Early film racism in the United States
Encyclopedia
Early film racism in the United States has existed since the beginning of the film industry of the United States
. An early example of this includes The Birth of a Nation
, which promoted white supremacy
, amongst other things. Over time as race relations have cooled, parodies and documentaries of racism have begun to be included into film.
by D.W. Griffith was released. The plot of the film basically showed that Ku Klux Klan
smen were the saviors to the nation and that they would help to bring back a stable government. The movie also included the use of actors in blackface
. Over time, racism became embedded into the film of Hollywood. In 1927 the film The Jazz Singer
was released. One of the central themes was the use of blackface
by character Jack Robins. Scholar Corin Willis said about the movie:
released the movie The Sheik
. The movie itself was a box office success but showed Arabs to be savage beasts who auction off their own women. The film was followed up a few years later with The Son of the Sheik, which also portrayed racist overtones. Rudolph was even asked by a New York Times reporter once whether or not his well-off character could fall for a savage (an Arab woman). He responded by saying: "People are not savages because they have dark skins. The Arabian civilization is one of the oldest in the world...the Arabs are dignified and keen brained." In his essay "Arabs in Hollywood: An Undeserved Image", Scott J. Simon argues that of all the ethnic groups portrayed in Hollywood films, "Arab culture has been the most misunderstood and supplied with the worst stereotypes":
He also singled out A Son of the Sahara (1924
) as "the strongest subconscious attack on the Arab culture of all the Arab movies of the 1920s."
(actually based on the real Chang Apana
), a supposed "good asian" was used as an antithesis to Fu Manchu
, the so-called "bad asian". In 1923, the British silent film serial The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu came out. This movie ushered in the beginning of decades of movies with the Fu Manchu theme. In 1929, the American film The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
starring Warner Oland
came out.
In particular the notion of the "Noble Savage" stereotype.
were appearing in Three Stooges
films. Dudley was used because of his bug-eyed appearance and portrayal of stereotypes of the time. The prevailing views in Hollywood at the time helped to prevent him from advancing his career, but he never complained about his line of work and actually enjoyed what he was doing. A later Stooges short, The Yoke’s on Me, showed a stereotypical view of the Japanese people
.
Movies of the era showed began to increase the stereotypes that previous generations had started. The Charlie Chan
and Fu Manchu
stereotypes began to increasingly become more active in movies. Republic Movies released a fifteen episode serial Drums of Fu Manchu
, which was later released into a feature film. This brought back the Fu Manchu stereotype after a few years of inaction in Hollywood. Interestingly, the "Devil Doctor" stereotype was absent from film between 1940 and 1965.
Arab stereotypes also played into the film of the time. This included the use of bellydancers and billionaire
s. Interestingly, the bellydancer stereotype first occurred on film in 1897 when Thomas Edison
's kinetoscope
showed the women dancing.
, Blazing Saddles
parodied racism, sexism, and a few other things in the country.
Racism still occurs though in movies, as stereotypes against Arabs have shown. As the Soviet threat diminished and Arab threats increased, movies portraying racism include Iron Eagle
, Death Before Dishonor
, Navy SEALs
, Patriot Games
, the American President, Delta Force 3, and Executive Decision
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. An early example of this includes The Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. Griffith also co-wrote the screenplay , and co-produced the film . It was released on February 8, 1915...
, which promoted white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
, amongst other things. Over time as race relations have cooled, parodies and documentaries of racism have begun to be included into film.
African American
The film industry of the United States grew slowly at first. Over time, plots began to develop and movies became better produced. In 1916, the film The Birth of a NationThe Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. Griffith also co-wrote the screenplay , and co-produced the film . It was released on February 8, 1915...
by D.W. Griffith was released. The plot of the film basically showed that Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
smen were the saviors to the nation and that they would help to bring back a stable government. The movie also included the use of actors in blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
. Over time, racism became embedded into the film of Hollywood. In 1927 the film The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer may refer to:* The Jazz Singer , a 1925 Broadway play* The Jazz Singer , a film version of the play, and the first feature-length motion picture with talking sequences...
was released. One of the central themes was the use of blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
by character Jack Robins. Scholar Corin Willis said about the movie:
In contrast to the racial jokes and innuendo brought out in its subsequent persistence in early sound film, blackface imagery in The Jazz Singer is at the core of the film's central theme, an expressive and artistic exploration of the notion of duplicity and ethnic hybridity within American identity. Of the more than seventy examples of blackface in early sound film 1927–53 that I have viewed (including the nine blackface appearances Jolson subsequently made), The Jazz Singer is unique in that it is the only film where blackface is central to the narrative development and thematic expression.
Arabic
In 1921, Rudolph ValentinoRudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
released the movie The Sheik
The Sheik (film)
The Sheik is a 1921 silent film produced by Famous Players-Lasky, directed by George Melford and starring Rudolph Valentino, Agnes Ayres, and Adolphe Menjou...
. The movie itself was a box office success but showed Arabs to be savage beasts who auction off their own women. The film was followed up a few years later with The Son of the Sheik, which also portrayed racist overtones. Rudolph was even asked by a New York Times reporter once whether or not his well-off character could fall for a savage (an Arab woman). He responded by saying: "People are not savages because they have dark skins. The Arabian civilization is one of the oldest in the world...the Arabs are dignified and keen brained." In his essay "Arabs in Hollywood: An Undeserved Image", Scott J. Simon argues that of all the ethnic groups portrayed in Hollywood films, "Arab culture has been the most misunderstood and supplied with the worst stereotypes":
Rudolph ValentinoRudolph ValentinoRudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
's roles in The SheikThe Sheik (film)The Sheik is a 1921 silent film produced by Famous Players-Lasky, directed by George Melford and starring Rudolph Valentino, Agnes Ayres, and Adolphe Menjou...
(19211921 in film-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1921:U.S.A. unless stated*$10,000 Under a Pillow, silent film directed by Frank Moser*The Ace of Hearts, silent film directed by Wallace Worsley*Across the Divide, silent film directed by John Holloway...
) and The Son of the Sheik (19261926 in film-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
) set the stage for the exploration and negative portrayal of Arabs in Hollywood films. Both The Sheik and The Son of the Sheik represented Arab characters as thieves, charlatans, murderers, and brutes.
He also singled out A Son of the Sahara (1924
1924 in film
-Events:* Entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
) as "the strongest subconscious attack on the Arab culture of all the Arab movies of the 1920s."
Asian
Racism against east Asians also began in the 1920s. Charlie ChanCharlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...
(actually based on the real Chang Apana
Chang Apana
Chang Apana was a Chinese-Hawaiian member of the Honolulu Police Department, first as an officer, then as a detective. He is the officially acknowledged inspiration for the fictional Asian detective character, Charlie Chan.-Early life:Ah Ping Chang was born December 26, 1871 in Waipio, Oahu,...
), a supposed "good asian" was used as an antithesis to Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
, the so-called "bad asian". In 1923, the British silent film serial The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu came out. This movie ushered in the beginning of decades of movies with the Fu Manchu theme. In 1929, the American film The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu
The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu is a 1929 film starring Warner Oland as Dr. Fu Manchu. It was the first Fu Manchu film of the talkie era. It was very loosely based on the novel, The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer.-Synopsis:...
starring Warner Oland
Warner Oland
Warner Oland was a Swedish American actor most remembered for his screen role as the detective Charlie Chan.-Biography:He was born Johan Verner Ölund in the village of Nyby, Bjurholm Municipality,...
came out.
Native Americans
Racist Holly Wood Noble Savage stereotypes of Native Americans began early in American films.In particular the notion of the "Noble Savage" stereotype.
Hollywood's golden age
In the 1940s, people like Dudley DickersonDudley Dickerson
Dudley Dickerson was an African American film actor. Born in Oklahoma, he appeared in nearly 160 films between 1932 and 1952, and is best remembered for his roles in several Three Stooges films.-Career:...
were appearing in Three Stooges
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
films. Dudley was used because of his bug-eyed appearance and portrayal of stereotypes of the time. The prevailing views in Hollywood at the time helped to prevent him from advancing his career, but he never complained about his line of work and actually enjoyed what he was doing. A later Stooges short, The Yoke’s on Me, showed a stereotypical view of the Japanese people
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
.
Movies of the era showed began to increase the stereotypes that previous generations had started. The Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...
and Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
stereotypes began to increasingly become more active in movies. Republic Movies released a fifteen episode serial Drums of Fu Manchu
Drums of Fu Manchu
Drums of Fu Manchu is a 15-chapter Republic movie serial very loosely based on the novel by Sax Rohmer, starring Henry Brandon, William Royle and Robert Kellard...
, which was later released into a feature film. This brought back the Fu Manchu stereotype after a few years of inaction in Hollywood. Interestingly, the "Devil Doctor" stereotype was absent from film between 1940 and 1965.
Arab stereotypes also played into the film of the time. This included the use of bellydancers and billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
s. Interestingly, the bellydancer stereotype first occurred on film in 1897 when Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
's kinetoscope
Kinetoscope
The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device. Though not a movie projector—it was designed for films to be viewed individually through the window of a cabinet housing its components—the Kinetoscope introduced the basic approach that would become the standard for all cinematic...
showed the women dancing.
Recent movies
Over time, racism began to diminish in films, but it was not diminished entirely. The movie by Mel BrooksMel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
, Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft. The movie was nominated for three...
parodied racism, sexism, and a few other things in the country.
Racism still occurs though in movies, as stereotypes against Arabs have shown. As the Soviet threat diminished and Arab threats increased, movies portraying racism include Iron Eagle
Iron Eagle
Iron Eagle is a 1986 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Jason Gedrick and Louis Gossett, Jr. While it received mixed reviews, the film earned US$24,159,872 at the U.S. box office. Iron Eagle was followed by three sequels: Iron Eagle II, Aces: Iron Eagle III and Iron Eagle on the...
, Death Before Dishonor
Death Before Dishonor
Death Before Dishonor is a 1987 American action film directed by Terry Leonard.-Plot:Gunnery Sergeant Burns is in charge of the Marine Security Guard detachment at a United States embassy in the Middle East...
, Navy SEALs
Navy SEALs (film)
Navy SEALs is a 1990 action film, directed by Lewis Teague, written by Chuck Pfarrer and Gary Goldman, and produced by Brenda Feigen and Bernard Williams with consultant William Bradley.-Plot:...
, Patriot Games
Patriot Games
Patriot Games is a novel by Tom Clancy. It is chronologically the first book focusing on CIA analyst Jack Ryan, the main character in almost all of Clancy's novels. It is the indirect sequel to Without Remorse...
, the American President, Delta Force 3, and Executive Decision
Executive Decision
Executive Decision is a 1996 action film, directed by Stuart Baird and starring Kurt Russell, Halle Berry and Steven Seagal. The original music was composed by Jerry Goldsmith...
.
See also
- Stereotypes of Arabs and MuslimsStereotypes of Arabs and MuslimsStereotypes of Arabs and Muslims have been presented in various forms by the mass media in Western culture and American culture. Stereotypical representations of Arabs are often manifested in a society's media, literature, theater and other creative expressions...
- Stereotypes of East Asians in the Western world
- Stereotypes of African Americans
- Portrayal of East Asians in Hollywood
- Portrayal of Native Americans in FilmPortrayal of Native Americans in filmThe portrayal of Native Americans in film has been contentious, raising allegations of racism. Traditionally, the Native American archetype has been that of a violent, uncivilized villain, juxtaposed next to the archetypal hero: the virtuous, white Anglo-Saxon settler...
- Stereotypes of Hispanic and Latino Americans
- Stereotypes of Native Americans