By Kai Shipman
Within Undercover Brother a 2002 Blaxploitation film, the main character experiences many changes in personality. The most memorable instance and the most important change in character is associated with him becoming a “sell-out.” In this moment he embodies and is depicted as a “Uncle Tom,” but with this change the writer seems to subvert the stereotype of “The Uncle Tom.” The “Uncle Tom” stereotype stems from Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beacher Sowe. Uncle Tom within this story is portrayed not as a race traitor but as a anti-slave hero. This change in perception has spiraled since the Civil Rights Movement and has been seen as a negative stereotype for many years. The more recent version of “Uncle Tom” has two distinct versions, “Version A is the black person who is a docile, loyal, religious, contented servant who accommodates himself to a lowly status. Version B is the ambitious black person who subordinates himself in order to achieve a more favorable status within the dominant society” (Husler 77). In some ways the character Undercover Brother perpetuates these stereotypes throughout the movie.
The first image I selected is of Undercover Brother in the first portion of the movie. In this he has his distinct 70s style at the beginning of the movie. He is depicted as wearing bright flashy colors, and he wears his natural hair. In the image he is wearing “the clenched fist” a well known Black Power symbol. This is on his shirt as well as a pendant that he received from his father. These things together with his personality, reflect a strong black man who knows his own character and beliefs. Within the second image Undercover Brother takes on a new name as Andrew Jackson. With this new identity he is lured and tricked into betraying his race, job and lover. He adorns new clothing, now wearing a raised collar polo, slacks, glasses, and the most significant change is his hair. Within this scene Jackson perpetuates the stereotype of “The Uncle Tom.” He takes on the role of a race-traitor, and like the “Uncle Tom” stereotype, Jackson identifies with his white counterparts and uses the opportunities he is allowed through them. Jackson relegates in this scene how this is better for him and how it makes him better than other black men and women. One of the main attributes to the “Uncle Tom” is his willingness to serve under while people while holding some “power” over his black counterparts. Nearing climax of the movie, Jackson fights to transform from this persona back into himself. Within this the writer uses this “switch” in personalities to show the actor as trapped or hypnotized into this “sell-out” state. He eventually finds his way out of it and says that “he must be true to himself.” We can see with this clear distinction that the writer intended to subjugate the stereotype.
As Mr. Jackson becomes himself again we can see that he goes on to cherish the things and people he mistreated. As you move past the initial image of Anton Jackson as the ” Uncle Tom” or the sell-out, it is clear that he was created to subjugate the stereotype. The character he portrays in this change is diverted and broken down until he becomes himself again. One of the main topics that I want to focus on is public opinion. While looking at the casting it is important to note that Eddie Griffin acts as Andrew Jackson within the movie. When asked publicly if there was another movie, he was enraged and starting hurling insults at the paparazzi. We know now that there was another movie made without Eddie Griffin, which begs the question: How do black men interpret and feel about this portrayal? Is there another interpretation of Undercover Brother? What negative connotations could be perpetuated by this movie?
Key Terms: Blaxploitation, Stereotype , Race, Power
————————————————————————————————————
Works Cited:
Hulser, Kathleen. “Reading Uncle Tom’s Image: From Anti-Slavery Hero to Racial Insult.” New York Journal of American History, vol. 65, no. 1, Jan. 2003, pp. 75–79. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ahl&AN=46888991&site=edslive.
Ryfle, Steve. “The Politics of Super Fly : The Blaxploitation Classic That Defined an African American Battle for Self-Determination on Screen.” Cinéaste, vol. 44, no. 2, Apr. 2019, pp. 12–16. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx? direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.26664267&s ite=eds-live
Black Men & Women 