Stereotypes in Birth of a Nation and Amos and Andy

Response: Discuss how tragic aspects of stereotypes in Birth of a Nation are reiterated by Amos and Andy.

There were many tragic aspects of stereotypes in The Birth of a Nation that were later reiterated by the TV show Amos and Andy. The Birth of a Nation, as I found, is one of the few silent films of its time to utilize the sexual stereotype of the black male in order to emphasize the principle of white superiority. This stereotype is also present in the Amos and Andy TV shows. During the Days of major inequality, and the struggle to overcome segregations between the blacks and the whites, it is obvious that the problem occuring was that whites were overpowering the blacks, which is very evident in these two films. In the Birth of a Nation there were a lot of scenes where the KKK attacked the blacks. In Amos and Andy, the two main characters that are black are very uneducated taxi drivers. This alone shows the stereotypes of the blacks and how they are viewed as being less superior than the whites in the film; Characterizing them as being unitelligent servent workers.
Additionally, another insulting stereotype that was present in both films was the fact that the characters that played the role of an African American were actually white in reality. This means they would actually paint their faces and any exposed skin black to take on the role, to appear as a black individual. This would obviously be viewed as an insulting interpretation for the blacks. Watching a white man play the role as if they were of a different skin color.