research-report-proposal-1800170

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15/05/20

The animation industry is dominated by white male animators, this particular article was very beneficial in expanding my awareness of the blsck female community within the animation industry. The article provided me with numerous examples of black female animators and people of colour in the industry to interview or research:

“Rashida Jones and writer Will McCormack left production on Pixar’s (a Disney subsidiary) Toy Story 4, claiming, “women and people of colour do not have an equal creative voice” under former chief creative officer John Lasseter”. “there were exceptions such as Disney animators Retta Scott, the first woman animator hired in 1938, and Mary Blair, hired in 1940 or male artists of colour Tyrus Wong, the studio’s first Asian-American animation artist in the 1940s, and Floyd Norman, the first Black animator hired in the 1950s. But by and large, up until the late 20th century it was an anomaly” 

“New York City-based writer and producer Taylor Shaw, who is also a content strategist for Broadly’s parent company VICE Media, began developing an animated series centering Black women in their early 20s living on the South Side of Chicago, her hometown, in 2017.”

“Shaw launched Black Women Animate, an initiative to close the talent gap in the animation space for Black women and non-binary people.”

whaley, N (2019),  ‘The New Pipeline For Black Women in Animation’, Vice. Available at: black-women-in-animation-careers

image - https://images.app.goo.gl/FvyeTozAXvA1pk6X7

[research-report-proposal-1800170]

13/05/20

This episode was very beneficial to my research because it provided me with first hand accounts of the experiences of black people in the film and literature industry.

At the time of the production of the British version of Good Times, the TV series

is that the status quo of the industry at the time

meant that there would be nobody of colour

involved in that production at all

The episode addresses the issues black actors face by way of limiting what characters they’re allowed to act as, using the excuse of them being a white character.

I would get auditions, the odd one or two auditions,

and it would always be for Thug Number One or Crook Number Three.

"Why do I need to play Crook Number Three?

"Why can’t I play jim?"

"Cos Jim’s a white character.

This quote embodies the method of abating racial stereotypes and misrepresentation that I intend to emphasize in my dissertation. Which is that if the industry refuses to give us our place then we, as black people, have to take it.

a major part of the reason I started writing

in the first place is, because there was such a dearth

of black characters in children’s books

This quote emphasizes why representation is so influential in shaping the mindset of young people within our community, further emphasizing the potential effects of mis-representation in the film industry.

For me, it’s so important that books were not just windows to the world,

but they had to be mirrors as well.

And I remember growing up and I never read a single book

that featured a black child like me, not one

Black is the New Black, 22:20 20/11/2016, BBC2 England, 30 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0DDD7246?bcast=123038633

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11/05/20

I was very interested in watching the episode, Things We Won’t Say About Race That Are True, because it addresses racial and cultural stereotypes and compares these stereotypes to statistical evidence and ethnographic research. The fact that some of these statistics correspond with some of these stereotypes does not change my belief which is that the film industry should not be reinforcing racial stereotypes. However, it does affect my view on whether certain representations can be classed as mis-representations. If it is a stereotype that is being reinforced it will always be a misrepresentation to some extent due to the fact that its based on a generalization, however  i would like to develop an understanding of to what degree is it a misrepresentation. I’ve selected some of the transcript that had the most influence on my research plan:

I intended to find out more about Trevor Philips career as part of my research:

My name is Trevor Philips.

For ten years I lead Britain’s Equality Commissions.

Philips discusses the stereotype that Jewish people are genrally richer and more powerful than other demographics of people through an exploration of statistics and ethnographic research. As a christian myself, I'm aware of the religious  belief that some jewish people were instrumental in the crucifixion of Jesus. I intend to research the cultural implications of such religious beliefs and how they have historically played a role in the reinforcement of stereotypes:

The net wealth of the average British household is just

over £200,000.

But the average British-jewish household turns out to be

more than twice as wealthy.

In comparison to the average, jewish people are over three times

as likely to be top managers in a FTSE 100 company.

..or finance.

jews are four times as likely to be non-executive directors in banking

Things We Won’t Say About Race That Are True, 21:00 19/03/2015, Channel 4, 85 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/09A32BF3?bcast=115282618

[research-report-proposal-1800170]

10/05/20

I watched the episode The Black Stars of Film: Talking Pictures, to develop my itinerary of influential black people in the film industry. I’ve selected some of the transcript that had the most influence on my research plan:

Hattie McDaniel took Best Supporting Actress for playing the maid,

Mammy, and became the first black person to win an Academy Award

It took 24 years for another black actor, Sidney Poitier,

to win an Oscar and there wasn’t a black Best Actress winner

until the 21st-century, when Halle Berry won for Monster’s Ball

The actress Butterfly McQueen appeared alongside

Hattie McDaniel in Gone with The Wind,

cast as the O’Hara’s family servant, Prissy,

was famously slapped by Scarlett in one scene for telling lies.

critics have described the role as a racist caricature

‘Prissy was stupid and backward’ - Butterfly McQueen

The great Sidney Poitier once said that

he knew what it felt like to be in an audience watching images

of black people that were uncomfortable.

For decades, Poitier was THE face of black cinema and throughout

his career, he fought to avoid parts that were caricatures or negative

This conversation between Poitier and his agent had a significant impact on my approach to the subject of abating racial stereotypes. Complete refusal of  participation in the perpetuation of racial stereotypes is an approach to the issue that i fully support and encourage amongst black artists:

Conversion between Poitier and his agent:

"I can’t play it."

And he wanted to know why.

And I said, 'lt’s very difficult to explain,‘

He said, "Try," and I said, "OK."

Isaid...

..that. ..

..anything I do...

..has to have...

...some...

..positive reflection on my father’s name.

The episod also gave me some examples of ‘social aware films’ that were produced in the early 60s. This has developed my understanding of both sides of the argument, concerning the representation of minorities in the film and animation industry. I intend to watch and analyze these films as part of  my research. I hope that this research will aid to avoid me producing a biased evaluation of the misrepresentation of minorities in the film industry:

socially-aware films

like The Defiant Ones

and Raisin in the Sun.

But the best response came in 1963

with his role in the film

Lilies Of The Field.

with it, Sidney made history,

becoming cinema’s first Oscar-winning black man

The Black Stars of Film: Talking Pictures, The Black Stars of Film, 13:30 28/08/2017, BBC2 England, 45 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/0DD792D8?bcast=124941199  

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07/05/20

The text, ‘Stuart Hall ‘, has developed my understanding of Stuart Hall’s main theories on cultural studies.

DECONSTRUCTING THE ���POPULAR’

For Hall, popular culture is not a serious issue because of the ‘profound’ intellectual questions it raises but, first and foremost, because he believes popular culture is the site at which everyday struggles between dominant and subordinate groups are fought, won and lost. This, he has said, is ‘why popular culture matters. - page 11

because it was in the cultural and ideological domain that social change appeared to be making itself most dramatically visible.(FNL: 25) quote by Hall - page 14

Stuart Hall’s theories emphasised to me the importance of black artists and artists who present a fair representation of minorities to use their influence as artists (who create art for the intention of it to be viewed,) to correct the representation of minorities. It also emphasised to me the importance of black artists to support one another, to make black art a more influential part of popular culture:  

popular culture is not simply a capitalist tool used to fool and exploit the working class – or at least it should not be – it is also a site of potential resistance. - page 19

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/norwicharts/reader.action?docID=182266

[research-report-proposal-1800170]

07/05/20

The book, ‘Postcolonial Cinema Studies’, written by Sandra Ponzanesi , and Marguerite Waller was very beneficial in developing my understanding of the historical implications of racials stereotypes and the relevance of colonialism in understanding the causes of racial stereotypes:

The text lists other authors that have addressed the long lasting effects of colonialism, which i intend to look into for my research:

Frantz Fanon, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Gayatri Spivak, and Homi Bhabha, among others, have also analyzed the colonization of the imagination. All have called attention to the enduring ideological legacies of colonialism as they exceed the territory and chronology of empires, coming to permeate the values and regimes of cultures long after official “decolonization.” - page 2

The text has educated me on a subject I had not considered writing about before, orientalism, the representation of Asia in a stereotyped way that is regarded as embodying a colonialist attitude. The text has brought to my attention a recurring motif in the many authors' reasoning behind the creation of racial stereotypes, this being a means of domination over another race. This is similar to Hooks reasoning for the creation of the stereotype of violent black men:

Orientalism , which appeared in 1978 and has been widely translated, Said argues that Western scholarship has constructed the Orient (vaguely referring to North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia) as a means of “dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Other” (1978, p. 3). - page 2

The text developed my understanding of the specifics of orientalism. I will be using Sandra Ponzanesi , and Marguerite Waller definition of orientalism when discussing this topic:

The representation of the Arab or Asian as mysterious, exotic, and seductive was coupled with the idea that they were inherently barbaric, criminal, and dangerous, set outside the time frame of modernity, poised in a timeless space. - page 2

The text has provided me with examples of race based marginalisation within the industry:

A community of African/ Third Cinema students, scholars, and filmmakers (including Haile Gerima, Julie Dash, and Charles Burnett) at UCLA, for example, mentored by Third Cinema theorist Teshome Gabriel, was so thoroughly marginalized within the university that not until 2009 was any attempt made by their home institution to recognize and collect the work of this group, known in filmmaking circles as the L.A. Rebellion (Horak, 2010). - page 3

The text argues that although orientalism has been used to reinforce colonialist ideology, it has existed before colonization:

The Sheik (1921), Pépé le Moko (1937), Morocco (1930), Indochine (1990) , Lawrence of Arabia (1962) , The Sheltering Sky (1990) and Aladdin (1992) are just few of the titles that confirm that films with “Orientalist traits” have existed within and without, and also before and after, colonization or imperial conquest as such (Shohat, 1998). Indeed, as Said predicted, we discover the persistence of this Orientalist paradigm in many recent films as well, ranging from The English Patient (1996) to Black Hawk Down (2001) and Cast Away (2000), to mention but a few. - page 4

Colonial images of gender, race, and class carried ideological connotations that confirmed imperial epistemologies and taxonomies, depicting natives as primitives and savages, subjects outside modernity. - page 17

I will be using Sandra Ponzanesi , and Marguerite Waller definition of colonialism, when discussing this topic:

Colonialism refers to the practice (conquering of the land and exploiting its resources) and imperialism to the idea driving the practice (political and economic control, but also an ideological investment). - page 17

The text provides examples of how the film industry can and has been used as a political tool and a means of shaping public opinion:

For Mussolini, cinema was the strongest weapon (Reich and Garofalo, 2002; Ben Ghiat, 2001), and it was strategically used as part of an orchestrated political propaganda campaign that was meant to manufacture consent. Colonial films imaged Roman grandeur and supported Italy’s model of racial superiority and virility, especially during the conquest of Ethiopia (called Abyssinia before 1935). - 17

Empire films, which focused on glorifying the British Empire...the use of blackface in some empire films both signified and yet curiously de-essentialized racial difference. - page 18

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/norwicharts/reader.action?docID=957740

[research-report-proposal-1800170]

06/05/20

The text, ‘Cinema and Its Shadow : Race and Technology in Early Cinema’ focuses less on ‘identifying stereotypes’ or ‘representation’ and more on ‘how ideas about racial difference and otherness were inscribed in film’. This text has been beneficial to my understanding of the use of cinematic techniques in the promotion of ‘race difference’.

This goes beyond identifying stereotypes, and this study is not primarily focused on questions of representation (i.e., how particular ethnic or racial groups are depicted). My analysis does borrow, however, from the complex understanding of the stereotype’s role in colonial discourse theorized by Homi Bhabha and developed further by scholars looking specifically at how ideas about racial difference and otherness were inscribed in fi lm. 7 - page 4

The text highlights the use of discernible colour contrast to emphasize the conveying of a racial stereotype. The text suggests that the technique of ‘high contrast’ has been racialized in some cases for the purpose of drawing attention to a person's race, all too often in a scene which perpetuates a racial stereotype.  This misuse of the technique has inspired me to explore the potential use of high contrast to correct the representation of black people. By intentionally drawing attention to a black character's skin through the use of high contrast, i could potentially produce an animation that corresponds with cultural movements that encourage self love and acceptance in the black community. The idea is that i should draw attention to the colour of my characters skin because i and this character is proud of this skin and when your proud of something, you show it to others:

His catalog copy for A Morning Bath (which depicted an African American mother bathing her baby) declared, “This is a clear and distinct picture in which the contrast between the complexion of the bather and the white soapsuds is strongly marked. A very amusing and popular subject.” 3 This was one of many instances in which producers exploited the links between black and white and Black and White. The link between a daily activity and the prowess of the apparatus is here made manifest by racializing the technical appeal of “high contrast.” - page 3

The text has expanded my itinerary of production companies i intend to investigate for my research:

Motion pictures played an important part in displaying and defining racialized and exoticized bodies, in visualizing and justifying colonial expansion, and in circulating spectacles of racial violence. - page 6

The text highlighted the importance of me evaluating ethnographic research to present a clear understanding of a culture and the effects of misrepresentation on that culture. The text also brought to my attention the need for me to define the term ‘ethnography’ in my report proposal:

the “Ethnographic Body,” Fatimah Tobing Rony captures the consequences of this process for the cinema’s signifying practices: - page 6

The text suggests that femninst and gender focused film studies ‘for many years tended to ignore or be less sensitive to issues of race difference’, which brings to my attention the potential of researching the term “white feminism”. White feminism is feminism that primary benefits white women:

As the passage from Rony suggests, work on race and cinema tends to make reference to feminist film studies, while also suggesting the ways in which the focus on gender that dominated film studies for many years tended to ignore or be less sensitive to issues of race difference. - page 7

And while the racialized figure often functions to cement white characters’ heterosexual pairings— buttressing white feminine identity or serving as a signpost for “appropriate” romantic objects and erotic spectacles— I also argue here for a variety of more subtle rhetorical functions for race diff erence. - page 8

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/norwicharts/reader.action?docID=3039185

image - https://images.app.goo.gl/rVsPYUwpV6Tix8oS8

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06/05/20

The article, 'portrayal of Minorities in the Film, Media and Entertainment Industries’, by Yurii Horton, Raagen Price and Eric Brown greatly developed my understanding of the historical implications of the misrepresentation of minorities in the film industry.

The fact that the first black owned film company was not created until 1916, exemplifies how long white film makers controlled the narrative of black characters without the consultation of black filmmakers. In other words black people in America have only had a say in how they are represented in the last 104 years, and when they did begin to have a say in the form of companies like Lincoln, their films did not achieve the status of mainstream until more recently in industry history. This could be a factor as to why ideological legacies of colonialism and race based stereotypes are still present into the film industry. I had hoped to watch the first movie produced by Lincoln Motion Picture Company, ‘The realsiation of a Negro ‘5 Ambition’, however resarch suggets the film has been lost. This issue in itself emphasises the struggle this company faced to stay afloat in the overtly white supremest era of 1910 - 1920. The birth of a nation is considered art and is immortalised in American film history, while the first ever film featuring black characters as people rather than caricatures has been disregarded so much so, that it is completely lost. Although i can't say much about the representation of black people in this film,  i have drawn some inferences from the articles description of it, that contradict the articles claim that balck people played non- stereotyped roles. I definitely do agree that this representation was far more positive than all films representing black people at the ime, because it contradicts the stereotype that black people are uneducated by making the lead a black university graduate. However, the plot of siad graduate ‘getting an admirable position from a white racist businessman for saving the man's daughter’,  participates in the perpetuation of the ‘notion that black’ characters ‘can only be good when they are serving the interests of white folks a stereotype that i had not thought about before reading literature by Hooks. The article also suggests that the film attempts to ‘show that Afro-Americans were allied militarily with Anglo-Americans’, which only further supports my inference. In truth, black people fought for a white surpresmist country, but they were never considered as allies. They fought separately, were still considered as second class citizens even after their service. To suggest that black and white men fought side by side as allies would simply not be the truth. Even the military was segregated:

‘ On May 24, 1916, Johnson was ambitious enough to create his own movie company and became the president of Lincoln Motion Picture Company. This was the first movie company organized by black filmmakers. The first movie produced by Lincoln Motion Picture Company was The Realization of a Negro '5 Ambition and was released in mid 1916. It was the first film produced in America that featured blacks in dramatic non-stereotyped roles. (Sampson 1977; 2) It portrayed a Tuskegee graduate leaving the South and getting an admirable position from a white racist businessman for saving the man's daughter. The second production was titled A Trooper of Troop K and was released in January of 1917. It attempted to build race pride by "showing that Afro-Americans were allied militarily with Anglo-Americans." (Rhines 1996; 21) Lincoln Motion Picture Company was an all-black company and was the first company to produce films portraying blacks as real people with real lives. (http://www.mdle.eom/ClassicFilms/FeaturedStar/perfor39.htm) In the past, B lacks had been relegated to roles of slaves, rapists, and stupid buffoons.’ - chapter 1

The article discusses the first hollywood film featuring an all-black cast, Hearts in Dixie, which i intend to watch as part of my research. Interestingly the film was produced for FOX, which even in modern day has been accused of intentionally mis-represenating black men who died at the hand of police officers to justify their killing and the officers excessive use of force. The article suggests that motifs of minority misrepresentation have been present in Fox’s publications from the beginning. The article discusses the films ‘most problematic figure, Stepin Fetchit’. Stepin Fetchit’s character played a significant role in the creation of the deropgatry image of a ‘good nigger’ used to reinforce white dominace over black people, by showing images of an uneducated black man that ‘konws his place’. Even his name, which derives ‘from a racehorse that he won money on, Step and Fetch, carries connotations of subservience.

The first Hollywood film to feature an all-black cast was Hearts in Dixie, which was produced in 1929 and directed by Paul Sloane for Fox. "This film introduced to wider audiences, one of the film industry's most polemic figures ever -Stepin Fetchit." (http://www.moderntimes.comlpalace/black/introduction.htm) In the film, the audience is introduced to the faithful black plantation workers, toiling hard in the fields all day and relaxing at night by singing and dancing. Stepin Fetchit typifies the lazy, but good natured slave, unwilling to work, but forgiven for his errant ways. When the white boss playfully" kicks Fetchit in the rear-end, Fetchit grins broadly and winks slyly at the audience. This is an example of the typical screen 'darkie." Fetchit, a 'black clown," is a 'good nigger," lazy and shiftless, yet "all right at heart. Most importantly, he "knows his place. (Noble 1969 [1948]; 50) Fetchit's depiction of blacks is extremely degrading and demeaning. Blacks across the country were presumed to fit Fetchit's stereotype of being lazy, stupid, foolish, and yet well intentioned. For those who had never encountered black people before, but had seen a Stepin Fetchit film, they were left with a warped, skewed view of blacks by Fetchit's performance. -chapter 1

He acquired his name from a racehorse that he won money on, Step and Fetch it." - chapter 1

The article has also provided me with some modern example of films that use racial stereotyping, which i intend to watch as part of my research:

Even the roles that blacks have in films produced today are sometimes reminiscent of those degrading "darkie" roles that Stepin Fetchit played so well. In the recent comedy, Nothing to Lose, starring Tim Robbins and Martin Lawrence, it is abundantly clear that Hollywood has yet to abandon those negative stereotypes of blacks first created in the early 20th century. Robbins plays Nick Beam, a nice ad-executive, who loves his wife dearly. He is "the quintessential white guy, a square straight and narrow, while Lawrence plays the "wise-ass, street-smart black guy." (http://www.salonmagazine.som/july97/entertainment/nothing970718.html) -chapter 1

In the film, the white guy lectures the black guy about the immorality of armed robbery ("You are a bad person") and the black guy ridicules the white guy for his wimpiness ("You don't have the respect of your woman"). The Hollywood tradeoff is evident. The "white guy gets to be virtuous and the black guy gets to be cool." Throughout the whole movie, Lawrence plays the part of the court jester sidekick to "Robbins' lanky aristocrat, trading full humanity and dignity for sassing rights." Lawrence essentially plays the part of a modern day Stepin Fetchit. In one scene, Lawrence jumps from the car and dances around comically screaming "My ass done fall asleep I dint know an ass could fall asleep!" (http://www.salonmagazine.som/july97/entertainment/nothing970718.html) Lawrence's character perpetuates the existent negative stereotypes of blacks as buffoons and yet no one seems to notice or mind. - chapter 1

The notion that a movie mainly featuring fictional characters and robots could be an example of coded racism had never really occurred to me.

Negative stereotypes of minorities in film can be found in Hollywood as recently as May 19, 1999, with the release of "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace." Many of the extraterrestrial creatures have ethnically tinged caricatures. One character, Jar Jar Binks, has created quite a conflict. An amphibious creature with floppy ears surprisingly similar to Rastafarian dreadlocks, he has a wide nose, bulging eyes, and fat lips, speaks in a Caribbean-style pidgin English and acts as the stupid, bumbling, good-for-nothing sidekick to the Jedi Knights. "Wall Street film critic Joe Morgenstern called Jar Jar 'a Rastafarian Stepin Fetchit on platform hoofs, crossed annoyingly with Butterfly Mequcen,"' a reference to a slave servant in "Gone with the Wind." Additionally, "Los Angeles Times critic Eric Harrison said the primitive tribe that Jar Jar belongs to - the Gungan - is ruled by a fat, buffoonish character, seemingly a caricature of a stereotypical African chieftain."' Media arts professor Daniel Bernadi from the University of Arizona is troubled by the role that Jar Jar plays in the movie. "'He really is sort of your 'Amos 'n' Andy,' Stepin Fetehit, loyal, bumbling colored other???. Even when he saves the day, he does it by accident, so his heroism is sort of a joke, and what makes it more problematic is he does it in the service of 'whiteness."' ( The legacy left by Stepin Fetchit is still evident in movies today. - chapter 1

I've found some articles that further elaborate on the subject of the influences behind the design of Jar Jar and the role of animation in the production of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace:

https://www.awn.com/animationworld/animated-side-star-wars

https://www.indiewire.com/2019/01/jar-jar-binks-actor-ahmed-best-racism-suicide-contemplation-1202032520/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/star-wars-accused-of-race-stereotypes-1097783.html

Article hyperlink -  https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/mediarace/portrayal.htm

[research-report-proposal-1800170]

05/05/20

The book ‘We Real Cool : Black Men and Masculinity’  by Bell Hooks has greatly developed my understanding of masculinity in the black community. It should be known that this book focuses primarily on black male culture within america specifically.

The text discusses some of the stereotype and images forces onto black men such as the ‘image of the brute’ with an interpretation of what exactly does this stereotype translate to in regards to behavioral expectations:

‘At the center of the way black male selfhood is constructed in white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy is the image of the brute— untamed, uncivilised  unthinking, and unfeeling’ - page x

The text suggests that the negative image of the brute came forth from the black communities rebellion against the ‘white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy’ of America. The text suggests that tis image was created to discredit and cast an animalistic shadow over the ‘militant anti-racist activism’, in an attempt to suppress said activism:

‘The radical subculture of black maleness that begin to emerge as a natural outcome of militant anti-racist activism terrified racist white America. As long as black males were deemed savages unable to rise above their animal nature, they could be seen as a threat easily contained. It was the black male seeking liberation from the chains of imperialist white-supremacist capitalist patriarchy that had to be wiped out. This black man potential rebel, revolutionary, leader of the people could not be allowed to thrive’. - page x

The text also suggests that black people ‘radicalize their consciousness to challenge patriarchy’ to overcome the hindrances of a racist society. This is beneficial to my understanding what can be done to make a change:

Anyone who claims to be concerned with the fate of black males in the United States who does not speak about the need for them to radicalise their consciousness to challenge patriarchy if they are to survive and flourish colludes with the existing system in keeping black men in their place, psychologically locked down, locked out. - xi

The text suggests that toxic masculinity among black males in America is patriarchy encouraged and that the effects of this is ‘genocidal’. This is a very interest way to look at the causes and effects of this issues and is very useful to my understanding of the cause and effect of toxic masculinity in the black male american community:

‘The primary genocidal threat, the force that endangers black male life, is patriarchal masculinity’  - xii

The text identifies the issue within ‘mainstream writing about black masculinity’ as the continued ‘push’ of the ‘notion that all black men need to do to survive is to become better patriarchs”. Not only does this reinforce the gender based stereotype of men being the sole head of the family, it encourages the stereotype that black men are not good fathers and ignores the negative effects of toxic masculinity:

‘despite this work and similar work by Michele Wallace, Gary Lemons, Essex Hemphill, and other advocates of feminist politics, our work has not influenced the more mainstream writing about black masculinity that continues to push the notion that all black men need to do to survive is to become better patriarchs’. - xii

The text addresses the issue of toxic masculinity, encourages sexist thinking  resulting in the rejection of advise or leadership of women. This comment has brought to my attention how sexist thinking can result in a breakdown in cooperation between the genders:

‘Allegiance to sexist thinking about the nature of leadership creates a blindspot that effectively prevents masses of black people from making use of theories and practices of liberation when they are offered by women’. - xiii

The text also addresses something very important when discussing a certain demographic  that you do not belong to, which is the fact that you should not be speaking for them , but with them. To me, what is meant by this is that we should be creating platforms for black men to discuss their experiences and creating dialogues that a range of people can participate in but we should not be speaking on behalf of the experiences of others. Which is why when I discuss the effects of misrepresentation of black men and other demographics that i am not a part of, I will be basing everything I say on their own words.  I intend to achieve this by researching articles on the experiences of black men that have been written by black men. Furthermore, not only will i be interviewing individuals within the animation community but i will also be interview black men regardless of whether or not they are in the animation industry to hear first hand the experiences of the black man:

Black women cannot speak for black men. We can speak with them. And by so doing embody the practice of solidarity wherein dialogue is the foundation of true love. - xv

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/norwicharts/reader.action?docID=200865

image - https://images.app.goo.gl/p1Wp4uVS1AvtRJWb9

[research-report-proposal-1800170]

05/05/20

The text, Writing Beyond Race : Living Theory and Practice, by Bell Hooks presents a way in which to abate racism which I believe can also be used by animators to similar effect.

For many of these individuals it is active involvement with movements to end domination that has pushed them in the direction of critical thinking and change. (p1)

A method in which animators can contribute to the removal of racial stereotyping and misrepresentation in the film industry is to use their platforms and works as a way to spread information about movements .

The text, presents evidence in support of the argument the argument that misrepresentation based on racial stereotypes is inevitable because;

There is no longer a common notion of shared black identity. (p2)

Bearing in mind this text bases a lot of its opinion of the experiences of African- Americans specifically.

article - https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/norwicharts/reader.action?docID=1075282

image - https://images.app.goo.gl/3ETn52vj6i997GDB8

[research-report-proposal-1800170]

30/04/20

I will be defining racism using W.J Wilson’s definition found in the literature, The Bridge over the Racial Divide: Rising Inequality and Coalition Politics, on page 14.

racism is “an ideology of racial domination”

Wilson, W.J. 1999. The Bridge over the Racial Divide: Rising Inequality and Coalition Politics. 1st edn. Berkeley, CA. University of California Press

This definition was quoted in a revised article by Matthew Clair and Jeffrey S Denis, ‘Sociology of racism’.

The article discusses the definition of race and its origin. I learnt that ‘the scientific consensus is that race does not exist as a biological category among humans – genetic variation is far greater within than between ‘racial’ groups, common phenotypic markers exist on a continuum, not as discrete categories, and the use and significance of these markers varies across time, place, and even within the same individual’ (Fiske, 2010)..... ’Among social scientists, ‘race’ is generally understood as a social construct’.

The article also quotes S. Cornell and D. Hartmann’s definition of race and ethnicity, found in the literature, Ethnicity and Race: Making Identities in a Changing.

‘Races are distinguished by perceived common physical characteristics, which are thought to be fixed, whereas ethnicities are defined by perceived common ancestry, history, and cultural practices, which are seen as more fluid and self-asserted rather than assigned by others’.

Cornell, S., Hartmann, D., 2006. Ethnicity and Race: Making Identities in a Changing World, second ed. Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks, CA.

https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/deib-explorer/files/sociology_of_racism.pdf

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20/04/20

The article, The Birth of a Nation: The most racist movie ever made?’ written by Tom Brook, developed my understanding of how minorities have historically been misrepresented in the film industry.  The article made me more aware of how deeply ingrained and accepted racism and misrepresentation in the film industry was by the general public. A film which Brook’ claims to exhibit ‘brazen racism’ was a ‘box office success – a mainstream film’ according to Professor Alan Rice, a Birth of a Nation expert at The Institute for Black Atlantic Research at the University of Central Lancashire. The film was also the first to be ‘screened at the White House’.

“This film actually depicts lynching as a positive thing,” -  Ellen Scott, author of the just-published Cinema Civil Rights.

The article supports my inference that misrepresentation and racism in the film industry has a direct impact on the realities of minorities.

“The film is credited with reviving the racist KKK, who adopted it as a recruitment tool. “The Ku Klux Klan had been kind of a dead organisation by 1915, but when the film [came out and became a hit] the KKK was refounded, capitalised on [the film’s success] and in the 1920s became a massive organisation at the peak of nativist fervour in the United States,” says Paul McEwan.

The film perpetuates a commonly used racial stereotype forced upon black men, this being an animalistic imagery used to dehumanise and humiliate.

As a case in point he cites a particular moment in the film that showed black lawmakers in South Carolina “as certain bestial simians eating fried chicken and bananas, leering at white women in the galleries”. Tom Brook’s commenting on a quote by Paul McEwan

The article discusses how cinematic techniques such as parallel editing was used to emphasize the racist narrative, through the juxtaposition of a ‘KKK member rushing to save the heroine’ and then immediately cutting to a clip of a ‘black man attacking various people’. This was beneficial to me because it gave me an understanding of how I can use cinematic techniques to achieve the opposite effects and abate misrepresentation of minorities.

The article provides some reasoning as to why all attempts to ban or censor the film failed.

‘ sex and morality, not racism, were seen as the most pressing problems in cinema at the time – and Griffith and his cohorts had an army of lawyers to fight off efforts to censor his picture’.

Although this statement does not cover all of the reasons why the film was so mainstream’ it does provide an understanding of the importance of censorship of sex over censorship of racism in America at the time.

The article also gave me some other examples of ‘films that are considered works of art but also boast distressing content’ to watch as part of my research: German director Leni Riefenstahl’s 1935 film Triumph of the Will.

article - http://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/story/20150206-the-most-racist-movie-ever-made

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15/04/20

The article, “colourism reveals many shades of prejudice in Hollywood”  by Ron Tom and Associated press, defines "Colorism," the idea that light-skinned minorities are given more privilege than their darker-skinned peers. This is a method of defining colourism that I may choose to use in my proposal, unless I find a definition that I feel is more accurate.

The article discusses the historical implications of colourism, stating that ‘Skin complexion sometimes determined what type of jobs slaves were assigned or if, post-slavery, they were worthy of receiving an education’. The article also mentions histories past use of the ‘brown paper bag’ test, a subject I intend to research in more detail.

The article offers a suggestion for what can be done to make a change; "We have to have social courage to speak up about this stuff and stop being quiet about it," Knowles said. "The only way we change is to be uncomfortable and truthful about our feelings and beliefs." This statement has inspired me to discuss, in my proposal, the importance of black animators using their platforms and art to create a discussion in hope of making a change.

The article also states the subject of colourism is addressed in the episode  "Black Like Us" in the series Black-ish. For research purposes and to better understand the contemporary representation of minorities and the potential change in minority representation in the film industry, I intend to watch and analyze this episode.

article - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/colorism-reveals-many-shades-prejudice-hollyw ood-n959756

image - https://images.app.goo.gl/HyvHBqKRJWC6LHDR9

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This is final draft for my 300 word interim submission:

Possible research questions:

‘Racism in the film industry’ - To what extent does the animation industry play in contributing to the reinforcement of racial stereotypes ?

‘The dangerous art of storytelling’  -  To what extent does the animation industry play in contributing to the reinforcement of racial stereotypes ?

Why do I think this topic is worth researching ?

Storytelling is a power tool that can shape a person's opinion and I believe the film industry has used this tool to reinforce inaccurate racial stereotypes, which have had negative implications on the black community. I believe that it is my responsibility as a black artist to use my powers of influence, however small they may be, to change inaccurate  perceptions concerning the black community. To properly do this, I need to research and understand how the film industry has used the art of storytelling to reinforce these stereotypes. For me to be able to achieve any kind of change I need to be able to properly explain why there needs to be a change.

Some points i intend to begin my researching on:

How is the traditional form of colour imagery used to demonise dark skinned characters ?

White washing

Stereotypes: the angry black women, violent black men, illiteracy,

How does the film industry encourage the separatist mentality of ‘light skin vs dark skin’

Tokenism: the black best friend

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05/04/20:

This week I've been working on my interim submission. I’ve been researching the theory of the criminalisation of black men, mainly in American culture and how the film industry has reinforced this through the use of racially biased tropes. I found an article by David Fakunle and CalvinJohn Smiley called  ‘From “brute” to “thug:” the demonization and criminalization of unarmed Black male victims in America’ which elaborated on this subject. The website also provided me with their emails:

dfakun11@jhu.edu

smileyc@mail.montclair.edu

I think it would be beneficial for my research to include them in the list of people I intend to interview. The article does speak about the mis-represenation of black men in the american media but it focuses mainly on mis-represenataion in the news not the film or animation industry, also the article is exclusively focused on black men. Which is why I would like to contact them and ask for their opinion on the representation of all minories of any gender in the film and animation industry specifically.  

The issues that it does speak about still greatly benefit my research because it investigates the historical criminalization of Black males and its connection to contemporary unarmed victims of law enforcement. The focus on ‘contemporary unarmed victims of law enforcement’ has influenced my decision to focus one of my chapters of my proposal on the effect of misrepresentation for my minorities in real life. I will explore how fiction can change the reality of people's lives. This interest also inspired the wording of my second option for my research question because indeed storytelling can be a dangerous art.

The article discussed the power of language used in the news media. An example of this being “thug” often and almost exclusively used to characterize ‘individuals and groups of Black males’.

“During an interview with CNN, Baltimore councilman Carl Stokes, a Black male, rejected the notion of calling citizens “thugs” by the news anchor that pushed him to agree with the term to describe the occurrences of looting. Stokes responded by stating, “C'mon, so calling them thugs, just call them niggers, just call them niggers” (WSHH, 2015). Councilman Stokes was calling attention to the use of coded language that is in some ways explicitly and other ways implicitly used as a substitute for personally mediated racism, specifically the term “nigger.”...... “This term has become the platform to dismiss Black life as less valuable and perpetuates a negative and criminal connotation in forms of micro-insults and microinvalidations.”

This segment brought to attention a theory that I had not previously considered, the idea that coded language is used as a socially acceptable way of racially profiling a person and insulting them based on their race without explicitly mentioning their race. The article examines the deaths of ‘six different unarmed Black men who were killed by police throughout the United States in order to understand how media coverage addresses their deaths’ and identifies a recurring theme of  ‘posthumous demonization and criminalization of unarmed Black men’. This suggests this is done to ‘justify their deaths while simultaneously shifting blame away from law enforcement’.

The article also brought to my attention the need to discuss the black lives matter movement. The mindset that causes people to racially-profile minorities is reflected in the race based tropes used in the film industry, therefore police brutality and BLM movement could be considered an example of the effects racism in the film industry has had on minorities.

article - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5004736/

image - https://images.app.goo.gl/CRtWwJXEnszSGK7s5

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Preface:

All large quotes taken from the films, literature and articles I intend to evaluate will be written in italics and indented to the right.