frlday, febwary 23, 1979
daily ncbraskan
P&33 7
Hollywood 'stereotypes blacks9
By Carta Engstrom
Hollywood Alms dominated by western
culture stereotype blacks, contends film
maker Halle Gerima.
Film is a powerful weapon, Gerima said,
it's used to sell anything from a product to
a lifestyle.
Gerima spoke Wednesday in conjunct
ion with Black History Month and also
participated in Sheldon Film Theatre's
Filmmakers' showcase.
At times, independent American and
African black filmmakers have risen to
make positive films which negate stereo
types, he said.
However, people are used to seeing
blacks in a negative light, he said.
In Africa It's common to see blacks
going to "Tarzan-type films," Gerima said.
Men and women in the Third World
countries mold themselves into western
images because of western values, Gerima
said.
Blacks in films such as Gone With the
Wind have no sex or personality, he said.
Roots
Black filmmakers also use stereotypes,
according to Gerima. He cited such films as
Shaft and Mandingo as westernized images
of macho.
There are still good guys and bad guys
in Hollywood films and to pacify blacks,
the bad guys are the whites and the good
guys are the docile blacks, Gerima said.
To counteract stereotypes blacks must
develop to their fullest potential, he said.
This is where Roots fails, he said,
"Roots falsify reality.
'To romanticize literature at the
expense of realism" is negative, he said.
MKunta Kinte is like John Wayne," he
said.
After the dollar
"Roots is for a few blacks and a few
white who are .forgiving each other,"
Gerima said.
He said the film industry is out to make
money, but also pushes western values on
blacks.
The filmmaker said he likes to be in
direct control of all aspects of his films.
Gerima's first features Harvest: 3,000
Years and Bush Mama, were shown at the
filmmakers' showcase. His first film Child
of Resistance, a 47 minute documentary
on Angela Davis, was made at the Univer
sity of California at Los Angeles.
The filmmaker left Ethiopia and studied
drama at the Goodman School in Chicago.
He currently teaches at Howard University
in Washington, D.C.
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