Will we ever be done with black stereotypes?

[The Curmudgeon]

There are a million stereotypes, some that will be with us forever and some that are pretty much harmless. The bowler hatted, ever-so polite Englishman, the glasses wearing bookworm, the parka wearing Eskimo.. you know the kind of thing I mean.

Before I start, here's a snippet from the "Abridged Script" of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Don't worry, no spoilers here.

SKID

Sheeeeit muddafucka, bitches be straight trippin’.

TYRESE GIBSON

No. Don’t do any more of that.

MUDFLAP

I gots ta get me some watermelon and fried chickin!

TYRESE GIBSON

NO NO NO NO. This kind of crap can’t exist in a movie released on 2009, it just can’t.

SKID

Anyone gots any grape Kool-aid ta wash dis here down?

TYRESE GIBSON

STOP STOP STOP STOP! YOU ARE DESTROYING MY BRAIN’S MODEL OF THE WORLD! THIS CANNOT EXIST, STOP IT RIGHT FUCKING NOW.

Aaaand that's pretty much what I mean. Now, obviously the characters from the movie didn't go down the "watermelon" route, but that's pretty much where this sort of shit belongs. And yet we KEEP ON SEEING IT.

And this isn't some "white folks keeping the black man down" speech, there are countless black musicians adhering (and virtually embracing) every negative black stereotype under the sun. Look at these images and try not to vomit;





And then check out this "hilarious" promo from WWE on tag team Cryme Tyme (who were good guys, by the way).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSMIMQZq-Xs

When is this bullshit going to end? Why are 99% of black characters on television either bling obsessed garbage speaking fools or criminals? When is someone going to stop and say, "you know what? Can we not do this anymore?"

It just seems like we're stuck in a cycle. The more these stupid stereotypes are portrayed, the more people will believe them, and worse, continue to act like them. I remember watching an episode of America's Next Top Model where a black girl was being chastised by some of the other black girls because she didn't act "black" enough. What the FUCK does that even MEAN? Talk about setting your entire fucking race back 50 years. So because she wasn't some finger snapping chicken head, ohnoyoudidn't moron she isn't acting black?

This whole situation depresses and angers me, and I don't see a way out.

[Benjamin Haines]

Black stereotypes have survived and festered into this new millennium due in large part to the media. Black actors in movies and rappers on the radio are both the role models for black boys and girls growing up today and the archetype of their entire race that gets instilled into the minds of the majority non-black populace. It's snowballed into something of a chicken-and-egg effect nowadays. Many black people today embrace and emulate stereotypes that they see members of their own race depict in movies, while at the same time, the vast majority of all people who feed their minds with the media expect such stereotypes in the first place.

I'm thinking that most black rappers that are involved in the music industry embrace their race's stereotypes with a kind of 'go with the flow' mentality, probably reluctantly so. If they don't flaunt bling- and gun-laden imagery and abandon any hint of education when they speak, the masses of scum won't buy into their product. Mainstream crowds expect the stereotypes. Taking that away from an MTV viewer is like saddling a by-the-numbers romantic comedy with a downbeat ending in which everybody breaks up and dies; the target audience feels alienated because they didn't get what they expected.

I doubt aspiring black actors enjoy fueling stereotypes by getting involved with dreck like Soul Plane or Little Man, but when those are the only kinds of roles for which producers are casting black actors, which in turn is because those are the only roles in which mainstream moviegoers expect to see most* black actors, they really don't have any choice. My heart goes out to them. It really must suck to have to set your race back 50 years just to get work.


*Obvious exceptions being A-list or otherwise well-known black actors. Will Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Eddie Murphy, etc.

[trashcanman]

Eddie Murphy is no exception. He used to be great, but his recent stuff is based entirely on moronic black stereotypes being funny. We will never be completely done with them, but in time I think they will be utilized only in deliberately offensive humor and not as mainstream fodder for idiots. That's a hope. Allow me to rock some more Boondocks, if you would. Here's the truth about black media:

[The Curmudgeon]

Yeah, Eddie Murphy can pretty much fuck off and retire. Eddie Murphy in the 80s? Gold. Eddie Murphy now?



Yeah, not so much.

Boondocks looks like the best fucking show on the planet. Why in the HELL are we not getting that over here? I actually had to look up what "BET" was, I thought it was maybe a made-up station, but no - it's real. And more frighteningly, there's a BET UK too.

So how long has Boondocks been on, Trash? Is it on DVD in full seasons or is it like Robot Chicken, just specials?

[Benjamin Haines]

Damn, I guess I had blocked Norbit out from my memory. You guys have a point about Murphy. When I wrote my previous post I had in mind the fact that his most recent movie was Imagine That, in which he plays a suburban family man who encounters his daughter's imaginary friends come to life. I haven't seen it and don't intend to, but it sounds to me like a role no different than Adam Sandler in the recent Bedtime Stories.

The Boondocks is downright brilliant. Along with The Venture Bros. it's easily the most high-quality and intelligent show to come out of Adult Swim. Both of its seasons are available on North American DVD with a third season currently in production.
www.amazon.com/Boondocks-Complete-First-Season/dp/B000F8O2QK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1250108408&sr=1-2
www.amazon.com/Boondocks-Complete-Second-Regina-King/dp/B0016KCCCM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1250108408&sr=1-1

And while I'm at it, in case you haven't seen it either, let me also highly recommend The Venture Bros. as a blind buy. It's a show that won't make any sense if you watch the seasons (or really, the episodes) out of order, but it's incredibly addictive for fans of classic cartoons, comic books or just pulp entertainment in general. It rewards repeat viewings like nobody's business.
www.amazon.com/Venture-Bros-Season-One/dp/B000EMGIDC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1250108895&sr=1-3
www.amazon.com/Venture-Bros-Season-Two/dp/B000M7XRC4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1250108895&sr=1-2
www.amazon.com/Venture-Bros-Season-Three/dp/B001NOMO2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1250108895&sr=1-1


And now back to black stereotypes.....

[trashcanman]

Thanks, Haines. How I've never gotten in Venture brothers I'll never know, considering I watch more Adult Swim then anything else on tv. Speaking of which, there are full seasons of Robot Chicken available on DVD here. I'm too lazy to do each season individually so here's the search results: www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_ys?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=robot+chicken&x=0&y=0

You know what's really funny about that BET clip? Those are supposedly animated versions of the actual executives, who the creator knows because he tried to get the show on the network at one point. Even Adult Swim wouldn't air those episodes and considering how far they regularly push the envelope, that's pretty crazy.