Thinking back in time to the era of the new and fresh occurrence of Black Hollywood, it is quite apparent that it has moved on drastically from the state of it’s original starting point. From a black woman (Hattie Mcdaniels) playing the role of a maid in Gone With The Wind directed by Victor Flemming in 1939, now it is very common to see a role of an accomplished, independent black actress for example Halle Berry in Perfect Stranger who plays a role of a journalist. The movie was directed by James Folly in 2007.
It has been nearly a century of the rise of Black Hollywood. Many changes have taken place since the years of black actors being depicted in a negative manner. In the early years of Black Hollywood, many stereotypes generally negative about black people were reinforced and strengthened in the movies made. However some of the stereotypes such as the ‘Mammy’ was not particularly negative nevertheless it still had a strong effect on further degrading the position of black people in society. In other words, they were constantly being seen as lower in status and inferior to white people. ‘Mammy’ was a jolly over sized house worker and this stereotype was dominant in the history of black women for quite a long time. It can be argued that certain stereotypes about black people, such as being involved in violence and crime still exist and are being portrayed in the movies made today such as Crash directed by Paul Haggis in 2006 which includes two main black actors as trouble makers.
In conclusion, there has been changes in Black Hollywood since it’s emergence and discrimination and prejudice is no longer evident in any movies made today however it can be said that some stereotypes of black people still exist today in the world of media.
