The film, Birth of a Nation (1915) is a silent film by director D.W. Griffith who pioneered film techniques and changed the way a film’s narrative told its story. Because of this, and the inclusion o
For us to understand how racial and ethnic minorities are represented in American movies, we need to briefly
examine how white people as a majority group in the American f ilm industry represents itself. It should also be
noted that the concept of characteristics that identify an individual or a group as belong ing to the Caucasian race
in American film are not as stable as is commonly supposed. When one surveys representations of whiteness in
the history of American film , fundamental questions are raised about the very nature of race and/or ethnicity.
People of non -Anglo -Saxon European ancestry have historically had to negotiate their relation to whiteness. If
American culture had different ideas about who was considered white at different times over the past centuries,
then claims about race and ethnicity as absolute markers of identity become highly problematic.
One of the most problematic aspects about race is that the average moviegoer usually only thinks about race
when seeing a movie about a racial or ethnic minority group. For example, most romantic comedies find humor
in how male and female characters each try to hold the upper hand in a relat ionship. While Crazy, Stupid, Love
(2011) starring Steve Carell and Julianne Moore is regarded simply as a r omantic comedy. Yet Why D id I Get
Married (2007) , starring two African American actors ( Tyler Perry and Sharon Leal ), is o ften regarded as a
“black” film . Likewise , most audiences and critics, considered Spawn (1997) , Blade in all three movies (1998,
2002, 2004), and Luke Cage (2016) to be film s or shows abou t an African -American superheroes whereas
Batman, Superman and Wonder Women in Batman v Superman (20 16) is simply a film about superhero es.
Accor ding to Harry Benshoff in America on Film (2016), These points underscore the Hollywood as sumption
that all viewers are able to identify with white characters, but th at the reverse is seldom true. Benshoff also
states that:
“Even today many white viewers choose not to see films starring non -white acto rs or films set in
minority ethnic environments, allegedly because they feel they cannot identify with the
characters. Because of that fact, Hollywood tends to spend more money on white stars in white
movies, and far less money on non -white actors in overt ly racial or ethnic properties. The very
structure of classical Hollywood narrative form encourages all spectators, regardless of their
actual color, to identify with white protagonists. This may result in highly conflicted viewing
positions, as when Nativ e American spectators are encouraged by Hollywood Westerns to root
for white cowboys battling evil Indians. ”
While there are more films each year featuring non -white leads, and even more regularly, non -white actors i n
supporting roles, we still see films where non -white actors/characters are placed in a film in order to quiet any
charges of racism. Sometimes this practice is referred to as tokenism . Token charact ers can often be found in
supporting roles that do not allow non -white characters to be the real hero or star of the story. In war featuring
mixed -race battalions, minor black and Hispanic characters frequently get kille d off as the film progresses,
leavi ng a white hero to save the day. Even football great Jim Brown, who appeared in The Dirty Dozen (1967)
is playing a character that performs an act that helps the squad complete the ir mission, he dies and is not able to
be hosted up as a hero.
Sometimes racialized stereotypes get inverted to c haracterize whiteness. Thus, if people of color are stereotyped
as physical and passionate, whiteness is sometimes satirized as bland and sterile. There are several films that
use white stereotypes as having no rhythm, unable to dance, or lacking sport skills is racist stereotypes that
assert that people of color are naturally more in touch with their physicality than whit e people. Many of t hese
stereotypes seem to persist from racist beliefs of earlier eras. One such belief was that white people were more
suited for mental and intellectual tasks , while non -white people were thought of as being more physically
oriented.
Benshoff, Harry M.; Griffin, Sean. America on Film . 2016 . (p. 51 -52 ).
