Hollywood's 6 Favorite Offensive Stereotypes
People think of Hollywood as the most liberal place in the known universe, but really that only goes as far as the drugs and orgies are concerned. When it comes to minorities, Hollywood still seems to have a few shamefully corny and simplistic roles in mind. Here's the six Hollywood stereotypes that can't die soon enough:
#6.
The Magic Negro
As Seen in:
The Green Mile, The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Shawshank Redemption, Bruce Almighty, Song of the South
The Magic Negro is a simple, humble person. Perhaps he is a janitor, or a farmer, and he doesn't know anything about those fancy colleges or them modern sciences, but what he knows, he knows from the heart, and that makes it truer than any of your whitey statistics, facts or pie charts.
He can have actual magical powers (Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile) or simply possess an extraordinary level of earthly wisdom (Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption).
In all cases, the Magic Negro has zero ambitions of his own. His entire existence revolves around the lead white character, whom they help with their simple, rustic wisdom even if it costs them their lives. It's as if they have nothing better to do, which they don't, because the plot is about the white guy achieving his goals.
What's So Bad About That?Notice that the Magical Negro's powers are not in any way due to his own work or training at all. He's no Batman. And why do they have to be prisoners or janitors again?
Also, notice that they're still acting as the servant here. They only exist in the story to help the lead white character. That's right, black youth of America: even if you discover you have powers that transcend time and space, you'll still wind up serving the white man. Hell, Morgan Freeman's God in Bruce Almighty basically alters the whole fucking universe, just so Jim Carrey can get his priorities straight.
#5.
The Gay/Effeminate Psychopath
As Seen in:
Silence of the Lambs, Stargate, Dune, 3:10 To Yuma, The Powerpuff Girls, Braveheart, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Rob Roy, The Lion King, countless anime.
The Flaming Homo Bad Guy only has one goal in life, to be gayer and more evil than anybody else. If he sees a guy in a salmon-colored shirt and white khakis clubbing a baby seal, the Flaming Homo Bad Guy will put on a pink tutu, gather up some baby seals, kittens and puppies and rent a wood chipper.
He may actually be overtly homosexual (Braveheart) or he may just carry out his evil with a series of effeminate gestures and phrases and show a creepy, semi-erotic fascination with the male hero.
What's So Bad About That?You may be asking why we included this instead of the "Bad Guy With Foreign Accent" seen in countless action movies--the Die Hard films, just for starters.
The difference there is at least there's usually some sort of reason in the plot why the foreign bad guy is foreign. The movie Red Dawn may have been propaganda, but the bad guys were Russian because it was about a war with Russia, not because Russians are inherently dicks.
The effeminate bad guy, on the other hand, plays right to the insecurities of the young, male audience those movies are aimed at, taking everything they find disgusting about homosexuality and using it to ratchet up the horror.
"Look! A serial killer!"
"Meh."
"And he's dancing around naked in a room full of body parts!"
"That's pretty gross, I guess."
"And he's stuffed his junk between his thighs so he looks like a woman!"
"OH JESUS GET OUT OF MY WAY I'M GOING TO BE SICK."
#4.
The Latina Maid
As Seen in:
Goonies, Maid in Manhattan, Spanglish, Crash, Mad Money, Down and Out in Beverly Hills.
The Latina Maid's role before was usually played by compact Hispanic women between 30 and 60 years old, but now may be played by J.Lo. The entire role has them in the background of the film running around with a vacuum cleaner, or waving a duster around at some vases removing their dust and your dignity at the same time.
But don't worry! The Latina Maid will usually have her time to shine and use her special secret move in the middle of the movie, when she runs into one of the important lead characters doing something "wacky" like cross-dressing, parading in a Hitler costume, or spreading peanut butter on his genitals in front of the family dog.
At this point the Latina maid will do the sign of the cross at lighting speed multiple times and scream "AY, EL DIABLO!" before running away and screaming hysterically, never to be seen in the foreground again.
If you want details you can always ask actress Lupe Ontiveros ...
... Who has been cast as a maid between 150 to 300 times.
What's So Bad About That?Back in the '50s, Hollywood assumed that by 2000 the American cities would be utopias served by an army of robot servants. So we shouldn't exactly be bursting with pride over the fact that here in the future we've replaced "robots" with "grossly underpaid immigrants."
But why does "Latina Maid" make the list whereas, say, the "Sexy Latino Gardener Who Bangs the Lady of the House" doesn't? The problem is Hollywood has progressed from using the Latina maid as a prop to give those wacky, exaggerated foreigner reactions (i.e., the ending of Goonies) to the more modern, enlightened version where the maid is young and saucy and is the object of lust for the Caucasian male of the house (Maid in Manhattan, Spanglish).
Great job, Hollywood! You've elevated the Latina maid all the way up into "French maid" territory. Can the sexy "Latina maid" Halloween costumes be far behind?
Progress!
#3.
The Mighty Non-Whitey
As Seen in:
The Black Knight, Bringing Down the House, Trading Places, Hairspray, Money Talks, Head of State, Bullworth, Houseguest, Big Momma's House 2.This is a kind of flip-side to a genre of movie you've seen a hundred times. In those films, the white, American male has to live with a non-white or non-American (or both) culture for some reason. At first, white American doesn't like the other culture, but slowly starts adopting it.
At the end of the movie, the white American saves the day with his whitey know-how and is considered a really awesome member of his new community (see The Last Samurai, Dances With Wolves, City of Joy, etc).
The "Mighty Non-Whitey" takes that idea and turns it around, where the jive-talking black guy winds up in some white-dominated situation and turns their world upside down (see Head of State, where a black man runs for president! Ha!)
What's So Bad About That?
You'll notice that in the white version of this tale, the white man adopts to the other culture and then excels (will not Dances With Wolves' Kevin Costner be remembered as the greatest Sioux of them all?). But with a black actor in the role, suddenly he's the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, a fish out of water, saving the day with dancing, rapping and taking things easy.
At best, the hero is a fast-talking con artist, who's constantly putting one over on the trusting, stuffy whites (Beverly Hills Cop). Usually the tension between cultures is resolved once and for all when the stuffy white man adopts one of his ghetto catchphrases, or, even better, raps a little.
#2.
The Wise, Old, Asian Asshole
As Seen in:
Big Trouble in Little China, Heroes, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Kill Bill, Norbit, any kung fu movie with a training sequence, any movie with a scene inside a dry cleaning shop.The mean, old, Asian asshole is usually played by old Asians or British actors pretending they are old Asians (more common back in the day when Asians were too Asian to appear in movies, even as Asians).
As its name can attest, the character is mean, old and a gigantic asshole. His entire purpose in life is to hurt and humiliate any person that wanders into his asshole-radius--or, as the scientists call it, the fuckusphere,--with a litany of insults, snappy comebacks or plain kicks and punches delivered with a heavy, vaguely Asian accent and the usual jumbled grammar.
The catch with this one is that often the Asian asshole turns out to be right in the end. Mr. Miyagi goes out of his way to make the Karate Kid's life hell, teaching his skills in the most annoying way possible all while arbitrarily withholding information that would have made the process easier for everyone. But, in the end, he makes the Karate Kid good at karate, which saves him from living a life with an embarrassingly mismatched nickname.
Even a show like Heroes, with its groundbreaking Japanese lead in Hiro, still introduces the stereotypical Old Asian Asshole in Hiro's father. And in the end, wouldn't you know it, it turns out he was right all along! He just felt the need to be a dick about it.
What's So Bad About That?This one seems to simultaneously play off both our lingering post-World War II nervousness over Japan, and the sense of inferiority Americans have felt since the '80s when we started to realize how much better their cars, TV's and stereos were than ours.
So somehow we wind up with a character who is superior, and who possesses all of the secrets and techniques the white main character needs to succeed, but who for no reason at all will only share them after forcing him to penetrate 13 layers of pure asshole.
#1.
The Cowardly/Incompetent Black Sidekick
As Seen in:
The Fifth Element, Dungeons & Dragons, Die Hard, Superman III, and a lot of movies with Eddie Murphy and Chris Tucker.
A black cop and a white cop teaming up to defeat terrorist drug dealers/baby snuff porn peddlers is a beautiful and totally normal thing. Ebony, ivory, fighting crime together in harmony!
The problem comes when some higher up sees Lethal Weapon, starts messing with the formula and decides that one half of the team should be "funny." Now, there is nothing wrong with being funny, but then what's funnier than a bumbling, incompetent, annoying, cowardly person fighting crime with a serious, hard-as-nails action hero?
Now make a wild guess and tell us which half of the team is the one getting saddled with the non-heroic role?
If we have to explain why it's bad that the black guy is always the dumb one and the white guy is the invincible action-god, then we probably don't have enough room here to bring you up to speed.
What is interesting is the Bad Boys franchise, where Martin Lawrence plays the cowardly/incompetent black sidekick, but to a partner who is also black, but just in a more acceptable way. Does that still count? If not, why?
We'll leave that to you to figure out. Write a paper on the subject and turn it in by Thursday.
If you liked that, you just might enjoy our rundown of The 9 Most Racist Disney Characters. Then go watch our video in which the bizarre origins of classic video games are explained.
I usually find that those who go aroung accusing others of being racist are, in fact, the more rasict of the two. Secondly, boo hoo. f*****g get over it.
ReplyYou're forgetting #7 - "Women as Love Interest" found mostly in action movies, but many others. She exists only to shed her clothes and provide romance for the white, male lead. Come on, people! Women are far too interesting to be limited to that ONE role! But it's so common hardly anyone seems to notice it.
ReplyI onve again enjoyed the article, but found my enjoyment hampered by the fact that you guys DON'T HAVE AN EDITOR! I know, you say you have one, and he presumable collects a paycheck, but once again we have layout problems, and serious grammatical errors. You can "adopt" a new culture, or "adapt" TO one, but you cannot "adopt to" one. This should not keep happening on a site with this much traffic.
ReplyAh, jeez, my complaint about the editing has a typo in the SECOND WORD! Sad? Embarrassing? Ironic? yeah. sorry.
when i see lupe ontiveros, my first thought isn't "maid"... my first thought is "that b***h killed selena!"
ReplyI don't get why any of these are offensive. Cliched? Yes. Offensive? Not really.
Reply Hide All See All 3 RepliesIt's offensive because minorities are not portrayed very much in movies to begin with. Also, the dominant culture (typical white people) will look at how a person of minority is portrayed in the media and assume that is how all people of that minority are. So what you are left with is a limited number of roles for minority actors to portray, and the ones they do get to portray, risk making everyone think that all people of their ethnic group/race are that way. Also a lot of these minority characters are not treated as fully-realized thinking individuals, but rather as a means to the ends of the main character (who is usually white). Peoples are ends in a matter of speaking. They are the fully realized product of thoughts, feelings, values. To treat them as a means to someone else's ends reduces their humanity and people see that story acted out and absorb the message (whether consciously or subconsciously) that people of that group, or people with those characteristics are not really people, but functioning objects that are there to make other peoples lives better (never their own). Basically they're treated as not important as the main character usually white and/or male) and people of both sides walk away absorbing that message and it effects their day-to-day lives.
So how is it not offensive for you to assert that white people can't differentiate between fiction and reality? Furthermore, technically speaking, all characters in film are a device of sorts, so by your logic the only message (white) people are taking from films is that "people are devices".
Also, the phrase "typical white people" is kind of stereotyping, isn't it? Isn't that what the article's sort of complaining about?
I think you're underestimating the power of media in society. Its not so much as people not being able to tell fiction from fact in that when certain images are repeated so many times, people start to absorb it. Children, especially are really impressionable and many of the above have been around long enough to affect several generations.
You know, about the "Magic Negro" thing, here are several possible pairings and their (absurd?) generalization:
ReplyWhite Hero/Black Mentor - Black man doesn't get to be the hero
Black Hero/Black Mentor - Black man isn't good enough to teach the white man anything
Black Hero/White Mentor - Black man's no good without the white man
White Hero/White Mentor - Black man's just not good enough to show up at all
Point is, you can make whatever generalizations you want, but in "The Green Mile", who was more likely to be imprisoned on Death Row? In "Bagger Vance", who was more likely to be the caddy? In "Shawshank", Morgan Freeman's character ***spoiler alert*** is released through the justice system, while Tim Robbin's character is explicitly shown to have no choice but to escape. Sure, it's an odd coincidence, and there may be some legitimate examples of it, but sometimes, that's just how the story goes.
Well, to be fair the skinny wimpy black guy is no more cast in those roles than the chubby white dude. Stand By Me, Goonies, Full Metal Jacket, True Lies, Arachnophobia, everything with Randy Quaid, John Candy and Danny DeVito in the cast all having one thing in common: chubby bumbling white guys are great comic relief. Even in black-produced movies like Friday, House Party, Blue Streak, Barber Shop and Scary Movie likes to cast the skinny black guy to jumpstart comedic value. Add to this, the Magic Black Guy can easily be countered with an all-time favorite sympathetic white role: the retard. Rain Man, I am Sam, Forrest Gump, Lenny from Mice and Men, Leonardo DiCaprio and Geovanni Ribisi have all excelled in the inspirational white retard role. I'm not arguing the list, because after all it's correct. I'm pointing out there is a more-than-equal wealth of unflattering typecasts going on for white people who also look funny and talk even funnier.
ReplyP.S. the question you leave us with in #1 is easily answered by another article. In the movie Bad Boys, Martin Lawrence plays the idiot sidekick to another cop because that cop is WILL SMITH. (who is basically the next best thing to a white guy for Hollywood producers)
ReplyI think there is something to this article. Race relations in America suck. I'm in a graduate program which includes multicultural awareness in each of its classes. During a group discussion, a black man said there is a lack of characters in our films, TV, comics, etc. which portray the black man or woman as the hero - or even in a light that isn't stereotypical. He said a lot of black children notice this, and it affects them in a negative way. He said our culture provides few black role models for kids to look up to - our culture is riddled with gangbanger and sexy black female piece of meat roles. Kids assume that is what black people are, and they relive those stereotypes. The sexy black female piece of meat stereotype is a particular source of tension in marriages. Women feel objectified, even if their partner isn't objectifying them (Though I wouldn't be surprised if this could be applied to all women in the US).
ReplyI feel there is a cultural difference between African Americans, Eastern Asian Americans, Indians, and people of Spanish descent and those who are white. I don't think anyone would argue with that. But a lot of people in society stereotype "the other." And that's not OK.
Love the comments.
ReplyRegarding the Magic N___: An anthropological treatise on the existence of magick in human cultures, globally, would be too long for this forum. Be assured that Caucasian *writers* have a wide choice of races to select from; for the White North American, "negro" is just exotic, yet familiar, enough! There are examples in literature which are quite respectful to the concept.
With Shawshank Redemption, I thought I was a case of the 'magic white guy', since it's Andy who gives Red hope, and Red is the main character here.
Reply#1 is the reason I like bulletproof so much. The white guy is the cincompetant moron and the black guy is the hard as nails professional guy.
Reply Hide All See All 3 RepliesIt's also probably the only Adam Sandler movie I can watch for more than about 10 seconds without wanting to punch him.
yeah, same thing on the 80's show, Spencer. Hawk, Spencer's black friend, would always come in and fix everything Spencer f'ed up.
Yes, but that's because Hawk is (at least in the books) unencumbered by the ethical and moral conundrums that plague Spenser. Hawke becomes a get out of jail free card for Spenser, because he'll dirty his hands performing actions (usually shooting somebody in cold blood) Spenser can't, or won't do, thus helpfully resolving the issue while leaving the hero morally clean. It's kind of despicable, and lazy writing on the author's part.
The novels after Looking For Rachel Wallace pretty much all suck anyhow.
This is also one reason why one of my favorite books, Dreamland by Kevin Baker, will never be made into a movie (aside from the fact that it has about a million characters and a handful of interwoven storylines), the main characters include several Jewish men who are neither comically awkward nor saintly, several women whose involvement in the story doesn't center around a man, and a little person who is neither comic relief nor possessed of any magical or mystical properties.
Reply Hide All See All 3 RepliesThey can make it and here's how they'll do it. First, they don't care about a handful of interwoven storylines. They care about the name of the book. They will pick one storyline, butcher it and stick the name of the book on the movie. Second, the Jewish men will either be comically awkward, saintly or not Jewish. Third, while there may be several women involved in the story that are not related to any men (unlikely, but it sometimes happens if the female lead needs some friends or the movie needs brief comedy relief) but there will be one special woman who is. She will be the romantic interest and will fall in love with the one non-Jewish non-awkward man who has been chosen for the audience to identify with. And, last, the little person will either be written out or will be in a costume or heavy makeup. He may look like an Ewok. It depends on how close George Lucas is to the project. If Spielberg is involved he will, of course, be an alien.
I have not read the book but I know what you're thinking: if they do that, it won't be Dreamland by Kevin Baker. Welcome to Hollywood adaptations of literature. Never question their ability or willingness to butcher your favorite book for a quick profit. Just pray that they don't.
Since when is being Jewish a hindrance to landing any role at all?
It's not a hindrance to actors (mostly - they used to change names if theirs was stereotypically Jewish), but the characters are almost never not-funny or not-saintly Jews.
Actually in the original Shawshank Redemption story, Morgan Freeman's character Red is a white Irishman. The reason he knows so much is cause he's been in prison all his adult life, not cause he's black. And they cast Morgan Freeman instead of a white character...well I don't have to explain why, cause Morgan Freeman is awesome!
ReplyMorgan Freeman is f*****g awesome! Well said sir.
His voice is just so damned good.
Mostly correct, except about Morgan Freeman's roles. In this particular instance, the movies simply happen to feature a magical man, who is also black. The sheer power radiating from his voice prevents him from not appearing godly in any speaking role.
ReplyWhy is it that if a black character happens to be a funny, incompetent sidekick, that is somehow offensive to the entire race of people?
Reply Hide All See All 3 RepliesI'm not offended when there are stupid white people in movies, so as far as I'm concerned black people shouldn't be either.
The problem isn't that they 'happen' to be funny and incompetent; it's that it's one of about six roles black men are always cast for. i.e. the trend, not the instance.
Because it happens all the time, and that's all they are. They are one-dimensional characters with nothing else to say. Whereas the white stuffy character can be funny and romantic as well as being the strong hero.
watch 'bamboozled'. rethink post.
i don't think i ever got over Lupe Ontiveros in Selena... it took many rewatchings of the goonies to forgive her... aka she's an amazing actress who needs to be given better roles.
ReplyYou lost me at the retarded and inaccurate description of Red's role in The Shawshank Redemption. Maybe watch the movie next time.
Replyfnny that this article is, itself, more racist than any of the supposed "examples" listed.
ReplyBut, sure, if you want to see things that way... why not?
I suppose it's all in the perspective. If you expect racism then youp're probably going to see racism.
No mention of the "dirty, backwoods hillybillies who will rape/murder you"? or "
T
he uptight white, asshole, business man/boss", "Artsy white girl with glasses who is awkward around everyone"? "Blonde bully type with a cool car and girlfriend he treats like crap"?
Boy, there are alot of exampoles... but, you know, Hollywood is the land of conservativees and bigots. No progressives there. They are just THE most racist people around. I'm SO glaad you pointed out how awful these "stereotypes" are...
Funny, at the heart of most stereotypes lies some nugget of truth. I don't hear anyone complaining about the stereotype of black guys having huge dongs.
think of this article as just the beginning. It's one of those things that you notice but don't admit because it's funny and you don't go to see these movies to have deep thoughts. for a short list article this is funny but sad cause its true. a larger debate should take place else where. i'd love to talk about it in detail but this is cracked and therefore not to be taken too seriously. if you want to debate this more later? totally pm me
They should have mentioned Scatman Crothers' character from the Shining as a perfect example of the 'Magic Negro.'
ReplyThe Magic n***o really seems to be a Stephen King archetype, doesn't it?
Mentally disabled and minorities = godlike beings for that man. And when they're both...hoo boy. Sheemie, Tommy, Trashcan Man, Nick, Mother Abigail, Coffey, that dude who draws...oh, and Duddits. Can't forget Duddits.