"Racism has been incorporated into America's DNA, and as long as we turn a blind eye to the pain of those suffering under persecution, we will not escape from those origins," actress Viola Davis said in the series "How can you get away with a murder?" (? How to Get Away with Murder) in her speech to the US Supreme Court.

The demonstrations against the racism that the United States is witnessing now reveals the suffering of the brown skinned people in one of the most powerful and developed countries in the world, but discrimination continues to this day. .

Racism is evident in artistic works - especially in horror films - because of its great ability to portray violence in different and interesting ways, which has been used significantly in the history of American horror movies to show minorities as violent characters, criminals and monsters.

A history of racism

In the documentary "Horror Noire", drawn from the book "Blacks in American Horror Films from 1890 to the Present," by writer Robin R. Coleman The movie reveals the notable features of blacks in horror movies.

The book presents the history of blacks in horror movies, and how criminals and monsters were portrayed in the 1930s, such as the "Ingagi" horror series that took place in the bush and blacks were portrayed as primitive and sometimes indistinguishable from monkeys.

And the movie "Birth of a Nation", to which Robin commented, "Hollywood uses its messages to create fear around blacks, especially the fear of black men."

"As for whites, the film" The Birth of a Nation "is beautiful and proud, and it was shown at the White House, but for black people it is a horror movie."

And it developed in the early sixties when many novels began during this period to focus on black culture, and they began to appear as major participants in films and series, such as "Sugar Hill" in 1974, in which the heroine appeared in brown skin and assisted the army Black zombies take revenge on her fiance's killer.

And in the 1968 movie "Night of the Living Dead", the movie broke the stereotype that it was the black person who dies first, with actor Dwayne Jones playing a powerful and sophisticated black character, leading a group of whites during the apocalypse and fighting zombies.

Dwayne was the only survivor of this horrific battle, but the story soon returns to the usual course and is killed at the end of the movie by white police militia and civilians.

The Negro

By the 1980s, black characters appeared as complementary parts to the path of the whites, and this is evident in the role of black actor Scatman Crowers, in his role in the movie "The Shining". , And kills instantly as soon as it deems unnecessary

This type of film depicts the black man as "the Negro", which, as writer Ashley Blackwell commented on him, "He must put himself in danger and die in order to help the white character survive."

Despite the development of horror films, the stereotype of black is still continuing, as in the movie "Bird Box", produced by the Netflix network, which defends the rights of minorities and everyone who has been ostracized from society. .

Director Xavier Borgen commented on this role, saying, "The black man sacrifices himself for white women and two children. We are in 2018 and we still see these models in films."

Rebellion and success

Over the past few years, some films have been able to oppose this stereotype, and this development is shown in the movie "The First Purge", which was presented in 2018, and directed by Gerard McMurray. The film presented the inequality in contemporary American life.

The writer and director Jordan Bell also managed to present a distinctive model in horror movies and break the stereotype of blacks in his films "Get Out" in 2017, and "We" (Us) in 2019, and the latter achieved impressive success and sales within four days equal to four times Film budget of $ 20 million.

These films showed a picture opposing the prevailing narration of black representation in American horror movies, and Burgin commented, "There is no type of movie that a black person cannot make or does not want to do, it is only the opportunity to do it in the first place."