The presence of African Americans in major motion picture roles has stirred controversy and been limited dating back decades due to lingering racism following slavery and segregation.
[citation needed] "Through most of the 20th century, images of African-Americans in advertising were mainly limited to servants like the pancake-mammy Aunt Jemima and Rastus, the chef on the Cream of Wheat box.
[citation needed] Al Jolson, an actor and singer, made blackface popular with characters such as Amos 'n' Andy and Jakie Rabinowitz.
[citation needed]The first black Oscar winner, Hattie McDaniel, received the Academy Award in 1940 for her portrayal of the loyal maid in Gone with the Wind.
Or I can play a maid for $700 a week.”[citation needed] Despite the Academy Award, McDaniel faced struggle of both racism and sexism over the next decade, even within the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Reasons for this may be that "with the stakes high, many studio executives worry that films that focus on African-American themes risk being too narrow in their appeal to justify the investment.
[citation needed] Nineteen years later, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but lost to Alan Arkin; one theory for his loss was his role in the reviled blockbuster Norbit.
[citation needed] The movie walked away with one win for Best Supporting Actress, Octavia Spencer, leaving Viola Davis to lose to Meryl Streep, a 20-time nominee and three-time winner.
[citation needed] "The troubling thing is that the only two black actors in this year's Oscar competition are cast as domestics, and would probably not have found meaty, starring roles in other films had they passed on The Help.
[11] In 2013, five African-American films were released (12 Years a Slave, Fruitvale Station, Lee Daniels' The Butler, Best Man Holiday and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom).
[citation needed] Studio executives explain the lack of presence of the African Americans in supporting or starring roles by stating “only 4 out of 10 movies turn a profit, according to the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
[citation needed] Colonialism and slave culture imposed an awareness of privilege and ascendency to “lesser breeds without the law”,[14] to the point that a stigmatism of us-versus-them was prevalent in society.
[citation needed] “Furthermore, in that the Hollywood system favours big-budget blockbusters, it is not only classist but also Eurocentric, in effect if not in explicit intention; to be a player in this game one needs to have economic power.”[14] Elements of film such as narrative structure, camera angles, and dialogue can portray racism as a core theme, especially within the proclamation of power and authority enlisted by white people.