A Jewel Through The Decades : The Sapphire

Movies and entertainment outlets speak volumes about the current state of a nation’s culture. Cinematic creations in the United States allow small voices to be heard and controversial issues to be addressed. However, a repetitive and monumental issue continues to be addressed, yet continues to persist in our 21st century culture, racial inequalities. Since the inception of the United States, black men and women alike have been disenfranchised at the hands of the “white man” in America. Instead of continuing the conversation today, the issue is continually silenced referencing the successes and achievements of the Civil Rights Movement in the 20th century. Nonetheless, an unfortunate reality looms upon this great land; racially based systems and structures continue to exist in 2015 the in United States. This paper synthesizes three films focused on racial inequalities in different time periods. Separate but Equal (1991), Selma (2015), and Crash (2005) illustrate how influential the Civil War amendments are, while serving as an uncanny reminder of how the racial prejudices during the 20th century continue to exist in our great nation today. Needless to say our nation has made great strides, but still has a long way to go.

In the past and present women have had to endure sexism as a part of everyday life. This is unfair and unjust to the female species. In this paper I am going to be talking about some of the issues of sexism and how they affect women. Some of the issues I will be talking about are the white males club and how non-membership effects women. What are the benefits of having a membership to it. How women are kept in their place by society and by themselves. How has this unequal affected women through their lives and the business world. If women are being liberated or not. What types of problems women are experiencing. These are the issues we will be discussing in this paper. The first issue we will be discussing in this paper is the

When a black woman lowers her life standard, she invites outsiders to pose judgement on the entire group. These unethical behaviors of black women is capitalized off of by mainstream media. Shows such as VH1’s Love and Hip Hop keeps the negative stereotypes of a black woman alive. The black woman who rises above all adversity gains value and respect amongst the

Alicia Keys is reiterating an identity that is universally accepted by most African-American women (Harris-Perry 184). This is the cultural identity of the Strong Black Woman (SBW): self-reliant, tough, and hardworking. Stuart Hall defines cultural identities as, “[A] sort of collective ‘one true self’, hiding inside the many other, more superficial or artificially imposed ‘selves’, which many people shared history and ancestry hold in common” (Hall 223). SBW is a self-construction manifested by black women in the Americas. It is used a coping mechanism in response to pervasive sexism and racism. The SBW construct dates back to slavery because the image projects traits of all three stereotypes established during the era of slavery: She looks like the Mammy but is loyal to the black community; She does not require physical and emotional security from men, thus, she resembles the Jezebel; She is angry, just like the Sapphire (Harris-Perry 187). This paper unveils the unfavorable impact of the Strong Black Woman (SBW) cultural identity in the Americas. The argument is centered on the effect of this cultural image on the private sphere, public sphere, and the health of black women. The paper also proposes

Systematic racism continues to perpetuate the marginalization of people of color in the 21st century despite belief of living in a post racial society. This unfortunate reality is seen in many different forms of current culture. One of the ways systematic racism takes current form, is in the negative portrayal created by a single narrative, or the lack thereof, minority groups. This lack of representation or diversity of people of color in different forms of art and platforms, not only affects those subject to misrepresentation, but perpetuates negative attitudes and discriminatory behavior towards those subject to misrepresentation. It is necessary to look into the ways this single narrative in different art forms affects marginalized group, and the current move to dismantle the component power plays in who gets to tell these stories.

In article 37, the author Marci points out an issue that women still face today. She discusses a new form of racism using media. She examines the progression of the “Jezebel” image. Popular media suggests that equality has been reached but in my opinion this is far from the truth. The problem remains at a deeper level that even some people might still not find a problem with the way that media portrays women of color. The issue is not just about an abundance of negative images that portray these women but the lack of positive ones as well.

It’s evident that black performers in Hollywood cinema are customarily depicted as unpleasant based on the clichéd roles they play, for example: the mammy, the promiscuous character, or the angry black woman. Within this paper, I will incorporate Bell Hooks idea of “The Oppositional Gaze”, and Marina Heung ideas discussed in the article "What 's the Matter with Sara Jane?” Daughters and Mothers in Douglas Sirk 's "Imitation of Life”. The film of focus is Imitation of Life (1959) by Douglas Sirk, the film will be analyzed, but I will scrutinize representation of black female characters within this film; in attempt to verify if this portrayal of the mammy and the mulatto child is a positive reference for black females in cinema (because they

It is indisputable that the media depiction of “strong black woman, angry black woman stereotypes [that are later developed in the paradigm that] that little black girls are often taught to keep their heads up to get through anything” (Patel, 4). The similar expectation is carried on in adulthood that women can “manage everything” (Patel, 4). Comparatively, Stacy-Ann Buchanan was a struggling actor who firmly believed that she was not going to see her 30th birthday as her struggle with depression was exhausting. “I always made sure my nails were done, my hair was perfect, skin was perfect because I knew inside I was dirty” (Patel, 1). This term ‘dirty’ is very disturbing, as it is difficult to escape the feeling of a lacerated

For as long as can be remembered, men and women have been placed in specific roles in society. Both have been given a set of rules they are expected to follow and a set of stereotypes they are expected to fit into. For the most part these roles were, until rather recently, strictly obeyed. However, while there are still expectations and stereotypes today, it is more common to see individuals from both genders breaking the barriers and exploring options outside of the limits. Visible through the contrasting class systems, Sophie Treadwell’s 1928 play “Machinal” and Clare Boothe Luce’s 1936 drama “The Women,” are both perfect examples of the ways in which women begin to break the societal expectations.

Beyoncé. She’s one of the world’s most beloved pop stars, idolized and respected by millions of women and men around the world. What is it that makes Beyoncé Knowles “Queen B” among the young people of today’s society? To state it simply, it is her role as a mediated symbol. She is an idol of women empowerment and beauty. Beyoncé, as a powerful and renowned black woman, alters the pre-existing hegemonic ideology of “white male” equaling power and success in American society. In doing so, she also reinforces the more modern concepts of this Post-Fordist society by “keeping different from the Jones’”. Though some sources disagree, this essay will argue that because of society’s hegemonic ideology surrounding what constitutes power and the “ideal woman”, Beyoncé has become a revolutionary symbol representing minority and women empowerment through the use of media. As an symbol she has and is continuing to demonstrate more modern ideological structures, which in turn demonstrates continuously changing societal ideologies.

In today’s media, bodies of color, particularly black female bodies, are underrepresented and poorly represented by stereotypical images that are constructed by patriarchy and white supremacy. When stereotypes are distinctly visible and exposed in the media, they tend to be easily adopted by individuals, even though they are untrue. These stereotypes are quite problematic because they stand in for actual knowledge and real life experience. White supremacy is used as framework to contextualize Western ways of thinking of how we understand the knowledge presented about bodies of color. Mass media is a system of knowledge and power reproducing that attempts to maintain white supremacy by oppressing people of color, particularly women of color. In this paper, l will explore how hegemonic tropes of knowledge have been presented historically and how they are reinforced through representations in the media.

While hooks believes that black women cannot identify with Sapphire as a black women when "visibly constructed, [she] was so ugly", she finds from her conversation with black women that they actually claimed Sapphire as a "symbol of that angry part of themselves white folks and black men could not even begin to understand" (97). The contrasting perspectives amongst minorities lead to further division among subaltern and makes it increasingly difficult to include the historically marginalized in mainstream culture.  Mercer, however, sees this diversity as a means to combat the burden of expression, rather than an impasse in the issue of representation. In his essay, he analyzes Marlon Riggs' Tongues Untied, and the effects of the dialogic voicing that is used in the film. In Tongues United, Riggs speaks from the specificity of his own experience as a black gay male, and simultaneously illustrates the degree to which black cinema attempts to present one heterosexual voice for the entire black race. By forgoing the master codes of documentary in favor of a personal non-representative story, Mercer asserts that Riggs successfully challenges the “heterosexual presumption that so often characterizes the documentary realist aesthetic in black cinema”.  Mercer further notes that by following this dialogic strategy, Riggs is able to presents a story that does not simplify or attempt

“Racism has many facets on how it effect ones identity and one of the most paramount being racism via media propaganda. News media and Hollywood are the two main vehicles of identity theft among African people. In Hollywood, blacks are always shown in a position of reluctant assistance or sub servant i.e. butler, helper and or slave. Apart from these sub-servant positions, news media almost always show many of us as animals and criminals of the lowest morals. Consequently, through the system of programming, constant repetitions of demoralizing images are perpetuated, and with no other source of reference to rely upon, blacks often consciously and subconsciously accept those images. Moreover some people, rather most become not only to accept those images, but many Black disassociate themselves from their race. It is as if they do not want to belong to race of “nobodies “and by default they capture the identity of the European race. One must keep in mind that racism is a system of power that is employed by White people, thus one must ponder, who owns and operates Hollywood and new media.”

Sexism towards women is deeply rooted in history. Today’s culture sees men as the dominant sex due to biological differences between men and women. Constantly throughout time, men exploit and look down on women. They were subjected to stay in the house and forbidden to explore activities and careers that were not for women. With medical and technological advances, women started to stand up for themselves and exit out of their traditional roles at home. Today, a tremendous amount of progress has been made towards gender equality, but women still battle against sexist attitudes. This includes a perpetuating rape culture that blames women for dressing in a way that is “asking for it” to women making 77 cents on the dollar when compared to a man’s salary. These are examples of sexism women are subjected to and the authors in the articles “Marked Women,” “Sexism in English,” and “A Woman’s Beauty,” argue how women are marked based upon various aspects of their life whereas men are unmarked and viewed in a holistic way.

Spike Lee trains in on an imperative issue at African American culture and successfully paints the representation of a most exceedingly terrible conceivable situation. He requests that his gathering of people wake up. By giving his watchers a change to truly observe the lives of the youthful African American understudies. Demonstrating the battles of African American understudies in America, as well as inside their own grounds and social structures on an extraordinary level enables the producer to interface with his group of onlookers. This film is a genuinely legitimate