This thesis examines the history of the stereotypical mammy/maid characters in American films. The analysis serves to show the ongoing racialized casting of black women in domestic roles for over a century. Equally important, the analysis includes a discussion of how the black actresses who performed these roles thought about and negotiated them. The actresses themselves faced much criticism for their participation in and contributions to racial stereotyping, and this thesis seeks to show how these actresses understood and responded to such critiques.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis examines the history of the stereotypical mammy/maid characters in American films. The analysis serves to show the ongoing racialized casting of black women in domestic roles for over a century. Equally important, the analysis includes a discussion of how the black actresses who performed these roles thought about and negotiated them. The actresses themselves faced much criticism for their participation in and contributions to racial stereotyping, and this thesis seeks to show how these actresses understood and responded to such critiques.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Coleman, Valerie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Liberal Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-11-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-11-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:52Z","subjects":["black actresses","Hollywood","women in film","racial stereotypes","mammy stereotype"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/177","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Coleman, Valerie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-01-09T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Liberal Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["black actresses","Hollywood","women in film","racial stereotypes","mammy stereotype"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/177"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis examines the history of the stereotypical mammy/maid characters in American films. The analysis serves to show the ongoing racialized casting of black women in domestic roles for over a century. Equally important, the analysis includes a discussion of how the black actresses who performed these roles thought about and negotiated them. The actresses themselves faced much criticism for their participation in and contributions to racial stereotyping, and this thesis seeks to show how these actresses understood and responded to such critiques.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Black actresses in American films: a history and critical analysis of the mammy/maid character"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Coleman, Valerie"],"dc:date.available":["2015-01-09T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis examines the history of the stereotypical mammy/maid characters in American films. The analysis serves to show the ongoing racialized casting of black women in domestic roles for over a century. Equally important, the analysis includes a discussion of how the black actresses who performed these roles thought about and negotiated them. The actresses themselves faced much criticism for their participation in and contributions to racial stereotyping, and this thesis seeks to show how these actresses understood and responded to such critiques.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://via.library.depaul.edu/etd/177"],"dc:subject":["black actresses","Hollywood","women in film","racial stereotypes","mammy stereotype"],"dc:title":["Black actresses in American films: a history and critical analysis of the mammy/maid character"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Liberal Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:52Z"}