Racism in Film Essay Example

of entire groups of people based on their appearance.

Another method that reinforces the subordination of racial minorities is stereotypes, which suggests that certain characteristics are universal in all members of a particular racial group (16). Racial stereotypes are used to make decisions about people that possess certain racial attributes and they can be extremely damaging to races. Stereotypes are used to maintain white superiority over all races through the idea that over the course of history, people of color have been seen as inherently inferior.

The last method used in films to reinforce subordination of racial minorities is ystem-supportive themes, which are formulas that dominate Hollywood films. These themes are not intended to harm the racial minorities but they indirectly do so by promoting the status quo. They “celebrate whiteness and deny and obscure white privilege and the systems that maintain it” (18). A common system supportive theme is that whites are noble leaders and that minorities want to follow and serve them. The white is basically seen as a messianic character that rescues, protects, and leads those of racial minorities.

Each of these methods is expressed in the three films of this study in order to reinforce subordination of racial minority groups. The first movie of the study, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), is about a man named R. P. McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, who is transferred from jail to a mental institution after pretending to be insane. It is not long after McMurphy is admitted to the asylum that he notices the patients are terrified of the head nurse, Nurse Ratched.

Over the course of

the entire film, McMurphy and Nurse Ratched constantly come in conflict as McMurphy tries to change things in the asylum, while Nurse Ratched attempts to control her patients in every way. These two characters embody system-supportive themes common in Hollywood films. Not only is McMurphy the protagonist in this film, but also he is the great leader who tries to free the other patients from the tyrannical Nurse Ratched. He brings happiness to patients and lightens up the mood in the asylum, thus he is the noble leader that the patients of the ward look up to and follow.

Nurse Ratched embodies the themes of the system-supportive message in that she is the other protagonist and also holds a high role in the mental institution. In fact, all but one of the doctors and nurses in the entire mental institution are white, the exception being an Indian doctor (from India). While all of the esteemed employees are white, the workers who have less significant jobs are all black. This presents an imbalance between two races and depicts the whites as having a white privilege.

The inequality between the two races is a system-supportive theme that depicts blacks in a negative way, and promotes the status quo and white superiority over blacks. Blacks are selectively excluded and stereotyped in a negative way throughout the entirety of the film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The black workers have very few lines in the movie and their main function is to subdue patients when they get out of control. Since they have a very limited role in the film, it is not possible to recognize

any characteristics of these characters. There are acts of violence in most scenes that the blacks are included in.

Therefore, the audience is inclined to make generalizations about blacks as a whole. Also, the black workers take orders from Nurse Ratched and the other white staff members and carry out whatever they are told to do. This represents the superiority of whites. This film is racist towards blacks because they have no major role in the film, are seen as violent, and act solely as the pawns for Nurse Ratched and the rest of the white crew. Native Americans are depicted in the film through the character Chief Bromden. In the first part of the movie, Chief Bromden pretends to be dumb and mute.

This “degraded Indian stereotype shows Indians as weak, unsuccessful, mentally deficient, or chemically dependent” (50). Chief Bromden embodies almost all of these characteristics, and while he is not physically weak, he appears mentally weak. McMurphy attempts to teach him how to play basketball but struggles mightily because the Chief seems incapable of learning. This stereotypical portrayal is degrading towards Native Americans and makes them seem intellectually inferior as a whole. However, the audience sees a major transformation in Chief Bromden as the film goes on.

While the Chief and McMurphy are sitting on a bench awaiting shock therapy, the Chief utters a few words revealing to us that he is not deaf or dumb. In fact, he is very wise because he had been playing dumb in order to protect himself from the evil practices of the mental asylum, such as shock therapy and lobotomy. The Chief’s character

shifts from one stereotype of Native Americans to another. In this part of the film, he is stereotyped as the good Indian, “a peace-loving man portrayed as isolated from other Indians and helpful to whites that seek spiritual redemption and truth” (49).

At the end of the movie, McMurphy is lobotomized. This once colorful individual who brought so much life to the asylum is reduced to a vegetable. Chief Bromden, being the honorable Indian that he is, puts McMurphy out of his misery by smothering him with a pillow. He then fulfills McMurphy’s dream of escaping to Canada by pulling the fountain out of the ground and throwing it through the window. Chief Bromden embodies two stereotypes of Native Americans in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Unlike One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the film Glory (1989) treats the issues of race in a completely different way.

This film is centered on a black regiment of the Union army, so not only are blacks included in the film, but also a few of the main characters are black. Glory uses the subservient stereotypes of toms and coons, as well as a traditional stereotype of assimilated blacks to represent the black soldiers in this film. In short, Glory is based on the true story of a young man named Robert Shaw, played by Matthew Broderick, who is promoted to Colonel and given command of the first all black regiment, the 54th Infantry.

Black people from all over the country volunteer to be a part of this infantry in hopes of defeating the Confederates and ending slavery once and for all.

One of these volunteers is John Rawlins who is played by Morgan Freeman. Rawlins epitomizes the stereotypical Tom in this film. Larson characterizes Toms as socially acceptable good Negro character that remains generous, selfless, kind, and faithful, even though he is enslaved and treated poorly by whites (27). Before joining the 54th Infantry, Rawlins is a gravedigger that buries the dead from battle.

Even though he is a wise man he is still a Negro, so he must hold degrading jobs that no white man wants, such as being a gravedigger. Once Rawlins joins the Infantry, he immediately gains the respect of the members of the 54th. He is constantly breaking up fights such as when he restrains Private Trip from getting in a fight with an officer. Rawlins also takes care of his fellow soldiers. After months of intense training, most of the men’s feet become infected, so Rawlins goes to Colonel Shaw and informs him of the situation. He politely asks Colonel Shaw on many occasions for new boots for the soldiers, and eventually his prayers are heard.

Rawlins gains the respect of Colonel Shaw and the other officers because of his selfless and generous acts, and as a result, Colonel Shaw promotes him to the ranking of Sergeant Major. This proves that whites socially accept Rawlins, further proving his character as the stereotypical Tom. Private Trip, who is played by Denzel Washington, embodies the characteristics of a pure coon. According to Larson, the pure coon is the most degrading of all black stereotypes (28). She goes on to describe a pure coon as someone who is “lazy, good-for-nothing, forever-in-hot-water” (28).