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February 23
March 23
VOL. LI NO. 16
MEREDITH COLLEGE, RALEIGH, N.C.
FEBRUARY 15, 1977
Black film roles confined to stereotypes
by Vivian Keasler
Virtually all roles for
black actors and actresses
until very recent years have
been confined to narrow
stereotypes. Unfortunately,
the Hollywood concepts were
long accepted by both black
and white viewing audiences
as an “accurate statement
about the black experience,”
said Donald Bogle in an in
terview and lecture here last
Tuesday.
Bo^e presented a lecture
and slide program on the roles
of black actors in the movies
in conjunction with Black
Emphasis Week at Meredith.
His book on the same subject,
Toms, Coons, Mulattoes,
Mammies, and Bucks, won
the Theatre Library
Association Award for the
best book about film in 1973.
Bogle stated that the roles
given to blacks could be
classified in five basic
images, the earliest of which
was the “Tom” figure with the
filming of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
in 1903. “Uncle Tom” was
played by a white actor in
black face, for in the early
years “blacks were not
considered qualified to play
themselves.”
The “Tom” figure was a
good, stoic Christian, and
never questioned, the
established society. The
“Tom” character usually died
at the end of the film, content,
however, since he had always
been good to his white master.
The rotes of black actors
in film changed to meet the
needs of audiences. In the’30’s.
Bill “Bojangles” Robinson
appeared as a “Tom” figure
with Shirley Temple in many
movies. Considered by many
as the best dancer ever
recorded on film, Robinson
and Temple danced across the
screen, “exuding an op
timism” needed by audiences
of the post-depression years.
The “Coon” image was a
second film stereotype, the
funny, grinning black male
who was always the sidekick
and never the star of comedy
teams, but who always
managed to steal the show.
Bogle cited Eddie Rochester
Anderson who appeared in
several movies with Jack
Benny.
A third role was that of the
“tragic Mulatto,” always “a
whore figure.” She was pic
tured as a white girl “doomed
by one drop of ‘Negra blood’.”
Because of the extremely
limited roles available, such
beautiful, talented black
actresses as Fredi
Washington eventually
disappeared from Hollywood.
Lena Horne also began in
pictures as a “tragic Mulatto”
figure. Bogle pointed out that
Horne was too “wholesome”
yet also too “sleek and
sophisticated” to be a con
vincing whore, and therefore
was able to transcend.such a
narrow role and survive as a
performing artist.
The “Buck” image of the
sexual black male has in more
recent years appeared in such
films as those of actor-athlete
Jim Brown. Bogle noted that
while such films are attempts
to show a film character
taking a more aggressive
action in established society
than previous movie images,
the image remains a
stereotype all the same.
The “Mammy” figure had
to be “large enough to carry
the weight of the whole world
on her shoulders.” The most
famous, of course, was Hattie
McDaniel who appeared as
“Mammy” in Gone With the
Wind. Far from the classic
stereotype, McDaniel brought
to the screen a strong, forceful
character who banished any
notions of inferiority. She was
the only one who knew
Scarlett O’Hara’s every
motive, and never hesitated to
look her straight in the eye
and speak her mind. Mc
Daniel, consequently, became
the first black to receive an
Academy Award when she
won an Oscar for “Best
Supporting Actress” in 1949.
“The stereotypes
themselves should be
dismissed,” stated Bogle. The
important fact is that the
great black actors were able
to bring with them something
more powerful and unique
which transcended their
narrow roles.
Bogle commended such
actresses as Diana Ross and
Cicely Tyson for their work in
breaking through stereotypes,
and attributed the success of
such “box office champions”
as Shaft and Superfly to
the need for black audiences
to see films which are “even
remotely connected to the
black experience.”
The source of the
stereotype problem for black
actors. Bogle stated, lies in
the small number of blacks
behind the scenes in both film
and television. He pointed out
that even in the TV version of
“Roots”, none of the script
writers were black. He called
for more black directors,
producers, writers, and
technicians. Whites un
successfully have been
“trying to interpret the black
experience,” Bogle said.
Kim Hewlett and Hunter Hirschman rehearse for the Meredith
production of “Come Blow Your Horn” which plays next week,
February 24,25,26. Tickets will be available at the door.
International Student Day
Students seecapitol
by Rosie Bowers
Have you ever thought
about spending a day in a
foreign country learning
about its government and
seeing its politicians in ac
tion? Five Meredith in
ternational students had the
opportunity to do just that as
they attended the First In-
Rowlett proposes security alternatives
by Debbie Doss
In response to the recent
dissatisfaction with
Meredith’s security system,
Betsy Rowlett, chairman of
Legislative Board, has
proposed two alternauves to
our present operation.
Miss Rowlett has ex
pressed her concern over the
fact that the majority of the
night security force must
remain in Johnson Hall in
order to check IDs and escort
Club gets charter
by Carolyn Morton
A chapter of the Circle K
service organization has been
organized here on the
Meredith campus. The club
received its charter January
31 and has enlisted 16 mem
bers. Dr. Alden Peterson of
the business department will
be the club’s faculty advisor.
Senior members include
Debbie Finch, Betty Hoffman,
and Debbie Thompson. Junior
Jessica Watson will serve as
the vice president. Sophomore
members are Alisa Rhodes,
president; Beverly Toler,
treasurer; Cathy Fleming;
Elizabeth Wall; Janet Surles;
Carolyn Morton; Anne
Timberlake; Anita Wolf;
Kathy Davis; Carol Lan
caster. Mary McLeod,
secretary, and Nancy Clai-
denin represent the Freshman
class.
Circle K is an in
ternational service club
sponsored by the Kiwanic
Club for college students.
According to President Alisa
Rhodes, it is the largest
collegiate club in North
America.
Circle K sponsors such
projects as The March of
Dimes and the League of
Women Voters. The Meredith
Chapter is currently woridng
at the Haven House for boys,
the Governor Morehead
School, and the Haven Hill
Convalescent Home.
“We hope to get involved
with the Consumer Protection
Agency. The club especially
wants to help students become
aware of their special con
sumer problems,” com
mented Miss Rhodes.
Miss Rhodes feels that
Circle K will be an asset to the
Meredith community. She
added, “We have some VCTy
good service clubs here on
campus, but their mem
berships are so large. We
want to give Meredith
students a chance to help
people on a one-to-one basis.
Not only are we helping others
in Circle K, but we’re having
loads of fun doing it.”
Circle K meetings are
held in 111 Joyner, every
Monday night at 7:30. Anyone
who is interested is en
couraged to attend.
girls to the dorms, and that
only one guard is available to
patrol the rest of the campus.
In a memo to members of
the administration, she
related this concern and said,
“I feel that this is a waste of
abilities, time, and talent of
our security officers, and that
it is not conducive to the
safety of Meredith students.”
■Therefore, Miss Rowlett
has proposed that the campus
change to a key or card entry
system in which the students
would be responsible for
getting themselves into the
dorms at night.
Under a key entry system,
a student returning to the
campus after closing hours
would show her ID and obtain
a key from the security officer
on duty, indicating the time
and her residence hall. Miss
Rowlett explained. “Upon
receiving the key, each
student would have ten
minutes to reach her
residence hall, let herself in,
and call the security officer to
report that the door is secured
and the key dripped in the
lodced box provided,” she
said.
The Legislative Board
Chairman sees many ad
vantages in the key en^
system. Only one security
officer would be stationed in
Johnson Hall, she explained,
leaving the other officers free
to patrol the campus.”
The noise factor would be
lessened, according to
Rowlett, because large
numbers of students would not
likely be returning to the
residence halls at the same
time.
In addition, dorms could
be locked earlier on
weekends, thus making
students feel safer, she said.
Included in the proposed
key entry system is the
stipulation that any student
wlw loses a key woidd be held
responsible for resulting
costs, such as replacing locks.
“The keys would remain
on campus at all times, in
suring no losses of keys off
campus,” Miss Rowlett
asserted.
However, she does not
anticipate that loss of keys
would be a problem.
“If you can keep up with
your car keys, I don’t see why
you couldn’t keep up with the
key to the dorm,” she added.
The second proposal, a
card entry system in which
students would obtain a card
from the security officer and
insert it into an electrical
device that would open the
residence hall door, would be
very similar to the key entry
plan. “However, the card
system would be much more
expensive,” Miss Rowlett
said.
ternational Student Day at the
North Carolina ' capital
Thursday.
Denise Byrd, Marizela
Notz, Greta Ostergaard,
Francisco Yarur, and
Elizabeth Agreda joined 250
other students representing 56
countries in an exploration of
N.C. state government. An
introduction by Secretary of
State, Thad Eure, was
followed by a.film on the N.C.
legislature and a panel
discussion by three
representatives and senators.
After eating lunch at First
Baptist Church, students were
given guided tours of the
legislative building and the
governor’s mansion.
The committee for In
ternational Student ,Day
planned' the day in hopes rf
giving North Carolina’s in
ternational students an in
formal experience in which
they could learn more about
&e state and its government.
A second purpose was to
enable students to discover
others from their own coun
tries who were in N.C. Thir
dly, students could meet and
exdiange impressions of the
U.S. with people from many
countries.
Elizabeth Agreda, a
senior business major from
Bolivia, has had the op
portunity to learn about
Raleigh from her experiences
of woricing in the Raleigh
courthouse.
Marisela Notz from
Venezuela and Francisca
Yarur from Chile both en
joyed the opportunity of
getting to know other students
who shared experiences from
colleges and universities all
over the state. Meredith
students agreed with the
others that the only disap
pointment was the Governor
Hunt could not attend as
planned, but that on the whole,
the day was a most successful
one.