Ethnic Notions

Historic images age just like humans, but they never disappear. We read of slavery and war in textbooks, but none of us truly know the extent of these events. In the movie Ethnic Notions, produced and directed by Marlon Riggs, I witnessed a lot of ignorance as well as racism. It was a movie showing the way blacks were portrayed in history. The movie opened showing cartoon images of blacks eating watermelon while singing and dancing, along with a distorted view of what they look like. Many cartoons and movies showed the idea that blacks were actually happy being slaves; sort of “friends” with their masters, part of the family, playing with the master’s children and having fun. During this time, whites would even imitate blacks for comedy as well as play the part of blacks in movies.

“Mamie” is a term used to describe black women who were slaves; they were portrayed as larger women, wearing bandannas over their hair. They were always seen as happy women, singing and loving slavery. These women were very protective of the household they’re a part of and they’re said to be strong, happy and ugly. This is due to the fact that if she were to be pretty, this would be a threat to the wife of the household. Views of black children were also distorted. They were made out to be animal like and savage like. These images of blacks are still with us today. On bottles of syrup, Aunt Jemima is black and wearing a bandanna, just like “Mamie.” Even though these images are false perceptions, why do they continue to be a part of today’s society?

While watching this movie, I felt very uncomfortable and uneasy. I was looking around and noticed others who seemed to feel the same. We were told we may laugh at some of the things in the video, but I just felt nervous. It worries me that these false, hurtful images of blacks are still around. This is probably the case with many other races, but it something that shouldn’t be an issue after all these years. If this is the case, why do we still see and hear all of this hatred and negativity?