So Few Positive Images Of African American Female In Disney Film

Why Are There So Few Positive Images Of African American Female In Disney Film? Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Why are there so few positive images of African American female in Disney film? Abstract The last few years have seen many black casts acquire nominations in their roles on the big screen. However, most of these black people are men and just a handful of women. Where are the women? African Americans come from a history of slavery which has subjected them to prejudice and limited resources compared to their Caucasian and other race counterparts. To date, African Americans still struggle to define who they are in the American culture. Women are most prejudiced, and in the film and TV industry, their roles are highly limited. They have been stereotyped to be violent and immoral. However, there are a few successful black actresses who have struggled to achieve their goals even in the face of extreme racism. Afro-futurism is a concept that encourages African Americans to bring their culture into their stories to tell the world. Afro-centricity, on the other hand, has been developed as theories which will help Africans see themselves through their own eyes and not the eyes of the Europeans so that they can achieve what they desire for themselves. Background Introduction Over the last many years, many African Americans including Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and Halle Berry have been able to secure prominent characters on the big. These actors and actresses are very popular and have made a lot of fame in both film and television and are regarded as the symbols of black emancipation and equality. Acquiring such positions, however, has not been easy due to prejudice these people have been exposed to ever since the ages of slavery. Slaves were brought from Africa to work on the southern plantations and even after their freedom, they still struggle to define who they are in the American culture. For a long time, the African Americans were subjected to ridicule and shame, especially in American popular media like theatre and film. However, the current years have seen the role of African Americans improve in cinema and theatre. It is unfortunate that many actors with skill and talent cannot access individual characters because of their dark color. For example, according to Maree Delofski (director of The trouble with Merle,) mentioned in his interview: Merle Oberon was either born in India of Anglo-Indian ancestry or that she was Tasmanian-born of Chinese ancestry. She claimed to be Australian and used make up to ‘redecorate’ the dark skin tone she had. She was deeply influenced by the hidden race identity of her, her mother was living with her as her maid. The most affected are the black female actresses who are severely underrepresented in the US film and television. Male African American actors like Denzel and Will Smith have always been assigned leading roles in many film genres including science fiction, action, and romance, but female actresses are barely given leading roles. Most of these women are offered positions associated with slavery, welfare queen or just a pretty little immoral woman. These women always have to fight and wrestle with critical assumptions about their character and how they want to be identified. Women in reality and over the years have continued to be discriminated upon especially regarding their position in the social, political and economic spheres in the society. This lack of recognition results from the complex issues and socio-political factors. The television plays a leading role in distorting the image of African American women. This paper is going to look at reasons which explain why there are so few positive images of African American female in Disney Film and the solutions.[Asante, Kete Molefi. Afrocentricity: theory of social change. NewYork: African American Images, 2003.Print] Method This paper is going to review scholarly articles, books and journals on this topic to reveal why black women have been under represented in films and television shows and what are the possible solutions using the Afrocentricity theory to this problem. The African American woman and favorite black actresses The African American woman has played an essential role throughout the history of the American people. These women have been used to justify the economic and social structures of slavery and segregation. Some of the prominent female African American actresses include Keke Palmer, Halle Berry, Dorothy Dandridge, Angela Bassett, Oprah Winfrey, Tyra Banks, Beyonce, Hattie McDaniel, Whoopi Goldberg, Lupita Nyong’o and Diahann Carroll. Films use African American female as leader role include Hidden Figures (was winner of MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Fight Against the System 2017). In Taraji P. Henson gave a speech noting that she accepted the Best Fight Against the System award for her role in Hidden Figures, she said: "This movie was bigger than all of us. No one ever told me that girls couldn't do math and science, but there was an understanding that it was for boys. I remember getting this script and being very upset, because I felt like a dream was stolen from me. It became my mission and everyone's mission who was involved with this film to dispel that myth so that another young girl would not grow up thinking that her mind wasn't capable of grasping math and science."Lupita Nyong’o and Oprah Winfrey were the only African American female actresses who got nominations from the golden globes and SAG on a list that was dominated by white female actresses in 2013. In the same category, African American female actresses were not listed as best actresses, best directors or even best screenplays. In such a scenario, people are then bound to ask where the African American women are in Hollywood. According to Thompson, Nia Long, one of the prominent actresses, starring in the comedy “The best man Holiday,” revealed that women of color are not considered for the same roles, and neither are they paid the same. “The Best Man Holiday” is long’s popular comedy film which provided an opportunity for many African American actresses to show their skill and talent. Thompson, also argues that Viola Davis who is an African American actress and an Oscar nominee revealed that black actresses are in a crisis mode because they are not given enough roles, thus, lack opportunities to exhibit their talents. Most of these African American actresses are deprived of these opportunities and instead, Caucasian actresses are preferred. Viola Davis also notes that black actresses are only given two or three categories which oppress the black actress. “......It's a natural instinct. If you throw a piece of cheese in a room full of rats, they're going to claw at each other". Thompson, also argues that according to Christine Acham, a program coordinator at the University of Southern California, black women are not included in the television’s hottest shows like homeland, girls, and modern family. Thompson, also argues that since 2013, not more than 50 film releases have featured black women in leading or supporting roles. Among the most selling movies that featured a black woman in the lead role was “Star Trek into darkness” while Kasi Lemmons is the only black female director of the movie “Black Nativity,” which was a major hit in 2013. However, this is not the same with the African American male actors who have been able to get lead roles and swim in popularit...