Amos 'n' Andy
Based on Thomas Cripps’ article and your viewing of Amos ’n’ Andy this Thursday, how did the television show portray middle class African Americans? Discuss why the sitcom became the center of a hot public debate as well as the arguments offered by each side.
According to Thomas Cripps' Amos 'n' Andy was a "comic anachronism that depended for its humor on stereotypical racial traits". Yet despite the stereotypical characterization, Amos 'n' Andy was widely debated across the nation. On one side, this shows casted black actors. For black actors this show was a positive step in their career. Additionally the shows content was centered around problems that typical, lower class Americans faced. Therefore, all of people were able to identify with the content and characters. Amos 'n' Andy was one of the most popular shows.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as Cripps' argues as well as the NCAAP and social activists of the time, the TV show only depicted and singled-out black people as "crude, repetitious, and moronic".
Through my viewing of the televisions show, I was able to see the points the writers and the actors of the show. On a very basic level the show was nothing but a normal sitcom of its time. However, once you look a little deeper (and I assume watch different episodes) and reflect on the stereotypes that are shown, the problem becomes much more apparent. I specifically saw the racial stereotypes with the character Kingfish. First of all, his name sets him apart from normality, but his character was seen as uneducated, untrustworthy guy. Amos 'n' Andy was a reflection of its time, just like any television shows, and the underlying racial tensions of the country are quite apparent.
After WWII, there was a rise of the black presence on the screen and the issue of racial integration came to attention. Amos ‘n’ Andy was one of the very first show played mainly by the black actors. It was filmed with the idea of syndication. According to Cripps article, Amos ‘n’ Andy was a caricature of the middle class African Americans. It presented middle class African Americans as less intelligent. Also, the show associated the black middle class with fringe characters, including malapropism, feckless scheming, and anachronistic manner.
ReplyDeleteSituation comedy became the center of a hot public debate because sit-com tend to promote, ratify, and reinforce the idea that blacks will be fully integrated in the American social order. It helped to depict American society as a self-correcting system that was responsive to the demands for “fair play.” Because of ambiguity in the content of Amos ‘n’ Andy, there was varying discourses around the show. Black scholars and fans have different opinions toward racism in the show. NAACP charged the show for smearing the middle class African Americans. On the other hand, CBS, representing the view of the whites, claimed that Amos ‘n’ Andy made an accurate depiction of the black middle class.
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ReplyDeleteAs Thomas Cripps mentions in his article, Amos 'n' Andy portrayed African Americans as naive, tricksters and verbally crippled individuals. In many ways CBS demonstrated a narrow view of African American identity in Amos 'n' Andy, and used their power to manipulate the image distributed to primetime audiences. Despite the fact that CBS argued that their show was not demeaning to black middle class individuals, it actually was. Personally, after watching the screening of Amos 'n' Andy I would agree that the network displayed African Americans in a very derogatory manner and subliminally expressed its views of the African American population through this program. Especially at a time when African Americans were fighting for racial integration and for the elimination of racism in America, this program took a step backward by displaying this portrayal of African Americans.
ReplyDeleteThe sitcom became the center of a heated debate between CBS/Entertainment Industry and NAACP and their supporters. CBS felt as though they were not demeaning or targeting the African American population. In fact, CBS and many entertainers felt like the show provided many opportunities for the black population to become involved in television entertainment. Some even argued that this new job opportunity would allow for racial integration to occur in America. On the other hand, NAACP and many liberal groups argued that Amos 'n' Andy demeaned and misrepresented the black middle class. They argued that Amos 'n' Andy displayed middle class African Americans in very slanderous and stereotypical ways by portraying them as loud, rowdy, and conniving individuals. NAACP tried to fight for solidarity within the black community and ultimately failed in achieving their goal because of their poor campaign. They faced a lot of opposition from entertainers, newspapers that supported CBS, and lacked support from the majority of the black population. Had the NAACP framed Amos 'n' Andy as an attack on the entire black population instead of just on the black middle class then maybe they would have had better luck.
In addition to what everyone has already mentioned…
ReplyDeleteAmos 'n' Andy was basically just an extremely oversimplified portrayal of the black middle class, which aimed to enable its white middle class viewers to smile in a patronizing way.
It became the center of a hot public debate partly because of the timing of which it came to television. It came to television in 1951 after World War II, which shook the foundations of the social order. Before the war the black felt powerless protesting against the often stereotypical and slanderous representations on television. They had no real power and could only stage empty protests. The war, however, changed that. It not only enlisted blacks in an national effort, but also hinted at a better life after the war. Black journalists exploited the opportunity by demanding a double victory -- over both foreign fascism and domestic racism. Furthermore, the release of Amos ‘n’ Andy on television coincided with a new trend of programming where black organization took up fresh strategies, such as giving award, prodding sponsors and enlisting the support of foundations among other things. Amos 'n' Andy, previously blessedly invisible and therefore relatively innocuous, now finds itself in a new world of newly flexed black middle class consciousness, activism and wealth. The black middle class were angry and shocked not so much at what they saw -- the baggy pants, plug hats, foul cigar, misfired schemes and mangled grammar, but at the timing of the release.
Amos ‘n’ Andy portrayed middle class African Americans according to stereotypical characteristics that are often demeaning, thus leading to much public debate. The actors in the sitcom played characters that were mainly characterized as dim-witted and incompetent. Kingfish’s character, for example, portrays African Americans in a way that is generally unflattering. His failed scheme in the episode insinuates incompetence and a lack of intelligence. The way African Americans are shown angered many people who believed these representations were detrimental to the community. When people don’t normally interact with African Americans and the only time they see them is on television, they’ll learn to believe that is how all people are. Consequently, this could influence their behaviors and mainly perceptions. At the same time however, many people were pleased with the show because it marked a progressive step. With an all black cast, Amos ‘n’ Andy opened opportunities for many actors. Despite the characterizations, the mere presence of African Americans on television pleased many people.
ReplyDeleteThe portrayals on Amos ‘n’ Andy were confined to stereotypes and angered much of the public. On the other side of the debate, the sitcom represented a population not previously seen on television. It was both progressive and offensive.
In Cripps' article, the show's portrayal of middle-class African Americans is discussed as being perceived very differently amongst different groups of people. The NAACP, who represented the socially mobile and progressive part of the black community, perceived the show as smearing and undermining to the middle-class black community by reducing them to unflattering stereotypes only aimed at entertaining white audiences. They argued that their national identity and cause was being taken out of their hands and put into the hands of the white men that ran the show, who didn't have their interests in mind. This is mainly due to the main characters of the show, specifically Kingfish, being in line with stereotypically lower-class behavior and mannerisms. The NAACP and other liberal organizations had this view also due to the idea and hope that television would be used as a tool to integrate America and challenge prevailing attitudes about race at the time, which the main characters did not really do.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, most of the black viewing public and members of the black entertainment community liked the show and were grateful for the opportunities that it gave them. The show did, after all, feature an almost all black cast, including (predominately supporting) roles indicative of an educated status, such as the judge in the episode we watched in class. They argued that the show had solidly middle-class undertones, such as the bourgeois quality of the sets (the rooms were always clean, and had other identifiers such as full refrigerators, four burner stoves, and artwork) and the aspirations of the characters (despite their failures, the main characters never stopped striving.) It is also noted in the article that the white characters in the show never talked about race or even mentioned that the main characters were black. Overall, the main characters were never truly dehumanized in their portrayal to the extent that black characters had been in the past.
The way I see it, the root of the controversy around the show stems from the fact that at the time and continuing for decades afterward (and somewhat to this day), any mainstream portrayal of African-Americans in media were never really controlled by African-Americans. For example, despite shows having black characters or even a black cast, these roles were/are still - more often than not - written by white writers, made by white producers, and approved by white executives. During the time of Amos 'n' Andy and the pushback by the NAACP, this issue was just starting to be realized.
According to Thomas Cripps’ analysis of Amos ‘n’ Andy, he described it as a show that relied on racial stereotyping in order to produce comedic moments. This created a lot of controversy among the black community. On one hand, blacks were finally being represented in the television medium, and black actors were finally hired into serious, reoccurring roles. On the other hand, both activists and the NAACP saw this as a negative perpetuation of stereotyping, and a move backwards in the efforts of the black community. Despite efforts by CBS to improve this process, when for example, they hired black consultants to review racial matters on the network, groups like the NAACP never approved of the show.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the show myself, I can completely understand why it was a center for hot public debate at the time. The characters, at least in the episode we watched, were portrayed as either ignorant or con artists. Since racial segregation was a very hot issue at the time, the somewhat ridiculous first portrayal of blacks on public new media justifiably angers black activists seeking a respectful position. However, the integration of blacks into the highly regarded new medium of television provides a contradictory position for black representation in both business and media.
Having Amos ‘n’ Andy be one of the first shows with predominately black leads, the portrayal of African Americans would make a big impact. The show portrayed black people in very stereotypical ways. The way they are depicted in the show is very demeaning, making them out to be not intelligent, and not up to par to white people. This caused reinforcement of discrimination.
ReplyDeleteSome of the audience thought that the portrayal was fine since african americans at least got to appear on screen and have the dominant protagonists be black. Since african americans where starting to be represented on the medium of television, even thought it usually was not a positive representation, it was considered to be a progression and people were fine with it.