Panel shared want to 'get black in it'

African-Armerican Theatrical Ensemble discussed black role in media

By Chrystina Woody
Staff Writer

As a kick off to Black History Month, the African-American Theatrical Ensemble, headed by Eric Quander, began its series of discussions entitled "Getting Black In It." The discussions will be open question-and-answer sessions regarding the images, craft, and business of African Americans in film and television. In addition to USC cinema-television majors being in attendance, several television and film celebrities will be panelists. The events will be held in Taper Hall of Humanities, on every Wednesday in February.

"The African-American Theatrical Ensemble is a non-profit media organization that aims to nurture aspiring African Americans in the entertainment business, and help the media produce more realistic depictions of African Americans," said Quanders.

In addition, the AATE provides workshops on acting, dancing and singing for talent, as well as spiritual aid. Quanders believes the problem with television and film with regard to blacks is that their roles are limited to unrealistic "ghetto" depictions, as well as a ghettoization of the black community. Quanders is adamant that "the only way a change can occur and more accurate and diverse shows can exist, is if the executives realize the power of the black dollar and more blacks are in positions of power, in front of and behind the camera."

The first of the upcoming events was "Black Images in Film and Television." Topics for discussion were the depiction of black women in television and film, and despite the talent of many African-American actors, the majority of them are limited to "black comedic stereotypical roles." The main problem is that due to the lack of black television and film executives, blacks are not given a fair amount of roles and therefore a distorted view of the black experience is shown.

On the panel are actress Anne-Marie Johnson (In the Heat of the Night), and Christopher Duncan (The Jamie Foxx show). Johnson feels strongly about the inappropriate manner in which blacks are constantly shown in television and film, and attends events such as these in an effort to help African-American progress in the entertainment business.

"Blacks are categorized solely on race, many of us are over qualified for the roles we are given; however our race is a constant barrier," Johnson said. "The black community needs a larger array of shows to pick from in terms of their viewing choices. Whites have Frasier, Friends, Seinfeld (the list goes on) while blacks do not have half of the variety of shows to choose from with regard to black sitcoms."

Duncan agreed with Johnson and said he believes that the crux of the problem is that there are a limited number of black images on television and the big screen.

"The answer is not to abolish the stereotypical black shows, but to add more shows depicting the variety of the black experience," Duncan said. "The token black characters that you find in several mainstream sitcoms and dramas are an insult to the black community and a slap in the face."

Although progress is slow, Duncan remains positive.

"Eventually blacks and whites will have a balanced playing field in terms of casting, " Duncan said. "The answer lies with having more black executives and blacks in positions of power, such as Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby producing shows and films."

"Black Images in Film" is just the first of the series of these discussions, "Women in Film," "Black Film and Television Makers" and "Old School/New School" will follow.

The African-American Theatr-ical Ensemble hopes that these events will "provide a symposium and opportunity for the community and industry insiders to have an open dialogue about the state of African Americans in film and television due to the recently publicized events surrounding the lack of African Americans in front of and behind the camera."

The goal of Quanders and the AATE is to nurture and introduce black creativity in all aspects of the world. The AATE is open to all that are interested in helping blacks achieve this goal of "visualizing and actualizing the future," Quanders said.

Copyright 2000 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 139, No. 17 (Friday, February 4, 2000), beginning on page 5 and ending on page 6.