...was a time when everyone expected the black man to be the first actor to die in every movie that possessed a black man in its cast. However, over time the assumption of the black man being the first to die has changed. Currently in the year 2012, there are progressively more movies in which black men portray leading roles. This change in black men as leading characters in movies is a welcome change. In the past, supporting or backup roles were considered the best role a black man could achieve. In this paper, the researcher will conduct information by means of content analysis. Content analysis is the most commonly used methodology because of its ability to measure human behavior, assuming that the verbal behavior is a form of behavior. This study will examine specific media products and define these products by determining smaller elements that complement these products. This document will address a wide view of concerns regarding the African American culture, and will provide assumptions on how this issue can be addressed in the future. The stereotype of African Americans in movies today, is the topic of this research paper. Why do African Americans face stereotypes in the media? Why do black actors and actresses have difficulty obtaining roles that are not stereotypical black roles? Why do African Americans accept stereotypical roles? When will African American roles stop having negative stereotypes attached to its characters? These questions are topics that will...
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...couple of days that I began to figure out how completely at odds with the movie I saw was the one she--and those critics--had seen. The more I thought about it, the more I could see that these were no idiosyncratic subjective responses. Rather, our differences were bound up with Spike Lee's mix of styles of representation, which my sister and I responded to selectively and from very different perspectives. While Lee's representation of the Italians was moving and meaningful to her, she could find nothing in his portrayal of the black community that would provide for the same feelings. For, I came to see, while Lee uses to elaborate his white characters methods and narrative and cinematic techniques that have been broadly popularized by Hollywood and are familiar to just about every American, he uses traditionally black methods to generate his black scene--broader than just "characterization" because it extends to a representation of a diverse totality of a black community, with importance lying more in complex relationships and the material conditions that...
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...document ideas about conflicts in literature, which will contribute to the information required for the Week Three Draft and the Week Five Literary Analysis. Recognizing conflict is essential to understanding the various commentaries literature can provide. In Journal One, you identified conflict as it might appear in our everyday world and from other sources. Now, consider the following definition of conflict and how it relates to literature from the textbook or the story/poetry links provided under the requirements for the Literary Analysis: Conflict is opposing actions, ideas, and decisions that hold a plot together...the struggle that shapes the plot in a story. Chapters 1-7 of our text contain a number of stories and poems, each of which rely on at least one conflict. Choose two of this week’s assigned literary works and write about the conflicts presented in each of them. In 250 to 500 words Individual versus Society --- “Still she had come down the road toward the big white church alone. Just herself, an old forgetful woman, nearly blind with age” (para 3.1,2) --- appears to be the main conflict in Alice Walker’s narrative ironically, yet metaphorically named "The Welcome Table”. The theme coming across is that of racism, correct me if I am wrong, with the imagery/ symbolism of “the big white church” versus the lone black Elder. This is the story of an elderly African-American woman, who on a winter night wonders into a Caucasian church service, is by force removed...
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...“Spunk” A Literary Analysis “Spunk” A Literary Analysis Zora Neale Hurston was born in 1901. She was raised in Eatonville, Florida. Zora went to Howard University and progressed on to Barnard College. Zora’s work reflected the use of African American legends in her short stories. Zora Hurston is a vital figure who composed stories and plays during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s. She was committed to telling the stories of many cultures to allocate their social legacy with deference and love with an end goal to beat the unrefined stereotyping of the period. In 1925 during the Harlem Renaissance, Zora wrote a story called “Spunk”. In the story “Spunk”, Zora used the literary terms like character, setting, and conflict that catches the reader’s attention and makes the story “Spunk” a page turner. Zora used the literacy term character in her story “Spunk”, to give the readers an idea about the character personalities. The term character was also used to help the readers to connect with the characters in the story, making the story very interesting. “Spunk”, started out by describing “a giant of a brown skinned man ...” (Hurston, 1925, 502). The character described in the previous sentence, we later found out his name is Spunk Banks. Spunk Banks is described as a giant muscular man who is fearless and confident, which makes everyone scared of him. “But that’s one thing Ah likes about Spunk Banks – he ain’t skeered of nothin’ on God’s green...
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...EN1320 EN1320 04/13/2013 04/13/2013 Essay 3.1 Rhetorical Analysis Obamas “A More Perfect Union” Speech Essay 3.1 Rhetorical Analysis Obamas “A More Perfect Union” Speech On March 18, 2008, Senator and future President Barack Obama delivered a speech that was titled “A More Perfect Union” (Obama Race Speech, 2008). This speech took place in Philadelphia, PA at the National Constitution Center. This speech was given during the 2008 Presidential race and looks to address the concerns regarding video of controversial and racially charged comments made by former pastor Jeremiah Wright which seemed to playing on loop in every media outlet possible. He also addressed the subjects of racial tension and race and inequality in the United States. From the beginning of the speech, it is evident that the most effective appeal that Obama chooses to use is ethos. As a rhetoric tool, ethos is used to establish character. Ethos is an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader (Examples of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos). In order to establish an effective ethos, the speaker must present themselves in a way that will make the audience believe what they say. A strong example of this is when he uses the quote “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union”. In referring to the U.S Constitution, this compels the audience to make a connection of significance and importance between his speech and that of the Constitution...
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...of being perfect leads man to its own destruction? Perfection seen through the film “The Black Swan”. Claudia Patricia Villacís Galarza IB Code: 001421-054 Words: 3980 Abstract The research question of this extended essay is: To what extend the need of being perfect leads man to its own destruction? It is an analysis of perfection through the film The Black Swan. In the film the main character, Nina, is an obsessed ballerina who at the end destroyed her own life. I began the essay trying to prove that her obsession with being perfect is what leaded her to her destruction and death, but after analyzing the movie it all turned around. I based my investigation in reviews of the film, different type of articles; such as from doctors who give their opinion about Nina’s behavior. These ones in particular where the most important for the answer of my research question, because these doctors have analyzed the mental condition of Nina and together with my own opinion it helped me to come to a conclusion. I also focused on the opinion of various dancers about the film, because they are the ones that understand the world of ballet more than anyone else. At last there were also interviews with the director to explain why he decided to make this movie and what he was trying to prove through it. The movie was, of course my principal source, I applied the whole investigation in the analysis of the movie. Then after having read all that information and having analyzed the movie...
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...Professor Morong LBST 1104-563 17 November 2013 Love The Doctor Analysis On November 3rd, 2013 I watched a production of Love the Doctor in the Black Box Theater at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Love the Doctor is a play by Tirso de Molina; it surrounds the story of a girl Dona Jeronima and how she becomes a doctor and finds love. Jeronima falls in love with a man whom does not realize she exists and then she makes it her mission to make him love her and also to become a doctor. For this production of Love the Doctor I believe that the playwright and creative team was trying to get across the fact that women should always feel empowered. The leading lady did not want to do either of the socially acceptable options for a lady during that time, marry a man that was picked for her or join a nunnery, she wanted to practice medicine. I really believe that this play was trying to show that it is possible to break the metaphorical glass ceiling that women encounter in the work force. The director of this production of Love the Doctor was Erin Freeman. Because I have never seen a different production of this particular play, I do not have anything to compare the particular directing style to. I believe that the director wanted the concept of this play to be that glass ceilings can be broken and that you can achieve whatever you set your mind to. This concept did make the play meaningful to me, being a female and completely understanding that there are “ceilings”...
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...The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is a monumental novel earning its place in American Fiction history, and it has been written about and analyzed since its publication in 1952. The story is about a young black college student struggling to survive and to succeed in a racially divided society that refuses to see him as a human being. Told in the first person this novel traces the narrator’s physical and psychological journey from what the author says is, “ purpose to passion to perception.” Throughout the novel Ellison brings up the issues of racial inequality in American society, however he does not appeal gender equality and describes the females in a very stereotypical way, which can be seen through analysis of the few female characters...
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...problem just like it was in the past. It is not publicized as before but it is still alive and well in society. With America being a melting pot of race and ethnicity one would think this issue should not exist. I chose the two poems What it’s like to be a black girl by Patricia Smith and Child of the Americas by Aurora Levins Morales. These two poems are written from a women’s perspective about how racial discrimination is perceived in America. Racism is no longer just a black and white my paper will show how these two pieces showed how cultures are subjected to discrimination. The title of these two poems catch my attention one being I am a black girl and two I am a child of America. I too have faced some challenges that are discussed in these poems. In a country that was founded and built on immigrants society makes a big deal about a person’s race and culture. Why does race matter? Does it make you a better person? Does it make you prettier? Sadly our society has placed into the heads of young women that pretty means lighter skin. That being pretty gives you an easier life. The authors of these two poems are African American and Puerto Rican and they have both faced forms of racial discrimination. In America girls were raised that Caucasian was the accepted race. “It’s dropping food coloring in your eyes to make them blue and suffering their burn in silence (Smith)”. A line for What it’s like to be a black girl is a clear example of how bad this little black girl wanted...
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...present in the reality television series America’s Next Top Model (ANTM). Race is a symbol of what a person looks like physically. While on the other hand, ethnicity entails nationality, regional culture and language. ANTM, a show by Tyra Banks, is one of the many streams of pop culture that creates a mold of what stereotypes certain people fit into and justify these stereotypes for audiences to see them as real. One group that seems to always be plagued by media and pop culture is, African-Americans, specifically, women. Women are generalized to be, “Angry Black Women,” and it is broadcasted heavily. The “Angry Black Women” stereotype...
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...personal prejudice? Do individual experiences fuel standing stereotypes? Is it easier to perpetuate existing stereotypes because "things will never change?" Can people battle internal struggles within their own ethnic group? What prohibits us from overcoming these prejudices? The writers of the Crash managed to extend my viewing experience beyond the 90 minute film, thus forcing me to analyze my own prejudices and racial stereotypes towards others. I always thought that racism occurred as a result of a person's upbringing. If your parents were racist, there is a good chance that you will be a racist too. At first glance, Matt Dillon's character exhibits characteristics typical of this theory. Dillon exhibited a close bond with his father and later, we discover the roots of his racism. I naively assumed that Dillon was absorbing external cues from his father regarding his attitudes towards black people. It turns out that his father was not racist towards black people. It was Dillon who, in combination with his father's negative experiences and his own as a member of the LAPD, formed his own perceptions towards blacks. Another example of this occurred at the beginning of the film when the Persian family was attempting to purchase a gun. The clerk at the gun shop made a few blatantly racist comments about the perceptions of the customers. There were several references to the twin towers and planes. It didn't matter that the two were Persian, not Arab. A reoccurring theme was that post...
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...Personal Transformation * LEWIS (TECHNIQUE: Dialogue, stage direction, relationship with other characters?) 1. The character of Lewis significantly grows in the play. 2. At the beginning of the play, Lewis lacks any direction or creative vision and merely just participates as he ‘needs the money.’ At this point, Lewis is still influenced by the ideals of his roommates Lucy and Nick, thus suggests that “Love is not so important nowadays.” 3. “They’re mad. Its madness...” Shows ignorant view of mental patients. The use of dialogue in the play conveys Lewis progression and personal transformation. 4. A sign of his progression is seen in his development of relationships with the patients, i.e. Julie? Kissing her passionately and stuff. 5. Dialogue creates tension during Lewis’ altercation with Lucy where she forces him to choose between Cosi or Moratorium committee, Lewis chooses Cosi, “Mozart. I’m not going to let them down.” “Its about important things - like love and fidelity.” Major moments in the play that regard Lewis : “That’s why she spends so much time in the toilets... Its where she smokes.” “From today, I’m also in the play.” Lewis playing Ferrando as Doug’s replacement Persuading Henry to stay, building trust in Henry... They’re on common grounds, “I’m not letting you walk out on us. You’ll have to hit me to get out.” Encouraging Roy to maintain his role in the play, “I can’t remember my lines. Not one. Gone.” * HENRY Henry also made...
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...Revolution cementing capitalism into the framework of the nation’s economy, Black people and Indians found themselves pushed out of the national identity. Much of this struggle can be witnessed through an analysis of American theater at the time. Stereotypical portrayals of Black Americans through Black Face Minstrelsy and of American Indians in Indian Plays highlight how White Americans invented social constructs to dehumanize or ridicule “other’ races and protect an imagined White American identity with no static definition. The basis for arguing in defense of a singular definition or identity begins with the denial of all others. In the case of White Americans, this was accomplished by dehumanizing all “other” races. With the advent of abolition and its ideals permeating society, Black slaves had the hope that freedom was attainable, and free White’s adopted fears of a common people class developing in the future with “unthinkable” consequences like widespread amalgamation. Slavery would no longer be the precondition for separatism. The void was filled in part by theories of racial science as developed by scientists like Craniologist Samuel Morton. According to his studies, races could be determined by the size and shape of their skulls and by consequence the variances are what made brains larger or smaller, well equipped or malformed, the White Race most superior to all others. (Fabian) How could black people, free or slave, be considered Americans if they were not even fully...
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...The goal of my visual analysis is to demonstrate my understanding of how the visuals communicate its messages and meanings to me. I broke the visual pieces into parts and analyzed each source of dialogue. I can offer my insight of what I believe each piece means. Context that I am looking for referring to the circumstances of the environment where a piece of communication takes place. Sometimes the author has a measure of control over context, like whether or not the topic relates to the audience that the visual is for. Other times, a topic is specifically made for an audience to encounter their own emotions. Context clues are an important source of the rhetorical situations into the visuals and can easily make or break the effectiveness of...
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...Analyzing Ava ta r: A Rev iew Essa y Nekeisha Alexis-Baker By the time I decided to see James Cameron’s Avatar, I had already heard enough about the film to be unsure whether it would be worth the time, effort and petroleum to see it. People’s comments about the film ranged from praise for its groundbreaking 3D animation; to criticism of its racist portrayal of the indigenous; to disappointment with the overly predictable storytelling; to appreciation for its critique of colonization and civilization. I even heard complaints from fellow peace church Mennonites about its overwhelming use of redemptive violence. After seeing the film through my Christian anti-civilization (anti-civ) anarchist vegan antiracist woman of color lenses, my sense is that Avatar is more complex than many of its detractors or advocates acknowledge. Set on the planet Pandora, Avatar is a sci-fi story of a mercenary-backed corporation’s attempt to confiscate and mine the land inhabited by humanoid aliens known as the Na’vi. Enter Jake Sully, the paraplegic U.S. marine protagonist who joins the science and anthropology wing of the operation as a substitute navigator for his deceased twin brother’s avatar. Early in the film, we discover that the avatar is an expensive high-tech clone that allows its user to temporarily experience and subsequently infiltrate the Na’vi community. After a series of unexpected events during his first avatar excursion, Jake finds himself living amongst the Na’vi clan known as...
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