Characteristics Of The Following Stereotypes

The second mythology placed on black women was that of Mammy. ”Mammy was the woman who could do anything, and do it better than anyone else.” (White, 47) Mammy was basically the super nanny of the plantation who lived in the house, she would oversee the kitchen, manage the household and at sometimes raised the white children. Mammy was also so respected that she often served as friend and advisor to the master and mistress. (White, 48) Mammy was often called around the clock to and was expected to be available for assistances and nursing at anytime. From the chapter it could even be concluded that Mammy was asexual, maternal, and virtuous with nonexistent sexuality, the complete opposite of Jezebel. The Mammy mythology is as misleading as the Jezebel image. The image

Minstrel performers where as the film described, a group of white Caucasians that would perform with black face paint and mock African Americans. This form of entertainment grew popular and provided one of the strongest depiction of the Sambo. Right next to the Sambo was the Zip Coon, a dandy, and a buffoon, a Zip Coon would attempt to imitate whites. But with poor grammar and with little to no intelligents the Zip Coon's attempts proved to be a nothing more then a racist mockery. Therefor creating a generalization of Stupidity with in the African American population and creating a notion of Racial inequality. Also with the Sambo and Zip Coon was the Mammy. The mammy is described and viewed as a jolly, obese, African American women, the strongest Mammy depiction was first evident in the film Judge Priest in 1934. The Uncle figure was depicted in similar nature as the Mammy but in male form and a depiction called the Pickaninny provided a generalization of silly and worthless African American Child.

Patton, 1993). Hence, the Mammy in the white household is seen as an intelligent servant to the white family, solving wisely and even god-like every duty she has to fulfill. Unsurprisingly, she constantly balances between the white and the black community, being a spokesman for the black minority (cf. Atkinson 2004, 2). Although the black servant is a slave within a white household, the Mammy is portrayed as being content with her way of living, having a satisfying master-servant relationship and feeling not inferior, but rather seeing herself as a member of the family (cf. Jewell, 1993: 38). In acquiescence with Kimberly Wallace-Sanders, the image of the Mammy has been applied to create an atmosphere of racial harmony within the slave system (cf. 2008: 13). Hence, the role of the Mammy in the late 19th century and beginning of the 20th century is established in effort to create an image of the Mammy contrasting to the stereotypical image of the African American slave, who is inferior to the white

If a movie of this sort had such an emotional impact on me, it is no wonder people embraced these ideas back then. The use of new and popular media methods in those days was more than adequate in transferring the black inferiority ideas to the general public. Beginning at the early 19th century with the happy, dancing, toothless, drunken Negro with big, bold and white lips to the image of the mid 21st century African-American, the media has always used these images to convey inferiority. These images implied inherent traits in the black community. This whole community was represented in the new media as one who can not be collateralized and integrated in to society without being happily enslaved. Most of these images had great commercial values that made it all the more impossible for the rest of the nation not to embrace the African American stereotypes.

The Southern Sambo, Mammy, and Jim Crow are three major stereotypical characters of African Americans in past and present popular culture that served their own purposes, held their own characteristics, and completed their respective actions. As a whole, each character completed the task of negatively portraying Blacks in popular culture. Although these characters were made centuries ago, many of them have either transformed or adapted to times in order to remain relevant even in the twenty-first century. These characters served as the foundation of a weapon used for the subconscious oppression of African Americans in a free society.

The Jim Crow Laws were ordinances established between 1874 and 1975 to separate the white and black races in the American South. This was to create “separate but equal” treatment, but Jim Crow Laws condemned black citizens to inferior treatment and facilities. The term “Jim Crow” was originally referred to a black character in an old son and was the name of a popular dance in the 1820s. Thomas “Daddy” Rice, around 1828, had developed a routine in which he had blacked his face, dressed in old clothes, and sung and dance in an imitation of an old and decrepit black man. Thomas Rice had published the words to the song, “Jump, Jim Crow,” in the year 1830. The term “Jim Crow” came to be a derogatory epithet for Africans Americans and a designation

Because of her expertise in all domestic matters, she was the premier house servant and all others were her subordinates. This, therefore, is the broad outline of Mammy. She was a woman completely dedicated to the white family, especially to the children of that family. She was the house servant who was given complete charge of domestic management. She served also as friend and advisor. She was, in short, a surrogate mistress and mother, giving into the modern day nanny. The Mammy image is fully as misleading as that of Jezebel. Both images have enough instances in reality to lend credibility to stereotypes that would profoundly affect black women. For instance, Black women served in all capacities, from cook to waiting maid, or seamstress. In very wealthy Southern households there were many female servants. Children grew very attached to Mammy, as she was seen as their primary caregiver. Being a Mammy was idyllic for a slave women, for they were given better care and the work wasn’t as tasking. Hard as cleaning, cooking, sewing, dairy work, and child care were, they were not as physically taxing as a sun up to sun down day in the cropbe it sugar, rice, or cotton. On the whole, house women could expect to eat better, dress better, and get better medical care than field women, if only because they were more familiar to the master and mistress, not to mention nearer to the kitchen and potential handmedowns. Still

The term Mammy, the premier house servant with expertise in all domestic matters and known for the loving way she raised the master’s children, was used to symbolize race and sex relations at their best. The image of Mammy justified slavery for many white Southerners, for she reflected a positive idea that slaves somehow benefited from the institution of slavery (61).

One of the most popular characters to erupt from the minstrel shows was the mother “mammy” figure. Mammy was an unflatteringly obese, old, and very dark-skinned woman who despite her physical traits, was extremely nurturing and caring all while maintaining order in the master’s house. A majority of Mammies are never seen without a large kitchen apron around the waist and a head scarf wrapping her hair, implying a black woman’s primary concern should be of a domestic worker, cooking and cleaning after a family whether it be her own or the family she is

While watching the Ethnic Notions movie and reading the Collins’ essay, some of the images that made an impact are the images of the brute, and mammies, as describe by Collins. Throughout the early and middle of the 20th century, black people have been portrayed negativity in movies, TV shows, as well as books and this gave people the notion that black people acting like this in real life. People’s perceptions of black people were based on what they see in the media, but these perceptions can be changed with time. As I was watching the documentary, I can recall the disturbing ways that black people were portrayed and the fact that this has been happening for a long period of time. The portrayed of the brute for the African American male has been depicted as far back as the movie

Toms were males that were harassed and enslaved but yet they still remained submissive and loyal to their masters. In media, the Toms were considered the butlers of the white household. A modern day example of a Tom in film is, Stephen --- the head house slave in Django Unchanged. Stephen is played by Samuel L. Jackson. Stephen adores his master, even more than he cares for his own kind. Coons were usually harmless individuals whose eyes popped. Coons were considered to be uneducated, unreliable, terrible speakers, and they were easily fooled. Even though it was quite humiliating to be a coon, Stephin Fetchit became rich and famous from playing the role as a coon. The Brute was a person or an animal that was extremely violent. Django served as an example of a brute --- he can be considered a brute because he is opening killing people in order to find his wife. A mixed-blooded female was consider a Mulatto. These women could pass for white women. The daughter from The Imitation of Life was considered a Mulatto. In the film Peola denies her black mother because she wants to live the life of a white woman. Eventually Peola ends up hurt when her boyfriend finds out she was indeed black. The stereotype of a Mammy was a woman who criticized, advised, counsels, and protects. The Mammy was one of the only stereotypes that possessed a semi-positive connation. In The Help,

This cartoon represent the 1950s when equality was being questioned. During this decade, the separate but equal law was established in order to acknowledge that America ensures equal opportunities to all races, yet they would be racially segregated. Due to the restrictions placed, many people like Malcolm X, MLK, and Rosa Parks chose to fight against this. Within a few years, the Civil Rights Movement flourished. Many people believed that there should be true equality in regards to all skin colors. The African American man in this cartoon represents the civil rights movement that is refusing to conform to the limited opportunities they were granted. Society sees black people as inferior, lost cause, lazy, a threat, and whole list of other

The term Jim Crow originated in American popular culture, specifically in a stage performance, a mocking imitation of a black plantation slave by Thomas Dartmouth “Daddy” Rice (1808–1860), a white entertainer. In the tradition of minstrelsy, Rice blackened his face with burned cork or black wax, wore ragged clothes as a costume, shuffled as he danced, and sang. A popular little ditty, “Jump Jim Crow” was a centerpiece of an emerging American popular culture. Popularized, the character Jim Crow and his stage counterpart Zip Coon—an urban dandy from the North—caricatured African Americans as foolish, dim, lazy, sneaky, incompetent, untrustworthy, dishonorable, and without the strength of character required to be an

A woman who would raise children and take care of household duties. This role was similar to a house wife but there was to be no sexual relations between the master and the mammy. The mammy allowed white women to feel higher in society, closer to the white man. Physically she was heavyset, dark skinned, usually had her hair wrapped and large breasted. She was loyal to the house and kind while more abrasive and in charge at her own home.

Mammy signifies the ideals that every Black