Where are we?

    In preparation for writing my essay for English class, I came across a couple of sources that examined the problem of under-representation of the minorities in popular culture such as movies, music and theatre arts.
   A study by a sociologist named A.J. Weavers showed that whites preferred to watch movies that had an all white cast rather than movies which contained non-whites in leading roles. It's surprising to hear that this kind of casual racism still exists in a modern society. It just shows that society still has a lot of work to do before we reach the point each race is viewed equally.
  The other source I used was one that I used looked at the history of blacks in cinema. It doesn't take much research to realize that blacks and minorities were heavily stereotyped and marginalized in early cinema and entertainment. The movie "Birth of a Nation" is perfect example of the kind of racism that was seen in the early days of cinema. Even though many film critics consider it to be a technical masterpiece, many of the "black" people portrayed in the film were actually whites in blackface behaving stereotypically. The United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the national film registry for having "historical, cultural or aesthetic significance" even though it contains these racial stereotypes.
   These sources provide very compelling evidence that minorities throughout the decades have been marginalized and stereotyped by the white majority. It's unsettling that films that contain racism and negative stereotypes are viewed by some people as being masterpieces.

Work Cited:

Weaver, A.J. “The Role of Actor's Race in White Audiences' Selective Exposure to Movies.” Journal of Communication 61.2 (2011)

Cripps, T. Afrcana Encyclopedia. Web. February 16^th 2011.