Black Women in Media has changed drastically over time in America. In America, around in the early 1920's black women were only shown as the 'Mammie'. The Mammie is the stereotype of black women working as maids under a white family and their job was to take care the white children. They were shown to be happy, but more docile than anything. This is one of the stereotypes that deepened the idea of anti-blackness in America. Most if not all 'Mammie's' were shown to be overweight and dumb, this idea was shown everywhere and this was the idea of many White Americans had of black women. This stereotype was the only representation black women had in a while up until the 70's.
The 1970's and 1980's was an amazing time for not just black women in media but black people in general. Shows like The Jefferson's, Good Times, Amen, 227, and Sanford & Son showed black families being normal people living their everyday lives. The Jefferson's even showed a black family being rich as well this show was one the first shows of it's time to show a healthy interracial relationship through the characters of Tom and Helen. When it comes to black women it was an array of emotions and feelings. No longer were the days of black women being the docile mammie we were shown as more. We were shown as smart and witty women who should not be messed with.This was true but it had a twist to it. Black women were shown as these things yes, but only on black shows. A good portion of America still had this warped idea of black women and didn't try or care to change it. The idea were changing but slowly. Black people still needed a way to reach white audiences in an effort to change their ideas. That's when the 1990's came along and changed the scene for ever.
The 1990's introduced a new archetype for black women the black girl best friend. This was in shows like Saved by the bell and Boys Meets World. The problem with this archetype is that these characters personalities completely revolted around their relationship with the white main characters. For example take Dionne from Clueless, who is she without her friendship with Cher? What is her hobbies? What are her goals in life? We do not know. Some shows do it better than others, Angela from Boys Meets World had a personality. We knew that her loved literature we knew about her home life because it connects to who she is. Boys Meets World was one of the first shows that showed an interracial relationship for kids shows. This was a bold move as she was in a relationship with Shawn, the shows heartthrob, and having him fall in love with a black girl was something never heard of.
The writer Shonda Rhimes created a new area from black women on Television. She created the show Scandal which starred the now cultural icon, Olivia Pope. Olivia Pope was not just a black lead she was a black female lead, a black woman in power. She had everyone fall to her feet and she controlled everything. Olivia wasn't just powerful she was real she had her emotions cloud up her judgment. She laughed, she cried and she loved. This was important because it showed a complex character, Olivia Pope is not perfect, she is human that is what made her so iconic today. This launched more black women to be more prominent in Television. Shows like The Flash casted Iris West as black woman and Titans casted Starfire as a black woman so slowly we can see more black woman take more of a role in American television. The representation is not perfect but it is getting better. I am excited that little black girls can grow up and see themselves as heroes, artists or politicians, so they can now that they can do anything.
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