The nature of stereotypes in the film Bamboozled Essay

The nature of stereotypes in the film Bamboozled - Essay Example Racial stereotypes are the mental picture created by a specific race based on either what has been said, written or propagated about that race. The notion that all black men beat their spouses is a racial stereotype against black men. However, stereotypes also exist in gender in the notion that all men are better than women. Stereotype can be negative, positive, reversed or inhabited. Spike Lee in his 2000 satirical film, Bamboozled, gives a classic example of the world of stereotypes and brings the concept of stereotype alive. The film features actors Donning, a blackface. A blackface is a makeup of the theatre that is used to depict a black person. The black face is used to bring out the stereotyping of the black people. In the film, Spike Lee uses images to bring out the concept of stereotype. The racial stereotype can be seen using black face to typecast black men. Goodwin (1) in his article, On Truth, Justice, and Videotape, brings out how the power of images can depict different results. In the article where Rodney King had been abused by policemen, the jury interpreted the images in the video in a different light than that taken by the black people. It is all about what one wants to see in an image that gives the image life and different messages from a particular image. Though the black community demonstrated against the holding of the jury, the jury held that the images in the video did not show the policeman at fault. Mitchell (306) asserts that in the film, Bamboozled, Spike Lee has found a way of navigating through the messy waters of colour by using satire and ultimately converting it to tragedy. Spike Lee employs the use of black face to bring out the history of American culture, as well as the cinema industry. The black face portrays the everyday life of the American black people. The actors perform a great job of bringing out racial stereotype while mentioning their character. The black face in the film Bamboozled plays a critical role in