The Influence Of African-American Stereotypes In Cartoons

As African Americans we have such a rich diverse culture filled with different cuisines, languages and traditions. We definitely should be proud of the many accomplishments that we have made as a people. But in terms of black history it dates back to some of the most inhumane and repulsive actions that African Americans were subjected to. Aside from the racism and segregation that occurred to black people we were also seen as a joke in TV/movie culture back in the day that perpetuated many stereotypes. In the article “Black Stereotypes as Reflected in popular culture” by J. Stanley Lemons he talks about these clichés that were portrayed but most importantly the action of blackface. For me blackface was the most detrimental and had the most

In today’s society, a minstrel show would unquestionably be pointed out as a racist act. However, if stereotypes were used in comedic TV shows it becomes more uncertain as to whether or not it is appropriate. With the popular use of satire in the current pop culture, the line between racism and harmless satire is harder to define. Shows like Family Guy play on a lot of racial stereotypes but do not always receive attention on those jokes. The show is often written off as just a raunchy animated show, so people expect the outrageous humor and take the jokes less seriously. Racist jokes has been muddled with satire by putting it in a comical context and in a different medium such as animation. There needs to be a more defined line between

However, many groups claim that political correctness in society is justified in its efforts to sanitize offensive material created though years of oppressing minorities. What was originally a noble idea, to remove blatant words of offensive meaning, has turned into an “over the top” effort to rid any words of possible controversy. We are regulating our ways of plain speaking, freedom of choice, and freedom of speech. Laws of restrictions on slander and public decency should be decided on the common law methodology and not by the interests of the liberal “mob”. If plain speaking is not allowed, clear thinking is

The media in our lives has the strongest impact on our everyday conversations, actions, judgments and perception on society as a whole. Without our modern day technology the world would result to judgments based on their own personal beliefs, not being so easily persuaded by others. The contemporary media portrays Black and Hispanic Americans in numerous positive ways, but more so in a negative light. The stereotypes that these minorities have been given not only affect the community as a whole, but the personal lives of each individual. Although the media can be used for good, the captivating movies, news stories, and documentaries seem to have a negative outcome. The medias focus on Black and Hispanic Americans has not always been bad, but the stereotypes that have developed over the decades shed a negative light on these two racial and ethnic groups.

When you look at the amount of African American stars on television, it is easy to tell that stereotypes of African Americans are being portrayed negatively. Since the 1960s, black television has thrived in many different ways. From “Different Matters” to “Insecure”, African Americans have tried to get rid of this stigma. African Americans are constantly shown as. However, with the increase of representation comes an increase in misrepresentation. The amount of discrimination has risen exponentially in the United States. This is due to the increased hatred and miscommunication of black struggle and black problems in the world, causing an inhumane belief and standard of regular African Americans in the world.

Schools may teach tolerance and diversity but that’s a goal nearly impossible to reach if our minds are being influenced by the persuasive power of the media, and our minds are being influenced by the types of stereotypical visual media we are exposed to. That is what Burgess Et Al are suggesting to their readers in the article “Playing with Prejudice: The Prevalence and Consequences of Racial Stereotypes in Video Games” (551-557). They begin to influence their audience by demonstrating examples from researchers in this field as well as citing their own work to build credibility. Their argument works well. Each study they share with their audience builds further proof of negative influences. They don’t hesitate to use negative words in the article and although many negative words are used, like: hostility, impulsive, aggressive, criminal, devalued, the words

When I first heard someone say, “All African American people are Ghetto,” I was very offended that someone would make this type of assumption about my culture, and I thought how ignorant this person must be; but then I stopped and wondered why other people would think this about us. I asked her why she would say something like this, and she instantly listed shows like Tosh.O and Chelsea Lately, which highlight my culture in a negative view. It was clear to me that she had made up her mind about black people through watching the media and seeing African Americans fulfill that stereotype in person. This led me to question: Where exactly do these stereotypes come from?

with their religion or ethnic group exposed in a light that may be very negative and insulting to

Ever since 1997, South Park has revolutionized the cable TV scene as a profane and obscene program that isn’t afraid to mock religious, political, and cultural topics and not get away with at least offending somebody. Throughout its twelve seasons, some of the most prominent events in pop culture have suffered the wrath of ridicule from the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and succeeded in making millions of Americans laugh until they cry. The creative genius behind these cultural and controversial statements has exalted the series to iconic status in our entertainment industry for its satirical voice in each episode. Throughout its ten years on air, South Park has broken multiple political,

Disney had problems with its representations of African Americans in it past work, this lead to some of it work edited or outright banned. Although Disney is a trusted brand is as also cause controversy for the scene in Pinocchio. Where Pinocchio the puppet and his friend smoke cigars, this scene has been criticized, by anti-smoking groups and even loyal fan of the Disney brand. Another Disney product that been heavily criticized is the famous scene in Dumbo where he gets drunk. Disney want as much audience and customer as possible so their film are made for people of different ages.

South Park, the animated TV series aired on Comedy Central was created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker and is one of the many new shows that involve animation with high-level adult comedy that parodies current events going on across the United States and throughout the world. South Park is just one of many new shows that involve this sort of high end entertainment and they are taking the television ratings by storm. This show, along with others of its nature such as Family Guy, The Simpsons, and King of the Hill are all extremely controversial in nature and in regards to the situations portrayed on the television screen. These shows have gotten consistently more obnoxious, racial, and detrimental

Currently, many people believe that racism no longer exists on television, movies, and advertisements. However, in reality, racism still exists, it is just more difficult to identify because it is implemented subtly (Shabbir et al., 2013, p 421). On the other hand, adult cartoons that air on television broadcasting stations such as Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, Black Entertainment Television (BET), and Comedy Central still allow cartoons that overtly use racism. Many authors that make these types of cartoons including the authors of The Boondocks, Aaron McGruder, and Black Dynamite, Michael Jai White; Bryon Minns; and Scott Sanders, use the reasoning that it is perfectly fine to create these types of shows since it is a satirical form of comedy

South Park is a television show that was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It circumvents the lives of 4 boys namely Eric Cartmen, Kenny McCormick, Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski around the town of Colorado. This show mainly aims at picking up various stereotypes in different societies and making fun of them. It is highly racist and makes fun of different genders and performs the act of gender

The world is composed of millions of people that come from different locations, are part of different races, believe in different religions, and have developed different cultures to those of everyone else. Over the course of human history, the differences that we have developed have played an enormous role in dividing us. Perhaps the chief problem that has plagued society in the past, and continues to do so to this day, is the idea that one’s race is superior to that of others; in other words: racism. Racism has led to the discrimination, oppression, and deaths of countless numbers of people. In the present, racism is often closely associated with stereotypes. In today’s society, being stereotypical often gets you the criticism that “you

American comics have always reflected the viewpoints of their authors. In the beginning of the 20th century, there was a general consensus that being stereotypical was okay and even good to make sure that those being made fun of wouldn’t take over the lives of those already in America, as there were huge influxes of immigrants coming to America, as well as from the south to the north. This attitude gradually becomes more tuned to being less stereotypical, as the sixties and seventies came with the civil rights movements, which brought awareness to the de facto segregation problem. The writings to bring awareness of these social injustices manifested into writing about those who were victims during the early part of the twentieth century.