ETHN response 4 PDF

Preview

Summary

These are mandatory little responses/essays that are about what the class consisted of. ...

Description

Ernesto Carreon Response #3 In the article, “Hot Fantasies” in Music and the Racial Imagination, Ronald Radano analyzes the relationship music and race have. Radano analyzes how African American rhythm became to be referred to negative characteristics; fever, drugs, and disease. These characteristics are basically meant to show how African rhythm is meant to have negative effect outside the black community. In the article, “Within our Gates: From Race Melodrama to Opportunity Narrative,” Jane Gaines critiques two different melodrama films such as The Birth of a Nation and Within our Gates. The Birth of a Nation was directed by D. W. Griffith focused on the problems that tore Negro families apart (Gaines 70). This film, focused on representing the black community on its negative stereotypes. One example was how this film portrayed black men as sexual aggressive towards white women. In comparison, Within our Gates, Oscar Micheaux counter argues the film. Micheaux focuses on the positive stereotypes of the black community and also represents some of the negative aspects of the white community. While The Birth of a Nation portrays black males as sexually aggressive towards white women, the film Within our Gates has a scene where Sylvia, a young black women, is being sexually assaulted by a white male. After watching Within our Gates, I had to do some research because in lecture we talked about the use of Blackface. I began to question to what extent do films use black face? In the article, “Within our Gates,” they talk about two films, Within our Gates and The Birth of a Nation, I discovered that one film used blackface and another film actually casted AfricanAmerican actors. Within our Gates was the film who casted African-American actors to play

black characters instead of using blackface to play black characters. The film, Within our Gates, illustrated the journey of a young African-American women whose goal is to raise enough money to save a school for African-American children. I recall reading about how the film, Within our Gates focused on opportunity narratives, as I mentioned the focus on education for black children. Also, after researching more about The Birth of a Nation, there focus revolved around the positive stereotypes of the white community, this film portrayed the Ku Klux Klan ad a heroic group rather than a racist group. This also brings more doubt to why the use of blackface, but as they said in lecture “what are the risk people taking doing these films?” How would black actor feel filming this film when the KKK is being represented positively?...