economics. When a film relies on tax rebates shooting in foreign countries, hiring obscure actors or actors of certain ethnicities is not always feasible. According to Ridley Scott, director of Blade Runner (1982), Gladiator (2000) and the recent Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), "[you are] just not going to get [a movie] financed. So the question doesn't even come up" (Foundas). However, cinema does rely on realism, and this would include actors of the right race being cast in their correlating roles (Hornaday). It is clear that a number of roles for actors can be fit into a cliche and sometimes offensive stereotype, yet it is also common for colored actors to play ordinary characters that could easily be switched out for an actor of any other color - such as Finn in the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). African American also play characters that, while a typical role for African Americans, are empowering, such as the cast of black players in Straight Outta Compton (2015). It is also unreasonable for one to expect all prejudices in characters to be eliminated. Actors of all ethnicities are doomed to play roles that are stereotypes of their race, often for comedy. Latinos play unskilled laborers. Arabs play unhelpful tech support. Asians play geniuses. Even caucasians will play bumbling, incompetent and barely functioning members of society (often requiring help from somebody of a different race). Despite fanatics claiming that Hollywood is stuck in the 1950s and still produces films that are no better than black-face shows, cinema is well on its way towards racial equality.
The racist days of yore are are no longer prevalent in modern movies. Never again will Hollywood produce a movie glorifying the formation of the Ku Klux Klan as D.W. Griffiths did in 1915. The odds of such a movie even being accepted in today's society are even slimmer. The status of racial equality has drastically improved since the birth of cinema. While some critics may say little to no progress has been made on the road to racial equality, the discrimination that was evident in the 1950s is all but eradicated. The stereotypes of African Americans have been evolving since the Golden Age of Cinema in the mid 20th century. They have morphed into various combinations of black empowerment, unequal stereotypes, and ultra-positive portrayals. Some prejudice still exists but not nearly to the extent many activists claim. Essentially, the racist “problem” is often over exaggerated and while it has been an issue as recent as the late 20th century, constant activism has rendered the issue mostly solved.
Works Cited
12 Years a Slave. Dir. Steve McQueen. Perf. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth William, and Michael Fassbender. Regency Enterprises, 2014. Film.
Ben Hur. Dir. William Wyler. Perf. Charlton Heston and Jack Hawkins. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1959. Film.
The Birth of a Nation. Dir. David W. Griffith. Perf. Lillian Gish and Mae Marsh. David W. Griffith Corp, 1915. Film.
Blade Runner. Dir. Rid Scott. Perf. Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. Warner Bros., 1982. Film.
Bruce Almighty. Dir. Tom. Shadyac. Perf. Jim Carrey and Jennifer Aniston. Universal Pictures, 2003. Film.
Do the Right Thing. Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, and Ruby Dee. Universal Pictures, 1989. Film.
Evan Almighty. Dir. Tom Shadyac. Perf. Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, and Lauren Graham. Universal Pictures, 2007. Film.
Exodus: Gods and Kings. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, and Ben Kingsley. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, 2014. Film.
Foundas, Scott. "‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ Director Ridley Scott on Creating His Vision of Moses." Variety. Variety, 25 Nov. 2014. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.
Gladiator. Dir. Ridley Scott. Perf. Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and Connie Nielsen. Dreamworks SKG, 2000. Film.
Gods of Egypt. Dir. Alex Proyas. Perf. Brenton Thwaites, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Gerard Butler. Lionsgate, 2016. Film.
The Green Mile. Dir. Frank Darabont. Perf. Tom Hanks, Michael Duncan, and David Morse. Warner Bros., 1999. Film.
The Help. Dir. Tate Taylor. Perf. Emma Stone, Viola Davis, and Octavia Spencer. Touchstone Pictures, 2011. Film.
Hornaday, Ann. "'Whiskey Tango Foxtrot' and Hollywood's Enduring Problem with Whitewashing." The Washington Post Mar 04 2016. ProQuest. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
Hughey, Matthew W. "Cinethetic Racism: White Redemption and Black Stereotypes in “Magical
Negro” Films." Journal Storage. Oxford University Press, Aug. 2009. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
Nina. Dir. Cynthia Mort. Perf. Zoe Saldana, David Oyelowo, and Mike Epps. RLJ Entertainment, 2016. Film.
Santhanam, Laura, Megan Hickey. "Out of 30,000 Hollywood Film Characters, Here’s How Many Weren’t White." PBS. PBS, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.
The Empire Strikes Back. Dir. Irvin Kershner. Perf. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Billy Dee Williams. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, 1980. Film.
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens. Dir. Jeffery J. Abrams. Perf. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2015. Film.
Straight Outta Compton. Dir. Felix G. Gray. Perf. O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell. Universal Pictures, 2015. Film.
"Top 200 Greatest Actors of Old." IMDb. IMDb.com, 23 Nov. 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.
United States. Census Bureau. US Department of Commerce. 2014 American Community Survey. Washington: US Census Bureau, 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.
United States. Census Bureau. US Department of Commerce. A Look at the 1940 Census. Washington: US Census Bureau, 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Dir. Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. Perf. Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, and Martin Freeman. Paramount Pictures, 2016. Film.
