Representation of ethnicity : Black women

('Kim' from EastEnders and 'Marie' from American Horror Story: Coven)

419 words

The stereotypes of black women are similar for both the American and English. They tend to come across as very confrontational and sassy in today's society, as well as retaining skills such as being good at singing and dancing. The stereotype also portrays black women as rather fashionable, keeping up with trends and taking care in their appearances. Furthermore, the majority of black women are quite religious and spiritual.

The two black female characters I have decided to look at are Kim Fox from the English TV show 'EastEnders' and Marie Laveau from the American TV series 'American Horror Story: Coven'. The similarities between the two characters can be shown largely through the mes-en-scene. Kim's costume is very bright and eccentric, much like Marie Laveau who although wears darker costumes, still has eccentric tastes. Moreover, their hair and make-up proves that the characters care about their appearances and it suggests they have put a lot of time and effort into how they look. Kim always has very noticeable eye make-up and Marie has her hair in braids. More similarities include the ways in which they make other characters in the TV shows feel. For example, when Kim was on a date with the white man, the close up shot of his facial expression suggests to us that she is making him feel rather intimidated and uncomfortable. This is also shown in EastEnders through the use of shot reverse shot and eye-line match as it proves that it is Kim making him react in this way. Similarly with Marie, she is very intimidating and this is shown in her dialogue during her argument with Fiona. She's extremely confrontational and confident and this is reinforcing the stereotype that black women can be intimidating and rude.

Some differences in the characters are that Kim is a lot louder than Marie. Kim tends to have quite a lot of loud laughter and shouting, whereas Marie is often seen muttering spells quietly to herself. Both of these however still reinforce the stereotypes of black women; one being loud and 'out there' and the other being rather spiritual. Furthermore, when Marie is on screen it tends to be piano based music, which emphasises the religious and spiritual nature she has, whereas with Kim, she has current pop music playing.

Despite there being differences, the two characters are ultimately both still reinforced stereotypes of black women, and this is shown in both American and English TV dramas through the use of CamSAMC, MES, editing and sound.