Bamboozled- Portrayals of Black

In Spike Lee’s movie Bamboozled, the movie had many great events that depicted how black people are portrayed in society. The 2 main points that I took in to account that pertained to minstrel shown throughout the movie are the idea of 1) “black expectation” 2) Stereotypes in media are hidden but still exist'

First, “black expectation” pertains to the idea that people automatically expect black individuals to act a certain way, whether this is by the way they talk or the way they dress. In the movie, Thomas talks ghetto and uses certain phrases around Delacroix, as if talking a certain way is almost a trend rather than culture.  In the article “News Priming of Racial Attitudes” Nicholas A. Valentino, the author states that “to successfully navigate our complex social environment, we make use of stereotyping”. Thomas uses his social environment to act a certain way and talk a certain way when around Delacroix. To an extent he even feels comfortable in the way he talks and acts “black”. This is an important factor because he is connoting black culture with a way of acting. The idea that being black is an “action” from a stereotypical perspective is degrading than looking at is as a culture, in which individuals participate in certain acts.

In Addition, Stereotyping in media are hidden is also an important factor that contributes to the importance of this movie. Thomas criticizes Delacroix for not being black enough, and not portraying his blackness a certain way. When Delacroix comes up with ideas, they are disregarded because according to Thomas, blacks are shown for entertainment purposes; he is using his prior knowledge about how black are portrayed in media to make sure that certain shows and performances are shows according to that standard. This is also degrading in many aspects, because it shows that because media is so powerful that it is stuck in many individuals’ minds that certain races are part of certain things, and should be seen from a certain perspective. The whole idea of Agenda setting theory” fits perfectly in this example because it shows that media tells us what is important, and what to focus on when categorizing individuals.

The lack of black history is also potential when examining this further because in the movie the minstrel show became famous. People did not take in to account that at one point in time white people painted their face black and put on shows for entertainment purposes. They also had white paint to portray that during the time of slavery black people were happy serving white people. The whole idea of minstrel shows was degrading, however knowing that black slavery at one point did exist, and not taking in to account the wrongdoings in media itself can be a damaging affect.  The author of “News priming of Racial Attitudes” also mention that “people infer minority perpetrators even when they are not explicitly shown in the crime news story” (297). This pertains to the movie because it shows that media is powerful to an extent that potentially it leads us to assume criticize and assume certain groups.

Do you think that people acknowledge the fact that minorities are portrayed a certain way, and yet continue to watch media  because they know there is no end to stereotyping? 
In the article stated above by Valentino, he claims that we make use of stereotyping by navigating our complex social environment. Does this justify then that it is okay to stereotype?