Blaxpoiltation
Blaxpoiltation is a film genre that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s when many exploitation films were made that targeted the urban audience. The word itself is a portmanteau of the word "black" and "exploitation". By having this genre it made it easier to reach the black target audience. These films also star black actors and actresses. Blaxpoilation films tend to take place in the guetto and deal with a lot of crime and drugs. The white characters in the film usually play negative characters in the film. The white characters in the film usually play negative characters in the film. The primary quality of the Blaxploitation film is the targeted marketing to black audiences with the use of exploitable elements such as a black cast and subject matter of interest to African-Americans. At the same time, the films were accused of stereotyping blacks, the audience they aimed to appeal to, as pimps and drug dealers. Blaxploitation films, such as Mandingo, laid the foundation for future filmmakers to address racial controversies regarding inner city poverty, and in the early 1990s, a new wave of acclaimed black filmamakers focused on black urban life in their films, particularly Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing and John Singleton's Boyz N the Hood, among others.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaxploitation)
The Wizard of OZ
A Snowball's chance in OZ
In 1925, Larry Semon wrote and directed The Wizard of Oz, which by that point had become the most popular children's story in the United States. The production included a talented actor, Spencer Bell, also referred to as G. Howe Black. Known for the more traditional Stephin Fetchit roles, Bell gives an athletic performance in this Wizard of Oz. This role of stage hand cum Cowardly Lion becomes the template of many movies that follow: Hattie McDaniel as Mammy in Gone With the Wind, Sam in Casablanca, and the professional fool tradition of many a black actor in Hollywood.
The professional moniker "G. Howe Black" is a derogatory term, as are other names of the period: Stephin Fetchit, Sleep 'n' Eat, etc. These actors were given demeaning subservient roles, with corresponding names: Snowball, Buckshot, Snowflake, et al. Unfortunately, this was characteristic of the times, and it wasn't until the 1950's that black actors began to receive appropriate recognition. The Red Scare, aggravated by the efforts of Senator McCarthy and his House Committee on Un-American activities, dampened the achievements of black artists by labeling many of them Communists or sympathizers, such as Canada Lee, Paul Robeson and Hazel Scott.
When reviewing the classics, the work of talented black actors are downplayed and often completely ignored, while harsh and inaccurate stereotypes prevail. As talented as Hattie McDaniel was, she is only remembered by the world at large as a maid. Winning an Academy Award for her role in Gone With the Wind was quite an achievement, but her other work, in vaudeville and as a singer, is often forgotten. Dooley Wilson, who played Sam the piano player in Casablanca, was relegated to providing musical relief to the action of the film.
Other black actors are given ironic roles that mirror the plight of the Cowardly Lion. Brock Peters played Aesop in the Sam Peckinpah classic, Major Dundee, as a leader of Negro soldiers; the perfect Lion role, since his battalion was not permitted to fight. Often black actors are given sidekick roles, or left out on the fringes of society. Danny Glover plays Mal (is that Spanish for bad?) in Silverado, and is accepted as part of the protagonist's ragtag band of heroes, but only vestigially. Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding , Jr. has had his share of Lion roles in movies such as Lightning Jack, Boat Trip, and his Academy awarded film Jerry Maguire. More than likely, this unfortunate typecasting is tied to D.W. Griffith's Birth of A Nation, which typifies the Negro as some sort of out of control animal; kind of like a mentally unstable lion. These stereotypes of bad behavior and unprincipled demeanor have lasted throughout the 20th century, but with any luck, American cinema is in a position to correct all the damage it has done to the reputation of the African American.
(http://www.helium.com/items/398554-the-representation-of-black-people-in-film)
The intial cinematic silent period is important when discussing stereotypes and roles of black characters in film. The reason, according to Donald Bogle, is that the five basic stereotypes (Toms, Mulattoes, Mammies, Bucks and Coons) which would from then on dominate the African-Americans on screen, were introduced at that time.
The first black American character was portrayed on screen in the short motion picture 'Uncle Toms Cabin' by Edwin S Porter in 1903. Ironically and most likely due to the racial tensions of that time, the actor portraying the black man on screen was actually an unnamed white actor using make up to give himself a black face. The various stereotypes initially created through white actors portraying black characters were all used for the same outcome, the desire to entertain a predominantly white audience by creating, emphasising and enhancing the negative social ideologies toward african americans of the time, in which they were clearly regarded inferior to thier white colonialists (due to the slave era) and thus conveyed so onscreen. As societies changed and time moved on African Americans were finally given the change to play the parts of black characters in film. Thus giving the characters more depth and realistic plausibility than the previous white actors with black faces, and became a ground breaking opportunity for Afican Amrican actors to become new stars within the movie industry. However unfortunately, many actors even till today find it hard to play dynamic, thought provoking, stimulating or any other diverse parts, and instead find themselves struggling to break free from the stereotypes they became wedged into, due to the creation of the five basic and solid stereotypes created previously by thier white co-actors, writers and directors.
(http://www.helium.com/items/235305-the-representation-of-black-people-in-film)
In 1925, Larry Semon wrote and directed The Wizard of Oz, which by that point had become the most popular children's story in the United States. The production included a talented actor, Spencer Bell, also referred to as G. Howe Black. Known for the more traditional Stephin Fetchit roles, Bell gives an athletic performance in this Wizard of Oz. This role of stage hand cum Cowardly Lion becomes the template of many movies that follow: Hattie McDaniel as Mammy in Gone With the Wind, Sam in Casablanca, and the professional fool tradition of many a black actor in Hollywood.
The professional moniker "G. Howe Black" is a derogatory term, as are other names of the period: Stephin Fetchit, Sleep 'n' Eat, etc. These actors were given demeaning subservient roles, with corresponding names: Snowball, Buckshot, Snowflake, et al. Unfortunately, this was characteristic of the times, and it wasn't until the 1950's that black actors began to receive appropriate recognition. The Red Scare, aggravated by the efforts of Senator McCarthy and his House Committee on Un-American activities, dampened the achievements of black artists by labeling many of them Communists or sympathizers, such as Canada Lee, Paul Robeson and Hazel Scott.
When reviewing the classics, the work of talented black actors are downplayed and often completely ignored, while harsh and inaccurate stereotypes prevail. As talented as Hattie McDaniel was, she is only remembered by the world at large as a maid. Winning an Academy Award for her role in Gone With the Wind was quite an achievement, but her other work, in vaudeville and as a singer, is often forgotten. Dooley Wilson, who played Sam the piano player in Casablanca, was relegated to providing musical relief to the action of the film.
Other black actors are given ironic roles that mirror the plight of the Cowardly Lion. Brock Peters played Aesop in the Sam Peckinpah classic, Major Dundee, as a leader of Negro soldiers; the perfect Lion role, since his battalion was not permitted to fight. Often black actors are given sidekick roles, or left out on the fringes of society. Danny Glover plays Mal (is that Spanish for bad?) in Silverado, and is accepted as part of the protagonist's ragtag band of heroes, but only vestigially. Oscar-winning actor Cuba Gooding , Jr. has had his share of Lion roles in movies such as Lightning Jack, Boat Trip, and his Academy awarded film Jerry Maguire. More than likely, this unfortunate typecasting is tied to D.W. Griffith's Birth of A Nation, which typifies the Negro as some sort of out of control animal; kind of like a mentally unstable lion. These stereotypes of bad behavior and unprincipled demeanor have lasted throughout the 20th century, but with any luck, American cinema is in a position to correct all the damage it has done to the reputation of the African American.
(http://www.helium.com/items/398554-the-representation-of-black-people-in-film)
The intial cinematic silent period is important when discussing stereotypes and roles of black characters in film. The reason, according to Donald Bogle, is that the five basic stereotypes (Toms, Mulattoes, Mammies, Bucks and Coons) which would from then on dominate the African-Americans on screen, were introduced at that time.
The first black American character was portrayed on screen in the short motion picture 'Uncle Toms Cabin' by Edwin S Porter in 1903. Ironically and most likely due to the racial tensions of that time, the actor portraying the black man on screen was actually an unnamed white actor using make up to give himself a black face. The various stereotypes initially created through white actors portraying black characters were all used for the same outcome, the desire to entertain a predominantly white audience by creating, emphasising and enhancing the negative social ideologies toward african americans of the time, in which they were clearly regarded inferior to thier white colonialists (due to the slave era) and thus conveyed so onscreen. As societies changed and time moved on African Americans were finally given the change to play the parts of black characters in film. Thus giving the characters more depth and realistic plausibility than the previous white actors with black faces, and became a ground breaking opportunity for Afican Amrican actors to become new stars within the movie industry. However unfortunately, many actors even till today find it hard to play dynamic, thought provoking, stimulating or any other diverse parts, and instead find themselves struggling to break free from the stereotypes they became wedged into, due to the creation of the five basic and solid stereotypes created previously by thier white co-actors, writers and directors.
(http://www.helium.com/items/235305-the-representation-of-black-people-in-film)
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan Murphy was born in the Bushwick projects of Brooklyn, New York, on the 3rd of April, 1961. His father, Charles Murphy, was a policeman and amateur comedican. His mother, Lillian, was a telephone operator. After a few years the famiy then moved to Roosevelt, Long Island. This was a predominantly white, middle-class area thats black population increased sharply throughout the Sixties and Seventies. Eddie Murphy was never a dedicated student, Murphy found a great forum for his verbal agility in grade school, excelling in the popular game of "ranking"—trading witty insults with classmates. This early success ignnited a passion for showbiz, and Murphy began working on his comedy routines after school and performing stand-up at local bars, clubs, and "gong shows". His early comedy was characterized by frequent swearing and sketches lampooning a diverse group of people (including Anglo Americans, African Americans, Italian Americans, overweight people, and gays). When Murphy learned that the producers of NBC's popular late night comedy show, Saturday Night Live, were seeking a black cast member for the 1980-81 season, he jumped on the opportunity. He auditioned for the part six times, and finally earned a place as an extra on the show. He appeared sporadically throughout the season, until one fateful night when producers realized they had four minutes of airtime remaining and no material. They pushed Murphy before the camera, and told him to do his stand-up routine. His improvised performance was called "masterful" by Rolling Stone, and Murphy became one of only two cast members (along with Joe Piscopo) asked back for the next season.
Murphy became Saturday Night Live' s strongest comedic presence, creating such memorable characters as Mister Robinson, an urban version of TV's Mister Rogers; an older version of the Little Rascals character, Buckwheat; and an illiterate convict and poet named Tyrone Green. He also continued his skillful impersonations, adding Bill Cosby, Muhammad Ali, James Brown, Jerry Lewis, and Stevie Wonder to his repertoire. Murphy received criticism for his satirical characterizations based on black stereotypes. He defended his performances, claiming that his characters were far too absurd and abstract to be taken seriously. (http://www.biography.com/articles/Eddie-Murphy-9418676?part=1)
In the film The Nutty Professor Eddie murphy plays 7 different chraracters some of them being from the same family. he plays Sherman Klump / Buddy Love / Lance Perkins / Papa Klump / Mama Klump / Grandma Klump / Ernie Klump. Each of these characters are represented differently and each ave a different role. watch video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zFHK2HpvXA. Eddie Murphy has played many different roles over his time in the film industry.
Murphy became Saturday Night Live' s strongest comedic presence, creating such memorable characters as Mister Robinson, an urban version of TV's Mister Rogers; an older version of the Little Rascals character, Buckwheat; and an illiterate convict and poet named Tyrone Green. He also continued his skillful impersonations, adding Bill Cosby, Muhammad Ali, James Brown, Jerry Lewis, and Stevie Wonder to his repertoire. Murphy received criticism for his satirical characterizations based on black stereotypes. He defended his performances, claiming that his characters were far too absurd and abstract to be taken seriously. (http://www.biography.com/articles/Eddie-Murphy-9418676?part=1)
In the film The Nutty Professor Eddie murphy plays 7 different chraracters some of them being from the same family. he plays Sherman Klump / Buddy Love / Lance Perkins / Papa Klump / Mama Klump / Grandma Klump / Ernie Klump. Each of these characters are represented differently and each ave a different role. watch video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zFHK2HpvXA. Eddie Murphy has played many different roles over his time in the film industry.
The Wayne brothers
Marlon Wayans
Marlon Wayans was raised in the housing projects of New York City, the youngest of ten siblings. He is the brother of Elvira Wayans, Nadia Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, Dwayne Wayans, and Kim Wayans. All of these siblings are famous in their own ways. From 1995 until 1999, Wayans co-starred in the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros, with brother Shawn Wayans. Though primarily a comedic actor, he garnered considerable critical acclaim for his dramatic turn in Requiem for a Dream. He has also produced the first two films of the Scary Movie series, in which he and Shawn were credited writers and co-stars. He was sharply criticized for his performance in the 2000 movie Dungeons & Dragons as "Snails," the incompetent Rogue. It should be noted that he was only on set for Dungeons & Dragons for four days. He filmed all his scenes and left to work on Requiem for a Dream- a role he had to fight for as the director and writer for the movie didn't want him for the role. Determined, he went days without bathing and dressed the part of a junkie for his audition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlon_Wayans
Marlon played a part of an African American in the film white chicks but this film had a twist as he was transferred into a typical white spoilt rich girl from America. marlon had to chnge both genders and culture to fit the character in the film. His brother Shawn was also in this film and also played a character similar to Marlon. The director of this film was their brother Keenan Ivory Wayans who is also a well known comedy director so he also played a part in how the characters whould be shown in the film.
Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans born September 4, 1960, is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, known as one of the popular Wayans brothers. He had a clubbed foot as a child. This attribute would also be given to his character in My Wife & Kids and his character on the cartoon series Waynehead. Damon started doing stand-up comedy in 1982. His earliest film appearance was a brief cameo as an effeminate hotel employee in the 1984 Eddie Murphy film Beverly Hills Cop. He was briefly on Saturday Night Live as a featured performer, before getting fired for playing his character as a flamboyant gay cop instead of a straight cop. In the SNL book Live From New York, it was stated that Wayans did this largely due to growing frustrations that his sketches were not being considered for the show and increasing stress.
In 1996, he produced Waynehead, a cartoon for the WB, loosely based on his own childhood growing up in a large family, starring a poor boy with a club foot. The show only lasted a season due to poor ratings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Wayans
Damon took part in a film Bamboozled featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the violent fall-out from the show's success. Damon plays the character of Pierre Delacroix, (whose real name is Peerless Dothan). His character is an uptight, Harvard-educated black man, working for a television network know as The CNS that routinely rejects his proposals for what he sees as intelligent shows involving black people. He is further tormented by his boss Thomas Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport), a tactless, boorish white man. Not only does Dunwitty talk like an urban black male, and use the N-word repeatedly in conversations, he also proudly proclaims that he is more black than Delacroix and that he can use the word "nigga" since he is married to a black woman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboozled
The film concludes with a long montage of racially insensitive and demeaning clips of black characters from Hollywood films of the first half of the 20th century. Among the films used in the sequence are The Birth of a Nation, The Jazz Singer, Gone with the Wind, Babes in Arms, Holiday Inn, Ub Iwerks' cartoon Little Black Sambo, Walter Lantz's cartoon Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat, the Merrie Melodies short All This and Rabbit Stew, and, from the Hal Roach comedy School's Out, Our Gang kids Allen "Farina" Hoskins and Matthew "Stymie" Beard.
Keenen Ivory Wayans
He is an American Actor, comedian, director and writer known as the host and creator of a FOX sketch comedy series. Wayans is the director of Scary Movie, the highest grossing movie ever directed by an African American.
Marlon Wayans was raised in the housing projects of New York City, the youngest of ten siblings. He is the brother of Elvira Wayans, Nadia Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, Dwayne Wayans, and Kim Wayans. All of these siblings are famous in their own ways. From 1995 until 1999, Wayans co-starred in the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros, with brother Shawn Wayans. Though primarily a comedic actor, he garnered considerable critical acclaim for his dramatic turn in Requiem for a Dream. He has also produced the first two films of the Scary Movie series, in which he and Shawn were credited writers and co-stars. He was sharply criticized for his performance in the 2000 movie Dungeons & Dragons as "Snails," the incompetent Rogue. It should be noted that he was only on set for Dungeons & Dragons for four days. He filmed all his scenes and left to work on Requiem for a Dream- a role he had to fight for as the director and writer for the movie didn't want him for the role. Determined, he went days without bathing and dressed the part of a junkie for his audition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlon_Wayans
Marlon played a part of an African American in the film white chicks but this film had a twist as he was transferred into a typical white spoilt rich girl from America. marlon had to chnge both genders and culture to fit the character in the film. His brother Shawn was also in this film and also played a character similar to Marlon. The director of this film was their brother Keenan Ivory Wayans who is also a well known comedy director so he also played a part in how the characters whould be shown in the film.
Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans born September 4, 1960, is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, known as one of the popular Wayans brothers. He had a clubbed foot as a child. This attribute would also be given to his character in My Wife & Kids and his character on the cartoon series Waynehead. Damon started doing stand-up comedy in 1982. His earliest film appearance was a brief cameo as an effeminate hotel employee in the 1984 Eddie Murphy film Beverly Hills Cop. He was briefly on Saturday Night Live as a featured performer, before getting fired for playing his character as a flamboyant gay cop instead of a straight cop. In the SNL book Live From New York, it was stated that Wayans did this largely due to growing frustrations that his sketches were not being considered for the show and increasing stress.
In 1996, he produced Waynehead, a cartoon for the WB, loosely based on his own childhood growing up in a large family, starring a poor boy with a club foot. The show only lasted a season due to poor ratings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Wayans
Damon took part in a film Bamboozled featuring black actors donning blackface makeup and the violent fall-out from the show's success. Damon plays the character of Pierre Delacroix, (whose real name is Peerless Dothan). His character is an uptight, Harvard-educated black man, working for a television network know as The CNS that routinely rejects his proposals for what he sees as intelligent shows involving black people. He is further tormented by his boss Thomas Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport), a tactless, boorish white man. Not only does Dunwitty talk like an urban black male, and use the N-word repeatedly in conversations, he also proudly proclaims that he is more black than Delacroix and that he can use the word "nigga" since he is married to a black woman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboozled
The film concludes with a long montage of racially insensitive and demeaning clips of black characters from Hollywood films of the first half of the 20th century. Among the films used in the sequence are The Birth of a Nation, The Jazz Singer, Gone with the Wind, Babes in Arms, Holiday Inn, Ub Iwerks' cartoon Little Black Sambo, Walter Lantz's cartoon Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat, the Merrie Melodies short All This and Rabbit Stew, and, from the Hal Roach comedy School's Out, Our Gang kids Allen "Farina" Hoskins and Matthew "Stymie" Beard.
Keenen Ivory Wayans
He is an American Actor, comedian, director and writer known as the host and creator of a FOX sketch comedy series. Wayans is the director of Scary Movie, the highest grossing movie ever directed by an African American.
Crash
Anthony (Ludacris) is an African American inner-city car thief who steals vehicles for a chop shop owner. Anthony is very vocal about the racist and stereotypical views others hold to blacks despite, in many ways, conforming to these stereotypes. At one point in the film he justifies his actions by claiming he would never hurt another black person. However, Anthony tells Peter to shoot a black man, Cameron, after they try to carjack his car and nearly gets him shot by the police after a chase. To his surprise, Cameron does not turn him in to the officers, but he tells Anthony, "You embarrass me. You embarrass yourself." Towards the end of the movie, Anthony steals a van which was full of trafficked people from South East Asia. He refers to these immigrants disparagingly as Chinamen, but when the owner of the chop shop offers him $500 per head for the immigrants with the intention of selling them on, Anthony refuses. Instead, he lets them out onto the Asian district of LA in the last scene of the movie and gives them all of the money that is in his pocket – $40.
Peter Waters (Larenz Tate) is Anthony's friend and partner in crime. He is also Detective Waters' younger brother. Like Anthony, he is black, but he humorously scoffs at Anthony's paranoia over racism. He also likes the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and country music. Peter is shot to death by Officer Hansen, who picks him up in the Valley, hours after their failed carjacking of Cameron's Lincoln Navigator and mistakenly shoots him after assuming he is drawing a gun during an escalating argument. In reality he was reaching into his pocket to show the cop a figure of Saint Christopher, identical to the one Officer Hansen had stuck to his dashboard. As he is dying, he has an expression of shock/surprise and holds out his hand to reveal he had no weapon.
Graham Waters (Don Cheadle) is an African-American detective in the Los Angeles Police Department. He is disconnected from his poor family, which consists of his drug-addicted mother and criminal younger brother. He promises his mother that he will find his younger brother, but he is preoccupied with a case concerning a suspected racist white cop who shot a corrupt black cop.
Cameron Thayer (Terrence Howard) is a black television director. He witnesses Officer Ryan molesting his wife and later realises that the producers of his television show propagate racist stereotypes about black people. In an emotional moment, he fights off Anthony and Peter when they try to steal his car, takes away Anthony's gun, and argues fiercely with armed white police officers. Just when it is very likely that he will be shot to death, Hansen intervenes on his behalf and prevents any outbreak of violence. After being let off with a warning, Cameron then proceeds to let Anthony go and even gives him his gun back. At the scene of Hansen's burning car (to eliminate evidence of a murder), he is able to find contentment and reconnnects with his wife.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_(2004_film)
Peter Waters (Larenz Tate) is Anthony's friend and partner in crime. He is also Detective Waters' younger brother. Like Anthony, he is black, but he humorously scoffs at Anthony's paranoia over racism. He also likes the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and country music. Peter is shot to death by Officer Hansen, who picks him up in the Valley, hours after their failed carjacking of Cameron's Lincoln Navigator and mistakenly shoots him after assuming he is drawing a gun during an escalating argument. In reality he was reaching into his pocket to show the cop a figure of Saint Christopher, identical to the one Officer Hansen had stuck to his dashboard. As he is dying, he has an expression of shock/surprise and holds out his hand to reveal he had no weapon.
Graham Waters (Don Cheadle) is an African-American detective in the Los Angeles Police Department. He is disconnected from his poor family, which consists of his drug-addicted mother and criminal younger brother. He promises his mother that he will find his younger brother, but he is preoccupied with a case concerning a suspected racist white cop who shot a corrupt black cop.
Cameron Thayer (Terrence Howard) is a black television director. He witnesses Officer Ryan molesting his wife and later realises that the producers of his television show propagate racist stereotypes about black people. In an emotional moment, he fights off Anthony and Peter when they try to steal his car, takes away Anthony's gun, and argues fiercely with armed white police officers. Just when it is very likely that he will be shot to death, Hansen intervenes on his behalf and prevents any outbreak of violence. After being let off with a warning, Cameron then proceeds to let Anthony go and even gives him his gun back. At the scene of Hansen's burning car (to eliminate evidence of a murder), he is able to find contentment and reconnnects with his wife.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_(2004_film)
