The race is a narrative system in which visual representation is crucial. Because society shapes racial categories mostly through visual identification and experience, all visual media, including film, participate in the construction of race necessarily. Critics have long accused the Hollywood film industry of "selling" viewers negative and imperfect images of African-American culture and people. The films are then supposed to project these harmful images onto the audience and distort and commercialize black bodies for fun. This is problematic because, on the one hand, it is a leisure activity. On the other hand, the film plays a serious political role – through it, we learn to understand the world. In contemporary film production, we have been witnessing for some time attempts to design images of African Americans differently. They also appear in the main, heroic roles. However, this does not necessarily mean that we live in a more advanced society that works in their favor.
To determine the ideological effects of contemporary film and TV productions that try to base stories on more emancipated black characters, I analyzed Black Panther, Shaft, and the Luke Cage series in my master’s thesis. Based on the analysis of representation, I found that despite certain stereotypes that are still present, more progressive depictions of African Americans predominate. They may not be ideal heroes. However, heroes are absolutely necessary to gain insight into the diversity of black culture.
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