The Stereotypes in Cartoons: African American Representation - Research Paper Example

? THE STEREOTYPES IN CARTOONS: THE INFLUENCES FROM AFRICAN AMERICAN CARTOONS Cartoons have depicted the sociopolitical attitudes of their readers and writers throughout history. A stereotype is an opinion or thought that is adopted about certain types of people (McCauley, 1980), or specific ways of performing things. These beliefs or thoughts may not or may accurately reflect the reality (Judd, 1993). However, this is a basic psychological definition of stereotype. Additionally, the depiction of ethnic and racial minorities in cartoons has evolved over time. This paper will analyze the stereotypes in social media specifically the image of cartoons characters, the music cartoons from and cartoons advertisement with African American characters and the profound influences to the new generation. Black representation of American cartoons evolved between periods 1928 and 1954. Blackface minstrelsy figured in black representation heavily at first. In the late 1940s, there was a diverse amount of back images which were as a result of technological improvement and increase in prominence of African American stars. Animators resorted to black images which were minstrelsy derived in the 1950s due to the decline of roles in African American films. As blackface transformed in the earlier sound cartoons to an image meant for only black character black restricted from cartoon design which was generic, black animated characterization emerged. Animation studios began to differentiate significantly animal characters from black characters in the early 1930s. In the mid-1930s, cartoon studios focused on coming up with characters which possessed robust personalities. However, a lot of black characterizations were based on black actors and blackface minstrels. During World War II, the artistic expressions of African Americans influenced the development of cartoons. However, this did not influence a studio’s black images. Studios in the United States gave a blind eye to African American artistry and turned to former black imaging styles. Ethnic humor was a fundamental element since the introduction of cartoons in the 1900s to the 1950s in America. Lehman (2009), states that the portrayal of African Americans was inextricably aligned to the animation medium. He argues that the interpretation of African American’s social and cultural expression was distinctive. White animators used cartoons to depict the cultural characteristics of the black Americans. Many of the first American animators based their cartoons black representations. Many of these representations were caricatures. They were often rooted in the slavery culture. Lothar was the first black American character to be included in a comic strip. He appeared in the 1930s in Mandrake the Magician. Lothar was the sidekick of Mandrake: the strongman who adorned a Tarzan style costume. Lothar was depicted as being uneducated, and poor. Black characters in comic strips or animations have received a mostly negative treatment. The early cartoons mostly showed black characters in a specific fashion. It concentrated on certain physical features, which enabled to create a racial caricature that represented black faces. These features were meant to be recognizable. These stereotypical features included broad noses, unkempt hair that was long, ragged clothing which represented those adorned by black slaves, dark skin and big tinted lips which were red. Additionally, the characters were shown to speak accented English. These depictions of the African Americans were observed frequently in the early 20th century in America. They were included in newspapers as comic strips or political cartoons. Additionally, the caricature features, which depicted black Americans, were present in the first cartoons made by Looney Tunes and Disney. Some heroes and nameless bystanders were developed using this style. For example, the development of a steam boat who was Billy Batson’s valet and ebony white who was the spirit’s sidekick. Will Eisner who is an artist and a writer is often criticized for his representation of Ebony white. Ebony white is depicted as an African American who is young. He is a sidekick of the Spirit. Will Eisner consciously admitted to stereotyping the character of ebony white. However, Eisner insists that at that time, humor consisted of physical variations and bad English in the society (Costello, 2012). However, the ebony white character overcame the stereotype illusion as the series continued. Eisner introduced new black characters who did not conform to any popular stereotypes like Grey who was a detective without an accent. Marilyn Mercer stated that ebony white did not elicit criticism from the black American groups. This might be because color did not come into it although the speech pattern was derived from the minstrel show (Eisner, 2011). Stereotypes justify and simplify social reality. As such, they have a strong influence on how individuals see and treat each other. Stereotypes often lead to discrimination of African Americans in the United States. The threat of stereotypes happens only when groups of people or individuals are consciously aware of a stereotype, which is negative about their group. They therefore feel anxious that they are being judged and discriminated upon. The effect of stereotyping African Americans in animations or cartoons is always negative. It affects the performance of African Americans in general. Early black cartoon characters were often depicted as being savages. The frequency with which this stereotype was shown was high. African Americans were shown to have bones in their noses, ears and hair (Nagle, 2010). The black Americans are thought to be simple-minded primitive folk by the general white population. The cartoons displayed the typical view the white Americans had about the African Americans in the United States. Additionally, most animations portray African Americans as being uneducated people who were inferior to the white people. Gordon (1998) in his book Comic Strips and Consumer Culture, 1890-1945states that the prevalent racial slurs of comic strips did no turn to be commercially successful since they did not appeal to different national audiences. Writers and artists transformed the minstrelsy caricatures into animal characters, which were funny. This was a black stereotype de raciate strategy implemented by the cartoon writers and artists. These animal characters owed their existence to previously racialized humor strips. For example, Felix the cat replaced Sambo and his funny noises strip. Moreover, mickey mouse and Kazy Kat are some of the stereotyped characters. Herriman who died white wrote Krazy Kat, but he was born creole initially. Between the 1960s and 1970s, various cartoon heroes who were African American were created. This was during the Blaxploitation period. This shift was because of involvement of the Black Nationalist movement which was quite notable. Most of the African American heroes had their roots in the ghetto. They were mainly males with martial expert skills. In addition, the African American heroes were motivated politically. The black American heroes were pitted against white characters who acted as villains in the animations or cartoons. These cartoons used to represent the struggle of the African Americans against the oppressive white population. One factor still characterized the Blaxploitation era animations and cartoons. They were all sexually active. Many African American heroes were depicted as being very masculine and they were often represented as being dominating sexually over the female characters that were white. This is a remembrance of the Mandingo stereotype. The Blaxploitation characters included misty knight, Luke Cage, black lightning, and bronze tiger (Singer, 2002). In the early 1970s, African American heroes were designed and partnered with white heroes who were established. They acted as the white heroes’ black proteges and sidekicks. For example, black goliath was inferior to the white hero. He was inferior in his combat experience and scientific ability to his mentor who was white. Cartoons are a source of learning for the new generation. The animations and cartoons affect the perceptions of the new generation about themselves. Swan (1998) argues that Stereotypical cartoons which are repetitive will influence how a child interprets other people's’, and his social roles. Additionally, cartoon producers and creators ignore mostly or stereotype the African Americans. To determine the profound influences animations and cartoons have on the new generation, social scientists have to examine cartoons critically in order to comprehend their messages. Some educators and researchers feel that African Americans are often portrayed negatively by characterizations in cartoons. Stroman (1984) argues that African American characters on American television stations are likely to be impoverished and unemployed. These negative depictions are not helpful to the development of the new generation. They erode the self-esteem and self-confidence of black children and adults hence hindering their development. On the other hand, some researchers and educators have found out that African American characters are portrayed positively in cartoons. In an extensive study of commercials and advertisement, Peterson (2002), discovered that African American children are mostly depicted in scholarly roles. However, a lot of researchers find it hard to trust and believe these findings. However, many African Americans on television cartoon advertisements are a reminiscent of minstrel shows. These stereotypical cartoons depict the whole man as being superior to the African Americans. Stereotypes are a part of life in the world. It is near impossible to avoid them or avoid perpetrating them. Stereotypes exist about nearly everything. They exist about religious groups, socioeconomic classes, and people from different countries. This illustrates that it is not only African Americans affected by stereotypes. The effects of cartoon stereotyping on the young population have been of great concern. Researchers have studied this area greatly. Effects of stereotypes and violence in cartoons are worrying. Animated characters influence the new generation greatly. The negative portrayal of African Americans makes children learn negative behaviours. Conclusion The racial stereotypes depicted by cartoons of early American history had a vital role in defining attitudes and relations towards African Americans of that time. Images of Jim Crow, Sambo, Mammy, The Savage, Jezebel, and Sapphire are not as strong today as they used to be, yet they still exist. Sambo is one of the popular stereotypes in the history of America. He is depicted as a simple black man who is docile. This stereotype flourished during the slavery era. The stereotype cartoons and animations influence the new generation negatively by depicting African Americans as being inferior. Bibliography Costello, Brannon, and Qiana J. Whitted, eds. Comics and the US South. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2012. Eisner, Will. Will Eisner: Conversations. Edited by M. Thomas Inge. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2011. Gordon, Ian. Comic strips and consumer culture, 1890-1945. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998. Judd, Charles M., and Bernadette Park. "Definition and assessment of accuracy in social stereotypes." Psychological review 100, no. 1 (1993): 109. Lehman, Christopher P. The colored cartoon: Black representation in American animated short films, 1907-1954. Boston, MA:University of Massachusetts Press, 2009. McCauley, Clark, Christopher L. Stitt, and Mary Segal. "Stereotyping: From prejudice to prediction." Psychological Bulletin 87, no. 1 (1980): 195. Nagle, Jeanne. GLBT Teens and Society. New York, NY:The Rosen Publishing Group, 2010. Singer, Marc. "" Black Skins" and White Masks: Comic Books and the Secret of Race." African American Review 36, no. 1 (2002): 107-119. Swan, Karen, Carla Meskill, and Steven DeMaio, eds. Social learning from broadcast television. Hampton: Hampton Publishers, 1998. Peterson, Robin T. "The Depiction of African American Children's Activities in Television Commercials: An Assessment." Journal of Business Ethics 36, no. 4 (2002): 303-313. Read More