“The idea of South Central became the lens through which much of the outside world understood blackness in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. And this development became a source of ongoing personal struggle for black actors hoping to work in Hollywood.” (Yuen, 2010, pg. 233)
With the success of movies like “Boyz N The Hood” many films began depicting life in South Central Los Angeles. “Menace II Society” was produced shortly after and showed a lifestyle extremely different to what a lot of people experience. After this movie, many people began to stereotype that all black people lived in this “ghetto” way. This ultimately hindered the roles given to blacks. They were all cast as the stereotypical “ghetto” person. Even though they may not have been anywhere near brought up in that same way, because of their skin color, these were the roles they were confined to.
Race, Media, and Representations 