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Joaquim Conklin
Professor Joy Mcdonald
English 102-14
February 8 2016

Stereotypes of african americans:Youtube video & online article

America has changed since the time it was first discovered. Blacks were
originally brought to america with one ambition in mind, to become slaves. Slaves were
treated with the utmost disrespect. As time progressed, blacks gained freedom in
america and were looked at in many different point of views. Being a basketball player,
eating fried chicken and drinking kool aid are common forms of stereotype. Many do not
believe in treating african americans as their own people. For example, a teenager by
the name of Trayvon Martin was gunned down by a man because he felt that the
teenager was a gang banger who posed a threat to him. One of the biggest problems in
America is racism. This causes people to think thoughts of hate or fear toward one
another just by assuming something bad about that person based on appearance. If
people didnt judge others by the first time they were seen, many of Americas problems
would become easier to fix.
Many times stereotypes are created through media. Many genres can be used to
show films of african americans based on stereotypes. The two chosen genres goes in
depth about all of the stereotypes ranging from the 1800s, to the present. One of the
genresis a youtube video that gives a general overview of african american stereotypes
through video to explain the stereotypes. The article tells the audience about the
different kinds of african american stereotypes in great details. Both genres does a

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great job in giving descriptions of african americans in relation to stereotypes. These

two genres helped me understand the way people were judged in the 1800s is no
different from the way people are judged today.
Audience and Purpose
The intended audience for the youtube video are teens, and adults both african
american and caucasian american who wants to get a better understanding on the
different ways african-americans were looked at from films in the early 1900s, to the
present. By watching this video, the audience will get a general understanding on the
way african americans were assumed to be like throughout history. The youtube video is
for people who wants to look at african americans in a short amount of time. People are
able to rewind to see all the details that were missed during the passing time of
watching the video.
The intended audience of the article is for people who wants to take time out their
day to get a great understanding of each stereotype concerning african americans. By
reading this article, the audience will know when each stereotype originated and how
they became that stereotype. The article is for people who would like to conduct a small
research in order to gain knowledge. Each stereotype has a date when it was created
and description as to how it came to be. The targeted audience is mostly adults due to
the face that may or may not be entertain depending on whether or not the person likes
to read and is the topic interesting enough to take the time to read.
When comparing the youtube video the online article they both establish a clear
ground towards their targeted audience. Both sources tells the audience about every
african american stereotype. The youtube video lets the audience hear commentary

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about each stereotype in a short amount of time causing it to be more entertaining than
the article.On the contrary, the youtube video lacks in the area of giving knowledge and
explanation as to describing every what every african american stereotype is about.
The article is not as entertaining as the youtube video but the audience will gain more
knowledge than the people who watching the youtube video. People who watches the
youtube video will still gain knowledge in short amount of time.
Rhetorical uses: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
The youtube video establishes credibility by giving a general backstory of specific
stereotypes. The video starts off by explaining the word stereotype. The author uses
past films and shows as examples to establish credibility. Plenty of images and clips are
used to get the authors point across the audience. Theres not much emotional appeal
shown as the video was meant to be informative but at the end, the author talks about
the success that blacks had but the stereotypes just wont stop.
The article uses a number of sources as well as films to establish its
credibility.The article effectively demonstrates its proof behind the information by giving
the audience dates in which the stereotype started, films, and how african americans
were perceived to be in the mind of others. The emotional appeal of the article resign at
its conclusion when the author talks about the progress african americans made over
the course of time and explains that there are still negative stereotypes as of today.
Theses genres both uses examples from films to establish credibility. Both
genres doesnt show much emotional appeal until the end of their story.
Structure and Delivery

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The author of the youtube video uses many images, clips, and many other
examples. While all of the images are displayed, the author if talking through the video,
giving the audience some form of understanding. Considering That the video is
approximately over 3 minutes, the audience can get a basic understanding of most
african american stereotype. In the video, one of the stereotypes that is mentioned is
the mammy. The author explains how this person didnt pose a threat to caucasian
women due to their lack of sexual appearance. For every stereotype the author uses
images to explain the meaning behind them.
The article is structured out with bold titles and information underneath that title
that gives an explanation. There are no images shown which could make the genre less
interesting for younger people. The information that is being used is accurate due to the
number of sources cited throughout the article. Every stereotype explained how it was
formed. The article explains at the start of the paragraph that the Aunt Jemima
stereotype originated from the Mammy stereotype. The difference between these two
stereotypes was that Aunt Jemimas role was restricted to cooking as opposed to
Mammy who was a housekeeper who looked after children. By reading this article, the
audience will gain a better understanding of african american stereotypes when
comparing it to the video.
Conclusion/Synthesis
In conclusion both genres does a great job in conveying their messages to
their audience. The youtube video may be less informative than the article, but it is
much more entertaining and it opens up a variety of audiences. The video starts off by
explaining the definition of the word stereotype and gives numerous examples of african

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american stereotypes. By watching this video, I learned how films were used to get
people to believe that a certain race ethnicity was negative among caucasian
americans. On the contrary, the article may not be as entertaining as the youtube video
but it tells more information. The article tells the audience about more specific
stereotype such as the Jim Crow stereotype. After reading this article, the audience will
know the functions of each stereotype that are listed. These two stereotypes does a
great job in telling the audience about the negativity of african american stereotypes.
Many of theses stereotypes are used today.

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Works Cited
Laura, Green. Ferris. VCU Counseling Service, Winter 1998-99. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.
Lindsay, Wilson. African American Stereotypes in the Media. Online video clip.
YouTube. YouTube, 27 Apr. 2015. Web. 3 Feb. 2016