[2] It examines anti-Black stereotypes that permeated popular culture from the ante-bellum period until the advent of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
[2] Ethnic Notions takes viewers on a disturbing voyage through American history, tracing the deep-rooted stereotypes which have fueled anti-Black prejudice.
The stereotypes roll across the screen in cartoons, feature films, popular songs, minstrel shows, advertisements, folklore, household artifacts, and even children's rhymes.
The documentary touches upon issues of servility, sexuality, appearances, the "noble" savage, and most evidently, the impact of mass media on the image of African Americans—especially the exaggerated physical image of a very dark person with very bright, large lips, very white eyes and large unkempt hair—and how this affects the self-image of the African American.
Ethnic Notions has become a mainstay of university, high school, and public library collections and the most widely seen of Marlon Riggs’ work.