Chapter 1 “To misrepresent a Helpless Race” by Jacqueline Najuma Stewart discusses the negative image of blacks portrayed in the early age of filmmaking and their efforts to “reconstruct” the black image. Although blacks had long been victims of inaccurate,racially fueled stereotypes in print such as books and newspapers, the rise of the cinema became a new medium. The moving picture was a whole new platform for racists to display their propaganda, cementing it into the minds of American’s on a mass scale. Black stereotypes which had long circulated in white American intellect were integrated into moving picture by white filmmakers. The release of Birth of A Nation is an early example of this misrepresentation on an large platform, making waves in both white and black communities.
Institutionalized racism however did not allow blacks to accurately defend themselves against their racist white counterparts. They were left voiceless, calling upon black activists and leaders to defend the black image. Ida B. Wells like many other activist and leaders in the black community, almost always found hardships in reconstructing the black image. Blacks worked tirelessly to restore the inaccurate image represented in the media. Although Ida Wells resented the attack “black integrity” in the Birth she did not discredit or write off the work of filmmaker Griffin.
Jacqueline Najuma Stewart described the rise of the cinema as a new arena of damaging black representation. Prompting her to divide the filmmaking into the “Pre-Classical Cinema”, which was early cinema from the beginning of motion picture to 1907. She describes this era as film that goes beyond stereotyping with a “range of stylistic models and formal structures, in its efforts to represent and manage anxieties about racial difference. ” Transitional from 1907 to midteens. As the film industry continued to grow into a booming industry she details the history of black representation throughout the early years.
This practice of representing certain racial stereotypes within film and media is something that still exists today. It’s interesting to consider that the earliest films, which laid the groundwork for future film, displayed this kind of racism and stereotyping. The fact that it still happens today, even on the subtlest level, is saddening. One would think that after many decades of human rights campaigns and efforts to erase racism, we would see less of these stereotypes… but we don’t. Many people are “type-cast,” where they are forced to fill acting roles based on race and the kind of “look” that corresponds with their race. This is something many of my friends, who are aspiring actors, have to face every day. It’s truly upsetting.
I personally enjoyed reading your post and came to appreciate their tireless efforts put into what they believed to be righteous . It was thanks to those who truly stood up and screamed for equality that we living in, although not entirely realized, a country where everyone is a free and equal human being. Fortunately, such efforts still persist today all around the world.
I really liked your point about how film and cinema were a new medium and platform, that took racial stereotypes to another level. I’ve never really thought about it before, but there definitely is a difference between what still, print images and a moving picture can convey- in terms of telling more complex stories and being more engaging to the audience.
it’s definitely super important to think about the ways that institutionalized racism differs from personal prejudice and how that becomes much more difficult to address or deal with. Representation is definitely a very complicated and mixed thing.