Ethnic Notions

In the film Ethnic Notions cartoons, figurines, and pictures overemphasized black features and provoked a negative image to the black race. Over the years the views of black people changed, but in the end even today we see images that remind us of the past.
In the early movies being made black men were made to seem childlike, careless, and always smiling. The black man was seen as being a happy slave. The Mammy was also portrayed as a happy slave who was always loyal to her master. Her image consisted of being a big black woman wearing a headscarf and happily doing her chores. Black people were identified as being brutes, but over time when they got their freedom competition arises between the blacks and whites. In certain movies such as Birth of a Nation white people would take over the roles of black people by painting on the “black face”. When black people were allowed to be in movies they were forced to fit their stereotype and make their skin even blacker. The black actors would put soot on their faces to make them appear darker and then widen their mouths with more face paints. Over time when blacks became free they still did not get the respect they wanted because of the views white people still held about them. The status quo of the north was threatened by emancipation when black started moving from the country to the city and competed for jobs.
The two main points the video pointed out were that blacks were seen as savages and that blacks were happy servants. Blacks were put into these stereotypes, but in the end slaves did not fit such an image. Why is it that some of these images are still present today when people have work hard to get rid of them? Overall it seems as if these images are a reminder of the past but they still represent hatred and harmful stereotypes toward black people. Some products they we still see these images on are food products like pancakes and syrup.
I thought the film was interesting and it was just another reminder of the things I learned in my past history classes. I knew of some of the material in the videos because of what my grandma would teach me when I was younger. I think racial issues will always be present and I hope that what happened in the past never reoccurs again.