Patricia Hill-Collins defined controlling images in her essay titled “Mammies, Matriarchs, and other controlling images. She wrote that “portraying African-American women as stereotypical mammies, matriarchs, welfare recipients, and hot mommas has been essential to the political economy of domination fostering Black women’s oppression [Collins]”. It is not a problem if a character possess some of these trait in movies but it does become a problem if it is a constant theme throughout mass media. If they limit every black woman to these roles they are suggesting that black women contain more negative characteristics than positive ones.
Black comedies however, have also contributed to the negative media portrayals of black women. Movies like,
Black comedies however, have also contributed to the negative media portrayals of black women. Movies like,