Overview Essay

Throughout history, art has acted as the most expressive medium when it comes to reflecting the views and beliefs of the public. Since ancient times wall art, sculpture, and painting have all been used to record history and express societal values. Advance this sentiment to the 21st century, and these values still hold true. Through social media, television, storytelling, and a vast multitude of other mediums, influencers, and people of interest can make their beliefs known. Conversely, in an age where technology is available to everybody, art can also work to perpetuate racist stereotypes and promote discrimination. Whether done on purpose, or based on unconscious stereotypes, the voices that insight these beliefs are commonly overt in their stance, and unfortunately often have vocal supporters. However, an ever-growing movement across all of popular culture has called for the removal of ‘toxic’ and unjust figures. This online exhibit explores the evolution of racist characters and personas in pop culture, analyzing their historical and cultural contexts, and their impact on perpetuating harmful stereotypes and promoting discrimination towards marginalized communities.

To be more specific, this exhibit aims to discuss the recent shift in attitude, using the items primarily as evidence of results. In further context, it will engage with the many facets of this aforementioned shift in mentality, from characters that have been changed and voice actors rehired, to entire episodes of popular TV shows scrubbed from the internet, in an attempt to show how these collective feelings have enacted actually change. While these may seem unconnected, all of them connect to the same overarching theme of deep-rooted racism in America.

Racism has been a pervasive issue throughout history, and its manifestation in pop culture has shifted over time. This shift is defined by a change from ‘overt’ to ‘covert’ racism. Racism of the past was inflammatory, loud, and rooted in hatred. In recent years, there has been a great push to include diverse voices and remove contentious ones from their platform. However, racist thoughts, actions, and microaggressions persist even in today’s media. Therefore the conversation around racism has focused on how ideas about race have evolved and persisted in society, and how pop culture reflects these changes. This exhibit will draw primarily on three sources that offer different perspectives on this topic: "The disturbing return of scientific racism" by Angela Saini, "Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality" by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, and "Slavery, Anthropological Knowledge, and the Racialization of Africans" by Jemima Pierre.

It is important to note that these racist and offensive depictions in media are not isolated incidents, but rather a reflection of a larger societal issue of systemic racism and discrimination. For example, the character of Dopey in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937)was originally intended to be a caricature of a person with Down syndrome, perpetuating harmful stereotypes and discrimination against individuals with disabilities. Similarly, the original depiction of the Oompa Loompas in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (1964) was based on offensive depictions of African pygmies. These characters, and others like them, have been used to reinforce racist ideas and discriminatory attitudes toward marginalized groups. Moreover, the issue of offensive and racist imagery extends beyond just characters in literature or film. The naming of sports teams like the Washington Redskins (1932) and the Cleveland Indians (1915) are prime examples of how harmful and racist ideas can persist in society for a long time. The term "Redskins" is a derogatory term for Native Americans, and the use of it as a team name perpetuates harmful stereotypes and contributes to the erasure of Native American culture. The Cleveland Indians' "Chief Wahoo" logo, also a caricatured depiction of a Native American, was widely criticized for being racist and offensive. The decision to change these team names and logos is an important step towards recognizing and addressing the harm caused by these depictions, but it also highlights the long-lasting impact of these harmful and pervasive ideas. These examples align with the school of thought presented in "Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality" by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. Bonilla-Silva's book delves into the concept of color-blind racism, which is a form of racism that operates through more subtle and indirect means. This type of racism is often more insidious and difficult to combat than overt forms of racism. The examples above highlight how racism and other forms of discrimination can manifest out of prejudice and privilege. In pop culture, color-blind racism can be seen in the portrayal of racial diversity without addressing underlying systemic issues, perpetuating the myth of a post-racial society and ignoring the realities of racial inequality.

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the need to address racism and promote inclusivity in popular media. One prominent example of this is the controversy surrounding blackface in the television show 30 Rock. In 2020, the show's creator and star, Tina Fey, made the decision to remove four episodes that featured characters in blackface from streaming platforms. Similarly, the 1961 film The Westside Story has been criticized for its use of brownface, as it portrays Puerto Rican characters played by white actors in makeup. In response to this criticism, a new film adaptation released in 2021 featured a predominantly Latino cast. However, interested parties still say the filmmakers did not do enough. While citing many problems with the film, the most pressing one comes in the form of a song, in which the chorus reads: Immigrant goes to America, Many hellos in America; Nobody knows in America; Puerto Rico's in America!” This has caused an uproar as viewers contend that Puerto Rico is already an American territory and that the other lyrics to the song perpetuate Puerto Rican culture. Another way that popular media has attempted to promote inclusivity is by changing voice actors for characters of color. In recent years, white actors voicing characters like Apu from The Simpsons, Cleveland from Family Guy, and Missy from Big Mouth have been replaced with actors from the same racial and ethnic backgrounds as the characters they portray. These changes reflect a growing push for diversity and inclusivity in popular media, as well as a recognition of the harm that racist portrayals can cause. All of these examples highlight the points made in Angela Saini's article “The disturbing return of scientific racism.” In it, the author explores how ideas about biological race and genetics have reemerged in recent years, despite being widely discredited by scientists. This "new" scientific racism often takes the form of claims that certain racial groups are genetically predisposed to certain traits or behaviors. Saini argues that these ideas are not only scientifically unsound but also dangerous, as they can lead to discriminatory policies and practices. In pop culture, this can be seen in the resurgence of racist tropes that link certain races to specific personality traits or behaviors, such as donning “black-” or “brownface” and assuming the “voice” of the people being portrayed, whether that be AAVE, “blaccent”, or imitation of Indian/Indian-American speech.

Despite this recent push for equity and diversity, there are still racist and discriminatory tropes that persist, and some extend beyond what would be considered “pop culture.” The removal of Aunt Jemima and ‘Mia’ (of Land O’ Lakes packaging) from marketing due to their racist portrayals, the reduction and eventual writing out of Mammy Two-Shoes from Tom and Jerry, and the continued appearance of the “Magical Negro” trope in modern media, as exemplified by Billy Porter's portrayal of Fab G in Cinderella, demonstrate how even though some progress has been made in addressing harmful racial stereotypes in pop culture, there are still persistent issues. The Aunt Jemima and Mammy Two-Shoes characters were both rooted in racist caricatures of Black people, particularly the ‘mammy’ stereotype, and their removal from branding reflects a growing awareness of the harm caused by these images. Similarly, the depiction of ‘Mia,’ the character shown on the packaging of butter brand Land O’ Lakes, was removed after uproar surrounding her ‘racist’ portrayal. However, even as these stereotypes are addressed, new ones can persist. The Magical Negro trope, which typically involves a Black character providing mystical guidance or assistance to a white protagonist, has been criticized for reducing Black people to mere plot devices. Billy Porter's portrayal of Fab G in Cinderella can be seen as an example of this trope, despite the character's more positive attributes. Harmful beliefs such as this stem from centuries of colonialism and imperialism, spurred on by white populations. In "Slavery, Anthropological Knowledge, and the Racialization of Africans," Jemima Pierre argues that anthropology played a significant role in justifying slavery and contributing to the racialization of Africans. From theories and practices to cultural misconceptions, white scholars’ research perpetuated the idea that Africans were inferior to Europeans. Pierre also states that some of these beliefs are still held today, citing the lasting effect of these historical practices. The examples highlighted above are in line with this thinking and emphasize the importance of ongoing efforts to address harmful racial stereotypes in pop culture, as well as the need for continued reflection and critical analysis of media representations of race.

Taken together, these images and sources highlight the complex and multifaceted nature of racism in pop culture. They demonstrate how racist ideas can persist even in the face of scientific evidence to the contrary, and how racism can manifest through more subtle and insidious means. The sources also shed light on the ways in which white privilege operates in society and in pop culture, and how it contributes to the perpetuation of racial inequality. By examining these different perspectives, we can gain a better understanding of the role of pop culture in shaping our ideas about race and the ways in which we can work to combat racism in all its forms.

Works Cited

Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2013.

Pierre, Jemima. “Slavery, Anthropological Knowledge, and the Racialization of Africans.” Current Anthropology, vol. 61, no. S22, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1086/709844.

Saini, Angela. “The Disturbing Return of Scientific Racism.” WIRED UK, 12 June 2019, https://www.wired.co.uk/article/superior-the-return-of-race-science-angela-saini.