During the Victorian era and early 20th century, black people were often represented in entertainment through blackface performances and stereotypical roles that depicted black men as dangerous and violent. In the 1980s and 90s, representation of black youth culture increased as more films were made by and about black communities, though negative stereotypes persisted. Today there has been more diversity in black roles but representations still tend to show black males as criminals rather than portraying the full range of black experiences. A lack of funding and support for black British filmmakers also limits representation.

1. ‘ExploreHow Black YouthsAre RepresentedIn
Films’

2. Representation during 19th century

3. “During Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901)
the main contact white Britons had with people
of African descent was either in sport(
primarily boxing) or in entertainment.
However , few black entertainers existed on
stage, though as historian Ziggi Alexander
explains, whites appeared with regularity in
blackface”

4. This short extract was taken from a book by Steven Bourne
Called ‘Black in the British Frame’. It explains how during
1837 – 1901 (the Victorian era) how black people were
often imitated by white people in the entertainment
industry, this was a normal thing to see during this era. Even
though black characters were involved in many plays for
example, ‘Britons’ believed that black people had no place
on stage. This was one of the first representations of black
people in the entertainment industry.

5. The Birth Of A Nation was a film that depicted
Black men as Dangerous and Violent. When
this American film was made in 1915, this was
again an early representation and image of
black men in particular. However we see that
this was a representation of black men in both
the entertainment industry and in society in
general.
In terms of representation there are still some
similarities today, in many films black men are
represented as violent and dangerous people.
Black men have been represented as this
stereotype for many years.
Early 20th Century

6. During the 80s/90s
During the 80s and 90s there was boom
in Black Culture in film, many more
movies were made about Black Culture,
black youths and their place in society.
Not only was there an increase in films
about black culture but there was an
increase of black actors and directors for
example Spike Lee. An article in ‘BFM’
talks about how in 1998, although black
people were approximately 3% of the
population, they accounted for 14% of
the lead characters in that years top 100
films.

7. An article from the Journal of Popular Film
& Television talks about The depiction of
Black students in films such as School
Daze(Spike Lee, 1988) and Higher
Learning(John Singleton,1995) that reveals
aspects of college life that are not seen in
other films based on White, Middle class
youth, like law enforcement and poverty.

8. Present Day..
Now in the 21st century the
representation of black youths and black
people in general within film has
progressed. There has been a large
increase in the amount of black actors we
see on screen and there are things like BFI
Black Star which celebrates the range,
versatility and power of black actors.

9. However we still see a level of inequality in film regarding black
filmmakers in the UK especially. And even though we see more black
actors on screen we still see negative representations of black youths,
like for example, we very often see black men and youths as criminals
and ‘gang’ members and we regularly see them die in films. We very
hardly however see young black men with intelligence and aspirations,
young black men are very scarcely shown as someone with a lot of
power unlike the dominant ideology.
In an issue of Black Filmmaker, there was an article about the genuine
lack of funding opportunity and encouragement from commissioning
groups for UK Black Filmmakers. This lack of funding subsequently
results in the small amount of black, British films made by black film
makers on our screens today.
Of course we do see some anomalies and breakthroughs for example
Amma Asante(a well established black female director) as well as the
film Bullet boy as it was funded by the British film council and BBC
films.

10. Bullet Boy
Saul Dibbs film Bullet boy(2004)is a low budget film about young black teens and
the influence and effect of crime. This film was full of stereotypes which explored
black on black crime within the youth society and created an interesting concept
about criminals and victims, that criminals often are the victims.
An article from the magazine ‘Sight&Sound’ explored British Urban Youth Dramas
at the Uk Box office. Bullet boys gross income was only £453,301. This is an
indicator that there is a clear lack of mainstream interest in black orientated youth
dramas, this also shows that there is a lack of funding going into youth dramas.
The fact that these films get little funding and support may influence the way in
which they present black youths, they may not feel that their film is established
enough to cater for all types of audiences so rather than presenting young black
people in a true light they present them in a way that they think will attract the
most people. Also the stereotypes make it easier for people understand and relate
to.

11. The Pursuit Of
Happiness
The pursuit of happiness is much different in how it present black men, there
is still a very strong ongoing theme of racism and prejudice and the
relationship between minority groups and the dominant ideology, for the
majority of the biographic film these themes are explored in depth. However
the film ends in different to many films about black men and black youths,
and its message is entirely different. This film shows how black men are
intelligent and how they can progress and do something other than become a
criminal.
A review online on how this film portrays racism and prejudice explains how
Chris(Will Smith, leading role) battles the dominant ideology to obtain his
goal.

12. Overall I think that black youths and black people in general , although with
some exceptions ,are generally represented in a negative light in films and the
film industry. This is done either for propaganda, to make people believe and
agree with the dominant ideology. Or because people find it a much easier
subject to digest and find it more relatable. The effect that this has on the
film industry and society is that it allows people to continue pursuing specific
stereotypes, not supporting young black film makers and actors and instilling
prejudice within society.