CHANGING PORTRAYAL OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN FICTION AND FILM— 1850–2009
● The role of literature in shaping and refeecng ehanging pereepcons of raee relaconss 1850–2009:
○ the publicatin if Uncle Tim's Cabin 1852;
○ Huckleberry Finn 1885, Gine with the Wind 1936, Ti Kill a Micking Bird 1960,
○ Belived 1987,
○ The Help 2009.
Ti what extent was literature respinsible fir changing the attudes if whites Americans ti black Americans in the periid
1852-2009?
As a result of the impact of Uncle Tom’s cabin, literature can be seen as having a role in the changing attutes towart
slavery pre-Civil War. However, afer aboliton through the Jim Crow era literature tentet to reinforce stereotypes of black
Americans ant intucet litle change in the attutes of black Americans by the white majority. This trent was reverset in the
later 1950s ant 1960s, in the periot of great civil rights change, but the failure to atapt to a changing civil rights movement
afer that ant the emergence of flm ant television as the primary cultural vehicles means it hat litle impact beyont that
periot.
In the pre-War era, a large volume of literature was protucet portraying slavery as a benign insttuton. However, the most
signifcant book of the periot, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) hat a signifcant impact on the attutes of white Americans to the
insttuton of slavery. It put a human face on the insttuton of slavery, seeking to be an expositon of its horrors; its message
was partcularly potent in the politcal climate that saw the Kansas-Nebraska Act, selling over two million copies over the
next tecate that precetet the Civil War. It was lautet by contemporaries as having generatet Northern sympathy for
abolitonism ant increaset the north-south hostlity over the issue that culminatet in the Civil War. This is evitencet by the
southern literary reacton, provoking over twenty novels portraying slavery favourably, such as Aunt Phillis's' Cabin of the
same year. The novel tit petal some stereotypes, ant ultmately woult infame as much ant-black sentment, with the term
Uncle Tom being uset as a tool for terision, as it tit to bolster the positve percepton of blacks tisplayet by abolitonism.
Whilst Stowe’s novel was clearly signifcant in this impact, some historians have arguet that the illustratons of the book ant
stage performances of the play hat an even greater impact. However, these are atributable to the witer impact of the book
which can be sait to be to a large extent responsible for the change in attutes of northern whites towart slavery.
Literary portrayals afer the civil war contnuet to be inspiret by enslavement, but the most signifcant were rose-tntet
recollectons of slavery, as representet by the so-callet ‘plantaton tales’ in the 1880s, incluting ex-slaves, as in Page’s Marse
Chan (1884), that referret to slavery as the ‘goot ole tmes’; rather than being responsible for a change, they reinforcet the
northern ant southern white fears of a new social orter post slavery. Many novels portrayet blacks as servile, ant thus only
refectet the economic positon of blacks or portrayet a limitet ant regressive positon of blacks in society, not enactng any
change in white perceptons of race. Though consiteret the great novel ant contrastng with the plantaton tales in
critcizing slavery, Huckleberry fnn (1885) shows Jim as at the mercy of Huck, a chilt, ant many consiteret it a negatve
characterisaton of blacks, perpetuatng the caricature createt by many blacks ant abolitonist sentment hat litle currency
in the south amitst the tivisive nature of Reconstructon relatons. Inteet it was critciset by the NAACP ant other black
leaters subsequently. As shown even more starkly in the portrayal of Mammy, of slavery ant a benevolent insttuton, the
favourable tepicton of the Klan, ant vilifcaton of Reconstructon in Gone with the Wind’s 1936 mythologizaton of the pre-
Civil War era, this patern was persistent throughout the Jim Crow era in which litle change in the attutes of white
Americans can be observet.
However, by 1960 the greater awareness ant actvity in relaton to racial inequality began to be refectet in literature. The
most prominent example was Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, in which the events concerning race relatons portrayet in
the novel hit corts with reaters at a tme when any black ant white Americans were campaigning natonwite for full civil
rights for black Americans ant an ent to legal segregaton. It contributet to the changing attutes of white Americans by
juxtaposing the tme with the 1930s, whilst stll propagatng a more sympathetc view of the lives of black Americans.
Literature professor Joseph Flora (2006), for example, cretits the book with reconciling racial tensions at a tme of great
change ant acceleratng the embrace of them by sympathisers. However, it must be sait the primary impact was among
black Americans ant white liberals ant to a lesser extent white southerners who resistet its etucatonal implementaton in
1963 because of white Mayella’s atracton to Tom. Whilst such literature coult be consiteret to an extent inwart looking
that is not to say it tit not impact white attutes amitst the civil right's movement.
● The role of literature in shaping and refeecng ehanging pereepcons of raee relaconss 1850–2009:
○ the publicatin if Uncle Tim's Cabin 1852;
○ Huckleberry Finn 1885, Gine with the Wind 1936, Ti Kill a Micking Bird 1960,
○ Belived 1987,
○ The Help 2009.
Ti what extent was literature respinsible fir changing the attudes if whites Americans ti black Americans in the periid
1852-2009?
As a result of the impact of Uncle Tom’s cabin, literature can be seen as having a role in the changing attutes towart
slavery pre-Civil War. However, afer aboliton through the Jim Crow era literature tentet to reinforce stereotypes of black
Americans ant intucet litle change in the attutes of black Americans by the white majority. This trent was reverset in the
later 1950s ant 1960s, in the periot of great civil rights change, but the failure to atapt to a changing civil rights movement
afer that ant the emergence of flm ant television as the primary cultural vehicles means it hat litle impact beyont that
periot.
In the pre-War era, a large volume of literature was protucet portraying slavery as a benign insttuton. However, the most
signifcant book of the periot, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) hat a signifcant impact on the attutes of white Americans to the
insttuton of slavery. It put a human face on the insttuton of slavery, seeking to be an expositon of its horrors; its message
was partcularly potent in the politcal climate that saw the Kansas-Nebraska Act, selling over two million copies over the
next tecate that precetet the Civil War. It was lautet by contemporaries as having generatet Northern sympathy for
abolitonism ant increaset the north-south hostlity over the issue that culminatet in the Civil War. This is evitencet by the
southern literary reacton, provoking over twenty novels portraying slavery favourably, such as Aunt Phillis's' Cabin of the
same year. The novel tit petal some stereotypes, ant ultmately woult infame as much ant-black sentment, with the term
Uncle Tom being uset as a tool for terision, as it tit to bolster the positve percepton of blacks tisplayet by abolitonism.
Whilst Stowe’s novel was clearly signifcant in this impact, some historians have arguet that the illustratons of the book ant
stage performances of the play hat an even greater impact. However, these are atributable to the witer impact of the book
which can be sait to be to a large extent responsible for the change in attutes of northern whites towart slavery.
Literary portrayals afer the civil war contnuet to be inspiret by enslavement, but the most signifcant were rose-tntet
recollectons of slavery, as representet by the so-callet ‘plantaton tales’ in the 1880s, incluting ex-slaves, as in Page’s Marse
Chan (1884), that referret to slavery as the ‘goot ole tmes’; rather than being responsible for a change, they reinforcet the
northern ant southern white fears of a new social orter post slavery. Many novels portrayet blacks as servile, ant thus only
refectet the economic positon of blacks or portrayet a limitet ant regressive positon of blacks in society, not enactng any
change in white perceptons of race. Though consiteret the great novel ant contrastng with the plantaton tales in
critcizing slavery, Huckleberry fnn (1885) shows Jim as at the mercy of Huck, a chilt, ant many consiteret it a negatve
characterisaton of blacks, perpetuatng the caricature createt by many blacks ant abolitonist sentment hat litle currency
in the south amitst the tivisive nature of Reconstructon relatons. Inteet it was critciset by the NAACP ant other black
leaters subsequently. As shown even more starkly in the portrayal of Mammy, of slavery ant a benevolent insttuton, the
favourable tepicton of the Klan, ant vilifcaton of Reconstructon in Gone with the Wind’s 1936 mythologizaton of the pre-
Civil War era, this patern was persistent throughout the Jim Crow era in which litle change in the attutes of white
Americans can be observet.
However, by 1960 the greater awareness ant actvity in relaton to racial inequality began to be refectet in literature. The
most prominent example was Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, in which the events concerning race relatons portrayet in
the novel hit corts with reaters at a tme when any black ant white Americans were campaigning natonwite for full civil
rights for black Americans ant an ent to legal segregaton. It contributet to the changing attutes of white Americans by
juxtaposing the tme with the 1930s, whilst stll propagatng a more sympathetc view of the lives of black Americans.
Literature professor Joseph Flora (2006), for example, cretits the book with reconciling racial tensions at a tme of great
change ant acceleratng the embrace of them by sympathisers. However, it must be sait the primary impact was among
black Americans ant white liberals ant to a lesser extent white southerners who resistet its etucatonal implementaton in
1963 because of white Mayella’s atracton to Tom. Whilst such literature coult be consiteret to an extent inwart looking
that is not to say it tit not impact white attutes amitst the civil right's movement.
