Stereotypes In The Film The Imitation Of Life

Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest( OWFOCN) is an example of a book that reinforces negative stereotypes about Native Americans. The stereotype that Native Americans are inferior, alcoholics, and illiterate are all reinforced in this novel. Even though One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is often described as a progressive novel of the 1960’s, its portrayal of Native Americans ultimately establishes it as a racist text.

The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American movie written and directed by John Hughes. The movie focuses on five different teenagers, each of which fits a typical stereotype. Each teen is introduced individually, displaying the traits of their respective stereotypes. The audience is first introduced to Claire, the preppy, popular girl, referred to as “The Prom Queen” in the script. Next, the audience is introduced to Brian, the nerd, or geek, of the group. Following Brian, the audience is introduced to Andrew, the popular athlete, referred to as “The Jock” in the script. In the shortest introductions, the audience is given a small glimpse of John Bender, although at this time the stereotype he fits is not known, a short observation of the physical attributes and clothing style will reveal to the audience that John Bender fills the role of the rebel or delinquent. The final member of the group is introduced in a short fashion as well. Allison, steps out of a car, dressed in dark clothing, with dark hair and makeup, is the outcast, or introvert of the group. Each stereotype represented by the teens is predicated on the general idea of high school cliques and the categories they generally fall into.

The purpose of this paper is to expose some of the stereotypes present in the film The Matrix, directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski. In order to accomplish this we shall see that although The Matrix is considered to be a film about rebellion, it contains several stereotypical portrayals, which actually make it a film that supports the status quo. We shall also see that the African American characters in The Matrix (the Oracle, Tank, Dozer, and Morpheus) are all depicted in the stereotypical servant roles. Furthermore, the women (Trinity and Switch) in this film are portrayed stereotypically; that is, they are either reduced to a caring/nurturing role or they simply help make up the background (they

Hidden Figures, an extraordinary film that shines light on women existence and their intelligence. The women, Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan used the power of their intelligence to decipher complex math calculations, computer language to build rockets that other could not see. Throughout the movie racial descrepancies were vividly clear, but these eager women had something to stand for. They dared not let the words of bitterness deter them of their worth.

All African-Americans have been portrayed in stereotypical roles since their arrival into American society for the entertainment and amusement of others. Many people find it difficult to appreciate the diversity of the African American women. So instead of trying to do this, they create identities based on negative stereotypes. There are several negative stereotypes associated with the African American woman. The Mammy archetype is the one chosen to be analyzed in this essay. Collins described the mammy as “-the faithful, obedient domestic servant. Created to justify the economic exploitation of house slaves and sustained to explain Black women’s long-standing restriction to domestic service…” (72) She is commonly seen trying to soothe

African Americans have consistently been the target of cinematic and television comedy. Considering African American women, the Mammy has emerged as an icon throughout the 20th century, representing the foil to American white women (cf. Atkinson, 2004: 3). Having its roots in antebellum Southern America, the Mammy “was an important figure in the socialization of white Southern children” (DelGaudio, 1983). Considerably, various depictions of the Mammy present her performing arduous domestic duties in the household of their slave owners. Therefore, the Mammy replaces the white lady in educating and taking care not only of the white children but also of the home (cf. Jewell, 1993: 38). In their work, Jennifer Bailey Woodard and Teresa Mastin stand their

Do you ever feel like everyone has a “thing”? That one thing, something they’re good at? But you just can’t seem to find your thing? Then you share the same feeling with Doug Glatt, played by Seann William Scott has in the movie Goon. All Dougs family and friends have their thing, his parents and brother are doctors, his best friend has a hockey themed webcast he owns, but Doug has nothing but his job as a bouncer at the local bar. All that changes when a hockey coach witnesses Doug in a fight, bashing some unfortunate souls face in, he quickly offers doug the opportunity to play hockey as an enforcer claiming, “You’ve been touched by the fist of God for Christ’s sake!” . An enforcer is a player in hockey who is on the ice solely to protect the team’s star players, they are “goons”.

In Maycomb, two children named Jem and Scout experience a lot of, now resolved, issues. These two kids grew up in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Jem and Scout grew up with a father who is a lawyer who tries to raise his kids as well as he can, with the help of their cook Calpurnia and Aunt Alexandra who eventually moves in. Growing up with a father who is a lawyer, they experience gender, the Maycomb disease of racism, and wealth. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes the life of two kids growing up in the 30s with stereotypes like gender, racism, and wealth.

When Delilah Johnson walked into the house of Bea Pullman, she instantly became an Other used to promote Bea’s prosperity as a white woman.

In a small county called Maycomb, in the 1950’s, racism is viewed as normal, but a white man defending a black man of his own accord is ridiculed regularly. Atticus is an interesting character in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. He is an excellent lawyer who is very humble and kind. In the story he is assigned an impossible case to win, defending a black man, Tom Robinson, from the accusation of raping a white female. He could deny the case but he wants to take it.

In, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s depiction of Scout contradicts most of the stereotypes of the ideal little girl in the 1930s. To start, the ideal little girl was supposed to never chew gum. Scout does the complete opposite of this stereotype, she loves gum and will chew on it any chance she can grasp on a piece. The ideal little girl was always supposed to be sweet and quiet but Scout likes to use her words in a strong way and sometimes use physical actions like throwing punches at people to make sure that her point gets through and to make sure they wouldn't bother her again. She did not take any criticism from people and when Francis started calling her dad a “nigger lover” over and over she eventually “split my knuckle to the bone

In a movie laced with exaggerated stereotypes what struck me about God’s Not Dead 2 were a couple of painfully realistic portrayals. I’m wondering if viewers may not discern between the two and miss one of the movie’s most powerful lessons. God’s Not Dead 2 is clearly written and directed from an Evangelical Christian point of view.

Imitation of Life can indubitably be considered one of the most moving and influential films ever produced in American cinema history. Based on the 1933 novel by Fannie Hurst, the movie is directed by John Stahl and stars actresses Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers; it depicts the story of two widows, one black and one white, who meet, become friends, and work together to obtain their piece of the American dream for their daughters and themselves (Flitterman-Lewis, 325). The two women’s success is countered by despair that is ultimately the result of their daughters’ actions. One mother looses the man that she loves when she realized that her daughter has become her rival for his affection,

28/11/14 One, Two, Three is an American comedy produced and directed by Billy Wilder. The Movie centres on the Main character of the movie ‘Mac’ played by James Cagney. It is a slick comedy set in Germany. Cagney’s character McNamara is a Coca Cola executive working in West Berlin.

Imitation of Life (Hunter & Sirk, 1959) is a film that left a great impact on me. It is about two widows, Lora Meredith (Caucasian) and Annie Johnson (African American) a poor housekeeper, which Lora hires. Both mothers are fighting with two intolerable daughters, Susie 6-years old and Sarah Jane 8-years old (light-skinned), which is by far the worse, neurotic and obnoxious, has a problem with being black. Sarah Jane spends the remainder of the film passing as white, working to her advantage, due to the laws and social repression of the time. While Annie experiences the depths of a mother’s love, heartache and shame of not being accepted by her daughter; Lora, ignores her daughter in her single-minded quest for fame.