Introduction
The topic my group and I chose for our group project is examination of racial stereotypes in movies. The racial stereotypes we chose to examine for our group project are African American stereotypes. The genre of movies we chose to examine for African American stereotypes is drama. Therefore, for our group project, my group and I examined African American stereotypes in dramatic movies.
Background Research
There are two main mythical character portraits. The two main mythical character portraits are the sambo and the savage. The sambo is lazy and carefree. He is also optimistic and not very intelligent. The savage is sexual and dangerous. Furthermore, he can be very impulsive. (Lester, 1996)
Under the two main mythical character …show more content…
I examined the tom in Driving Miss Daisy and The Butler. In the movie, Driving Miss Daisy Hoke Colburn is the tom. Hoke Colburn is an African American chauffer for an elderly Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan. Daisy’s son, Boolie Werthan, arranges Hoke to be Daisy’s chauffer after she crashes her car. In the movie, Hoke is “white-identified.” He has “no life apart from whites.” Only little is known about his experiences or hopes. In the movie, he “lives to solve the problems of the white characters.” Therefore, throughout the movie Hoke helps Daisy with her personal problems. (Pilgrim, 2000)
Furthermore, Hoke is “reluctant to fight back.” He “sits patiently and silently when he is insulted by white characters.” Therefore, in the movie, when Daisy insults him Hoke sits patiently and silently. Hoke “stood by and took it.” He knew she didn’t mean him any real harm. (Pilgrim, 2000)
There are several scenes in the movie where Daisy is mean to Hoke. For example, there are several scenes in the movie where Daisy tells Hoke she doesn’t need him and to leave her alone. However, Hoke ignores her and continues to try to help her. He tolerates her behavior and continues to assist her. Instead of turning against her, he makes a joke and tries to cheer her …show more content…
Like Hoke, Cecil is reluctant to fight back. He stands patiently and silently when he is being insulted by white characters. Like Hoke, he remains hearty, submissive, selfless, and kind. Cecil tolerates their behavior to avoid consequences and retain his job.
Unlike Hoke, Cecil is not white-identified. Cecil has a life apart from whites. He is married and has children. The movie is about his life so a lot is known about his experiences and hopes. However, like Hoke, Cecil also lives to solve the problems of the white characters. Although, he is married and has a family, he is sometimes more concerned about the “First Family” than his own family.
Other examples of the tom in the movie, The Butler, are Cecil’s coworkers. Cecil’s coworkers are butlers who also work in the White House. They are very similar to Cecil. They are “good blacks.” They also tolerate the white characters and remain kind.
Overall, the toms are “faithful, happily submissive servers.” They are “dependable workers who are eager to serve.” In movies, they appear as “smiling, wide-eyed, dark-skinned servers.” They are “generally old and psychically weak.” Thus, they are “non-threatening to whites.” (Pilgrim,
The topic my group and I chose for our group project is examination of racial stereotypes in movies. The racial stereotypes we chose to examine for our group project are African American stereotypes. The genre of movies we chose to examine for African American stereotypes is drama. Therefore, for our group project, my group and I examined African American stereotypes in dramatic movies.
Background Research
There are two main mythical character portraits. The two main mythical character portraits are the sambo and the savage. The sambo is lazy and carefree. He is also optimistic and not very intelligent. The savage is sexual and dangerous. Furthermore, he can be very impulsive. (Lester, 1996)
Under the two main mythical character …show more content…
I examined the tom in Driving Miss Daisy and The Butler. In the movie, Driving Miss Daisy Hoke Colburn is the tom. Hoke Colburn is an African American chauffer for an elderly Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan. Daisy’s son, Boolie Werthan, arranges Hoke to be Daisy’s chauffer after she crashes her car. In the movie, Hoke is “white-identified.” He has “no life apart from whites.” Only little is known about his experiences or hopes. In the movie, he “lives to solve the problems of the white characters.” Therefore, throughout the movie Hoke helps Daisy with her personal problems. (Pilgrim, 2000)
Furthermore, Hoke is “reluctant to fight back.” He “sits patiently and silently when he is insulted by white characters.” Therefore, in the movie, when Daisy insults him Hoke sits patiently and silently. Hoke “stood by and took it.” He knew she didn’t mean him any real harm. (Pilgrim, 2000)
There are several scenes in the movie where Daisy is mean to Hoke. For example, there are several scenes in the movie where Daisy tells Hoke she doesn’t need him and to leave her alone. However, Hoke ignores her and continues to try to help her. He tolerates her behavior and continues to assist her. Instead of turning against her, he makes a joke and tries to cheer her …show more content…
Like Hoke, Cecil is reluctant to fight back. He stands patiently and silently when he is being insulted by white characters. Like Hoke, he remains hearty, submissive, selfless, and kind. Cecil tolerates their behavior to avoid consequences and retain his job.
Unlike Hoke, Cecil is not white-identified. Cecil has a life apart from whites. He is married and has children. The movie is about his life so a lot is known about his experiences and hopes. However, like Hoke, Cecil also lives to solve the problems of the white characters. Although, he is married and has a family, he is sometimes more concerned about the “First Family” than his own family.
Other examples of the tom in the movie, The Butler, are Cecil’s coworkers. Cecil’s coworkers are butlers who also work in the White House. They are very similar to Cecil. They are “good blacks.” They also tolerate the white characters and remain kind.
Overall, the toms are “faithful, happily submissive servers.” They are “dependable workers who are eager to serve.” In movies, they appear as “smiling, wide-eyed, dark-skinned servers.” They are “generally old and psychically weak.” Thus, they are “non-threatening to whites.” (Pilgrim,