Uncle Tom's Cabin

The evolution and presence of African Americans in film has not changed over the years. Being accepted to act in some of the most prestigious films and television shows is an honor. Since the opening of Uncle Tom’s Cabin back in 1903, the diversity in film has only made gradual changes for producers and filmgoers. The production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin featured a white male wearing blackface and portraying the life of a black slave. As the story unfolds, Uncle Tom and another slave are up to be sold by their slave master. (IMDb film search) Uncle Tom faces a multitude of hardships with different traders, and is later killed because he refused to sell out or inform of his friend’s escape route. Needless to say, this genre would only be the beginning …show more content…
Mammy, by definition, meaning a black women engaged as a nurse to white children or as a servant to a white family. (mammy) The descriptive request for someone to be a maid consisted of them being of size with a nanny-type demeanor, and willing to work for little wages. How befitting of this character to be female and colored, as many Caucasian women prefer to be slim and not over-weight. Hattie McDowell co-starred in the early film Gone with the Wind and was portrayed as an indentured servant to Scarlet O’Hara on the plantation. Ms. McDowell would be the first African American to win an Academy Award for her role played in this movie. Another present day example, The Help, which was aired in 2011, showed the same similarities of African American maids and their views of the white families that they cared for on a daily basis. Aibileen Clark, played by Viola Davis, has a conversation with another cast member and is asked the question “did you know as a girl growing up that one day you’d be a maid?” She states “my mama was a maid and my grandmamma was a house slave.” (Taylor). Unfortunately, black females were established as maids and the legacy was carried on for generations. Being a maid or nanny to care for an entire household was a task and the list of expectations would be endless. Needless to say, they worked from sun up to sun down cooking, cleaning, washing clothes by hand, and running errands while their owners, per say, worked. These women performed all of these task at hand and were often times harassed, disrespected, abused, and paid low wages. Sadly, some were not paid at all or their earned fair would be allowing them to stay at the residence free of charge. Maids and nannies remain prevalent in today’s society for black women. The pay scale however, has increased over the years to meet the demanding needs of the economy. The required duties have not