Ethnic Notions

After watching the video I felt like I walked away with a brand new view of the racism that occurred before the war. I never realized the amount that African Americans were truly criticized. Prior to watching this movie I hadn't learned about the way the blacks were categorized or anything like that. We just learned that whites thought they were superior and the slaves had very harsh living conditions.  As terrible as this probably sounds I thought that African Americans were all looked at the same. I didn't know the terms such as the "Sambo", "Pickaninny", or "Mammy. I thought that all slaves were unhappy to be in the situation that they were in. It was unbelievable to see the way whites would use African American behavior and dances for entertainment. 

Another eye opening part of the movie was e seeing the amount of exaggeration brought into the cartoons and pictures of the African Americans. The artist made sure that the lips were huge and not proportional with the rest of the facial features. Another stereotype used was all of the watermelons that were incorporated into paintings. The African Americans were treated horribly not just physically, but also the aspect of being mocked. 

In society today racism is still occurring. No, people of other ethnicities are not beaten or used as slaves anymore, but racist slurs are still in our everyday life. If you turn on Comedy Central or watch stand up comedies, most of the time they usually put in some very harmful terms or jokes. It is disturbing to hear some of the stereotypes that are still around today. In school and other work places, asians are normally stereotyped as the smart ones, mexicans and other hispanics are known as the landscapers, and blondes are thought to be dumb. These are all false descriptions that have been engrained in the minds of some teens and kids throughout the country. 

For me, it is truly hard to comprehend why the African Americans were treated so poorly, and also why some stereotypes are still around today.