The 1987 film Ethnic Notions directed by Marlon Riggs depicts many of the social issues that America was experiencing before the Civil War and throughout the rights movements civic. The film presents different social issues such as sexuality, appearances, and servility that many African Americans faced during that time. The media has deeply emphasized these issues affecting African American communities. The media was responsible for different stereotypes that were labeled on African Americans by white comedians, minstrel acts, and cartoons presented to the public. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The media used “blackface” and minstrel acts as ways to defend slavery. The idea of ​​servility was created by the different personas created by the media. Characters such as “Happy Sambo” and “Mammy” were created to defend slavery. The media presented this image of the African American as happy and willing to work for slave owners. Happy Sambo was portrayed as a happy, dancing, vivacious African-American man who was excited to work for slave owners. Granny was generally depicted as an older woman, happy and obedient to serve her masters. These characters were not only used to uphold the idea of ​​slavery, but they also created falsified ideas that African Americans were happy and willingly wanted to work under someone else's control. Minstrel shows were another way for the media to spread falsified ideas about African Americans. White artists painted their so-called “blackface” over and imitated African-American stereotypes. Zip Coon was another character created to portray free African Americans as incapable of integrating into society. This is similar to the media portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. Many people consider Lincoln to be the president who abolished slavery. We only see this representation of him because the media only shows us this image of him. Lincoln said, “If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it” (Morgan, 3). Like me, many people didn't know that he only wanted to persevere in the Union. This shows that the media can have a major influence on society and how it can shape our opinions. The film also addresses the issue of sexuality and gender when it comes to African American women. The film showed many depictions of how African American women were portrayed as inferior to white women when it came to their appearance. The film provided different images of the "Mommy" with characteristics such as tall, maternal, docile and friendly, which is different from how white women were portrayed. Even in today's media, many women are sexualized to a certain standard, for example, a woman must have a beautiful body, which is not really seen in Mammy's character. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a custom article now from our expert writers. Get a custom essay Before watching Ethnic Notions, I didn't have much knowledge about blackface or minstrel shows. I believe this still happens today with social media being a huge part of our lives. Social media provides a platform for.