Role of African Americans in Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Role of African Americans in Film - Essay Example As a concluding point this paper will postulate a solution to potentially improve the racial sensitivity of films produced in the future. Without question, Hollywood films have portrayed a number of stereotypes of minorities since the dawn of the motion picture. According to arguments presented by Turner (2011) it is even the case that modern films that focus on addressing racism in America are often are by their nature inherently racist. Turner cited the example of the 2011 film 'The Help' which is based on a novel which was written by a white woman who many commentators believe is incapable of telling such a sensitive story. The very idea of a white person telling the story of black oppression in the American south wherein the stories protagonist is also white could be considered insensitive. In regards to what some of the most common assumptions that Hollywood makes as well as what part minorities play in films, one could argue that there are a wide spectrum of different stereotyp es that have been portrayed over a long period of time. A) Firstly one could make the argument that in some of the earliest motion pictures such as D.W. Griffith 1915 film Birth of a Nation the blacks in the film were portrayed as being incompetent, drunkards who were obsessed with white women.