Stereotypes Of Racism In Hollywood

The film industry heavily influences America. Hollywood’s ability to censor itself results in the reoccurring portrayal of specific ideologies. For instance, throughout history, Hollywood has repeatedly shaped racially diverse characters to fit the stereotypical roles that plague society. The more a character attempts to defy a stereotype, the more inevitable that behavior becomes. The prejudice feelings that encompass many of the characters within Hollywood films are portrayed without question. Notions of racism often warrant the portrayal of stereotypical behavior in a film. The film, Crash, depicts racism as a social norm within America by reinforcing the ideology that stereotypical behavior is inescapable, irrefutable, and impartial.
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Hollywood films inject their ideologies into passive audiences discouraging thought or questioning of authority (Lyden 409). In Crash, Jean Cabot is an upper-class white woman who finds herself victimized by two African American males. From this point on, she no longer hides nor questions her prejudice beliefs. In fact, Cabot begins to view every minority as part of a stereotype. For instance, her husband hires a Mexican man named Daniel to change the locks to their house. Jean does not question whether she is out of line for assuming Daniel will make a quick score by copying her keys and selling them to his ‘homeboys’ when he leaves. Rather, she insists that her husband changes the locks again. Racial stereotypes have become the social norm within Hollywood films. Minorities are unable to live life without the stigma of race. Stereotypical images can become familiar to the extent that the idea eventually seems normal, or even natural (Charles Ramirez-Berg). This common idea has become permanent within the mind of so many societal members that it, in a sense, has become a plague that affects every person involved. Thus, increasing the power that stereotypes hold in society. Hollywood depicts characters who do not waiver in the belief of racial stereotypes. In respect to Crash, Farhad assumes that Daniel is the man who destroyed his shop solely based on the stereotypical images of his race …show more content…
However, as stated by Judith Andre, the negative beliefs of other people shape the behavior of those victimized by racial stereotyping (72). The idea that the prejudice beliefs of others justify stereotypical behavior in film is depicted in Crash when Jean Cabot sees two young African-American men on the sidewalk and naturally grabs her husband’s arm to get closer to him. This behavior led Anthony and Peter to the decision to rob both Jean Cabot and her husband of their Escalade. In their mind, Jean deserved it for racially profiling them. According to John C. Brigham, “conceptualizations of stereotypes in psychology, and theoretical approaches, link ethnic stereotypes to negative attitudes and discriminatory behavior” (15). For example, Anthony identifies the racist stereotypes that are apparent within society but does nothing to combat that way of thinking. Instead, him and Peter are walking down the street and he proceeds to tell story about how he received poor service at a restaurant because the waitress profiled him as a black male who does not tip. In response, Peter asked Anthony if he tipped the waitress. Anthony explained that he did not tip because of that poor service he received. Anthony used the fact that she racially profiled him to justify his decision not to leave the tip. He plays into the stereotype and reinforces that ideology. It is through this perspective that both racial stereotyping and