What does the author see as the dangers of the way Black lives are portrayed in the movies?
I think current movies are sensitive to portraying Black people in a negative light. For many years Black people were portrayed in a very negative and condescending light. In the coming years, a reasonable balance might be obtained.
Baldwin touches on so many different issues when discussing movies, some that made me cringe. One point that stood out is when he’s discussing The Defiant Ones and In the Heat of the Night in which he uses the Bible stories of Job and Joseph. He mentions how plot can camouflage bitter questions which “cannot be forgotten any more than branding on the skin can be forgotten. And if branding on the skin cannot be forgotten, , which is to say undone, then it will certainly be repeated.”
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There are so many dangers. In his time, and especially as I was growing up, there was danger of how other people portrayed Black people. They thought that this must be true or accurate. It is hard to change the views of other people. Some are never forgotten. Some are so common that we don’t think there is any issue of old norms. Worse, it is how Black people see how themselves being portrayed by society especially who are in controlled with power and influence. And how they compare themselves to the depictions that they see. They sometimes can’t relate to how they are portrayed. Even with more representation, it is based or founded on the norms. And people are trying to overcome them instead of seeing who they really are. Black women are not represented accurately. The concept of beauty, speech, behavior, is still based on what is accepted in white society. There aren’t many dark-skinned Black women represented in movies, art and literature. And when she is, she’s always strong, angry, and trying to overcome some injustice. Still lighter complexion or mixed race Blacks have more opportunity and are less threatening to society. People find lighter complexion, affluent Blacks more approachable, closer to whites. But it sad to say for most Blacks, things have changed but not as significant in their daily lives for employment, education, living standards and communities, or opportunities. And lately we are starting to see our society reverting backwards because some folks feel threatened or think that Blacks are taking away something from white society, that they didn’t deserve or can do. We now have “white discrimination”. So some for every stride forward, there seem to be three steps backward. Hard to hold on to accomplishment and gains. Many people don’t want to hear what really happens before, during and after slavery, civil rights movements, …etc. So the old norms are hard to overcome, and cannot trust or believe that many will trust or believe the new portrayals of Blacks.
Your points are all well made. With regard to your point about representation and trying to overcome the norms, I’ll just add that films often seem more concerned about how someone is packaged/portrayed for the sole purpose of entertainment and often at the expense of the truth.
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Well stated. The whole concept is overwhelming.
My perception is that Baldwin sees the dangers of how black lives are portrayed in the movies as stereotypes that become ensconced in time. Portrayals of blacks as ignorant, uneducated, immoral, and untrustworthy create boundaries that future generations must overcome. Further, these portrayals are inaccurate, but later generations seem less inclined to research the truth for themselves.
Baldwin clearly was sure that the stereotypes were just reinforcing White supremacy and leading to more.i think he understood the power of movies to shape our culture and reinforce power structures. The influence of movies on how we see women, gays, people of color- so much, is frightening when I think about the real reason 98% of movies are made-money. I wish the people who make movies looked at positive influences and our better nature instead of shock value and making a buck.