Minorities in American Film

"Furthermore, black gay and lesbian characters are almost entirely absent from the Hollywood screen, except for the stereotype effeminate gay male "snap queen." (Benshoff, Griffin, p. 92)

This especially stood out to me, as I had several examples of African American, homosexual movie characters come to mind, disproving the book's statement. The first example is from the 2008 movie The Women. Jada Pinkett-Smith's character is an African American lesbian-- something that is not often seen, but nonetheless it was represented.



Note that all of the characters are white except for Jada Pinkett-Smith and Eva Mendes. A good example of the white culture being dominant. Also, Jada's character is the only representation of the homosexual community.

"Sometimes this practice is refered to as tokenism -- the placing of a non-white character into a film in order to deflate any potential chance of racism." (Benshoff, Griffin, p. 55)

I felt that this video, rather than the film's trailer, showcased more of the token African American character in the movie The Family Stone. Not only was there the race issue, but he's homosexual as well. Finally, his partner is white and deaf.

Nathan Lee Graham has played roles in movies such as Hitch, Sweet Home Alabama, and Zoolander-- all roles are prime examples of the stereotypical "snap queen". Although I would've preferred to find clips from the movies, it's hard when he plays a small, supporting role. The following clip is an interview with him, and it gives a good sense of his personality.

"In their oversimplification, stereotypes inevitably create erroneaous perceptions about individuals. Stereotypes become even more problematic when they are used to favor certain groups over others, which unfortunately occurs quite commonly." (Benshoff, Griffin, p. 7)

While trying to analyze as many movies as possible from memory, I find that black, homosexual characters are much more prevalent than I thought. Also, it led me to wonder if directors and producers try to roll as many minorities as possible into a single character. It seems they think, "Let's cover all our bases at once," and this only encourages the ugly cycle of stereotypes. When will movies branch out and have several different characters of different races, gender, and sexuality?