thejacksonsafam:

THE STEREOTYPE OF THE MAMMY

A clip from the documentary “Ethnic Notions” by Marlon Riggs. The film details the history of popular cultural representations of African Americans from the 19th century into the late 20th century. It focuses, in particular, on stereotypes and how they have changed over time and in response to circumstance. Here we see the example of the “Mammy” character, an ante-bellum construction that was used to demonstrate blacks’ contentment with, indeed, need for, white mastery. Because “Ethnic Notions” understands these stereotypes as social constructions that shift over time, it is an excellent example of how “racial formations” operate.