With the likes of Shonda Rhimes, John Singleton, Spike Lee and Kenya Barris, African-American filmmakers are perpetually trying to pave their way into the film industry. Black Hollywood has changed tremendously throughout the years, where shows that depicted African American lifestyle are no longer favored in today’s generation. TV shows that had once graced the air, exposing black culture and black consciousness, have evolved into a flawed, misleading representation of African Americans, whereas reality television is one of the main programs that ridicules the behavior of African American people. Shows, for instance, like "Love & Hip Hop" with a majority all-black cast, have captured African Americans, exemplifying barbaric, hostile and venereal behavior. While black Hollywood is slowly evolving into a full-blown travesty, the question remains: Why are there not African-American filmmakers presenting positive instances of black culture on television and film?
With "Scandal" being a prominent show on primetime television, the portrayal of Olivia Pope is heavily debated on. Being that she is a professional and successful African-American woman running her own firm, there are certain instances of where she is hyper-sexualized. Other television shows, like "Being Mary Jane" and "Empire," epitomize this sort of sexual debauchery, where the main character is also a professional African-American woman. What happened to shows like "The Cosby Show" where Clair Huxtable was portrayed as this sophisticated and intelligent lawyer, but never presented herself as a sexual object?
The TV show "Blackish" is another example of a black woman who is simply not presented as an instrument of sexual pleasure. Though "Blackish" does capture the lives of a upper-middle-class African American family, it still kind of leaves an enigmatic statement on the representation of African=American households. There is still a bit of ridicule that the show depicts about black culture.
While we protest against the Oscars about how there is lack of diversity, the films that we create should shed some sort of positive limelight about African-Americans. In a recent article that I read online, “About Diversifying Hollywood,” actor Morgan Freeman says, “Though we are content with black actors and actresses on television and film, we need more African-Americans behind the camera.” Not only is there a lack of diversity, but also a lack of black writers. With African-American screenwriters, we can actually present our story with a more accurate depiction of black culture.
