Summary
Summary Impact of Literature and Film on race relations
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Justifies the impact literature and films had on race relations in the USA
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Changing portrayal of civil rights issues in fiction and filmLiterature
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Context:
-abolishment of slavery movement
-1850 Fugitive Slave laws- states that everyone should help catch black fugitives- any-
one who would refuse would be fined $1000 and jailed for 6 months
-Harriet had disobeyed the 1850 law and hid runaways
-Harriet lived in Ohio , a slave state, - gained experience of slavery from first hand ac-
counts from runaway slaves
-became a bestseller
-1st year- sold 300,000 copies
-sold over 2 million copies within 10 years
-translated into 60 languages
Synopsis:
-set in Kentucky
-story based on a black slave, Tom who’s strong religious beliefs enable him to survive
his position as a slave and his self sacrifice saves his runway family
-attacked slavery and demanded it’s immediate abolition
Reaction:
-Caused more than hundreds of abolishment presentations to persuade Americans to
oppose slavery
-many abolishments disliked Harriet’s tacit support for the colonisation movement-
idea of returning black slaves to Africa, e.g state of Liberia
-Tom portrayed as pious- expanded black sentiment
-included many black stereotypes- black characters portrayed as loyal and subservient
-President Abraham Lincoln borrowed Uncle Tom’s Cabin from the library of Congress-
met with Harriet and told her that she was the woman who wrote the book that started
the civil war
Huckleberry Finn (1885) by Mark Twain
Context:
- 13th, 14th and 15th amendment passed, Jim Crow laws integrated, violence from
the KKK at its peak
- Set before the civil war during the times of slavery
Synopsis:
-set in Missouri
-story of a white American boy who has been abused by his father and runs away to
an adventure with a runaway slave, Jim
-character development of Huck- at the start he believes that society is correct in
terms of the treatment of black Americans but then ignores society and does what he
thinks is right
-Jim becomes a father figure to Huck which is new to him as Hucks father was abusive
and an alcoholic- realises black Americans can love their family like a white man
-Huck helps Jim escape from slavery- attacks the social norm of slavery and racism
Issue of race relations in the novel:
-bestseller
, -standard text in many American secondary schools
-Twain needed to sell novels not make an attack on slavery and racism- still repre-
sented Jim as inferior to white Americans by making him obey orders made by Huck
and Tom
-Has a lot of racial slurs, extensive use of the n word
-But depicts Jim’s humanity and strong character when he offers his freedom to save
Tom’s life
Reactions:
-1885- Concord Public Library, Massachusetts banned the novel claiming it was vile,
trash snd suitable for the slums
-1957- Naacp declared novel contained racial slurs in the ways it depicted black char-
acters
1957- book has been removed from reading lists in schools across the USA- John Wal-
lace a school administrator in Virginia said novel was insulting to black students and
contributed to feelings of low self esteem in the black community and to white stu-
dent’s disrespect for black people
-Margo Allen, black American writer, in an article: ‘Huck Finn: Two generations of pain’
described her negative experiences with the book at school
Gone with the wind (1936) by Margaret Mitchell
Context:
-Became a bestseller
-1937-awarded a Pulitzer Prize
-movie won 9 oscars in 1940 and fist ever black American, Hattie McDaniel won an Os-
car
-new deal and economic depression, legal segregation and race riots was going on at
the time
-set in Georgia during the civil war
Synopsis:
-a black American mammy helped bring up a white southern American belle, Scarlett
-portrays complicated love story of Scarlett and shows relationship between mammy
and Scarlett- mammy acts as a mother figure- criticises Scarlett’s flirty behaviour to-
wards the young white bachelors of the area
Portrayal of race relations:
-slaves appear as well treated and cheerful with their position, loyal to their white
master- when they work hard they are rewarded with gifts from their owner
-black American, Big Sam saves Scarlett at a serious risk to his own life
-northern army portrayed in a bad light- e.g destroyed plantations
-KKK is glorified
-we are not told mammy’s real name- stereotypical- portrayed as being content with
her position as a slave, is very faithful to her white masters and is seen as very unedu-
cated
Reactions:
-NAACP tired to arrange a boycott of the film version
-all references to the KKK and racial slurs have been removed from the film
-reinforced southern white stereotypes of black Americans
-gave a biased view on how slaves were treated in pre civil war era
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) by Harper Lee
Context:
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