The film produced in 1987, Ethnic Notions directed by Marlon Riggs portrays many social issues that America had before the Civil War and during the civil rights movements. The film shows several social issues such as sexuality, appearances, and servility that many African Americans faced in that era. The media deeply emphasized these problems affecting African American communities. The media has been responsible for the different stereotypes that were labeled about African Americans by white comedians, minstrels and cartoons shown to the public. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The media used “blackface” and minstrelsy as ways to defend slavery. The idea of ​​servility was created by the different characters created by the media. Characters like “Happy Sambo” and “Mammy” were created to defend slavery. The media painted this image of the African American as happy and eager to work for slave owners. Happy Sambo was portrayed as a happy, dancing, lively African-American man, happy to work for slave owners. The Mammia was usually depicted as an elderly woman who was happy and obedient in serving her masters. These characters were not only used to defend the idea of ​​slavery, but also created falsified ideas that African Americans were happy and willingly wanted to work under someone else's control. Minstrel shows were another way for the media to spread falsified ideas about African Americans. White artists painted their so-called “blackface” and imitated stereotypes of African Americans. Zip Coon was another character created to portray African Americans who were free and unable to adapt to society. This is similar to the media portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. Many people see Lincoln as the president who abolished slavery. We only see this representation of him because the media only shows us this image of him. Lincoln stated that, “If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it” (Morgan, 3). Like me, many people didn't know that he just wanted to persevere in the Union. This shows that the media can have a great influence on society and how it can shape our opinions. The film also touches on the issue of sexuality and gender when it comes to African American women. The film featured many depictions of how African American women were portrayed as inferior to white women when it comes to their appearances. The film provided several images of the "Mammy" with characteristics such as large, maternal, docile, and friendly, which differ from how white women were portrayed. Even in today's media, many women are sexualized to a certain standard, for example a woman should have a beautiful body, which is not really seen in the character of Mammy. Please note: this is just an example. Get a card customization now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay Before looking at ethnic notions, I didn't have much knowledge about blackface or minstrel shows. I believe this is still happening today, as social media is a big part of our lives. Social media provides a platform for racism because people constantly compare different races to each other. Racism such as “blackface” can still be seen in today's society. For example, instead of hiring Asian actors and actresses to play Asian roles, they would hire actors and actresses.