Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Amos 'n' Andy

At first glance, this looks like a classic cartoon that may be viewed as merely a harmless comical program. Taking a closer look though, it is easy to identify the subtle hints of black stereotypes and it is easy to see the racism incorporated in the cartoon. Throughout the cartoon, the black characters act clumsy and slow. This is especially apparent in the scene with the car where the larger black character falls over himself and apparently can’t “watch everything at one time?”. This seems to paint the African Americans as being dimwitted and not capable to handling even the most basic tasks, which could be how many white Americans felt about African Americans at this time.

Also, during the boxing match, there are two instances where the black competitors are referred to as animals. The first reference is a horse and the second one seemed to be a stag. This may illustrate the underlying feeling that African Americans are unsophisticated and are even animal like in their behavior. White Americans may have this same feeling and treat African Americans as a lesser class.

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