Compare Contrast "Ethnic Notions" and "Birth of a Nation"

In the film "Ethnic Notions" and "Birth of a Nation" racism is clearly present. Both films show the depiction of blacks in the eyes of white Americans. The film "Birth of a Nation" showed the Ku Klux Klan's hatred for all African Americans, while "Ethnic Notions" took the viewer through the history of some of the common terms for blacks. Some of the terms are "Mammy", "Coon", and the Tom. With such characters as the "…

…a loyal person that was protective over the white household. She was a powerful person which became a stable figure in each image of the south. The "Mammy" is very alike the "Coon", but the "Mammy" is shown as being totally independent and asexual. All throughout "Ethnic Notions" the "Mammy" and the "Coon" were shown as humorous and entertaining. These stereotypes show the African American characters to being inferior and subordinate to the white race