Rough Draft

Justin Smith

Holguin

Rhet 105

April 25, 2014

Stereotypes placed of African-American Fathers

There have been many stereotypes placed on African-American fathers in the media. There are statistics that go along with these stereotypes, so the media sometimes blow the stereotypes out of proportion when discussing the topic. This is a topic that has affected my life while growing up, as I grew up with an absentee father. While I do believe that some of the stereotypes have some substance to them, I think that the media believes that it is simply a weak subject that they can demise without any criticism or reaction. The film “Pursuit of Happiness” is a great example of an African-American father who is struggling maintain a decent living in life, but will still do whatever it takes to ensure that his son gets what he needs. The media tends to focus on the absence of black fathers rather than focusing on successful black fathers such as the character that Will Smith plays in the film. There are several books that I found that discuss how African-American fathers are underappreciated in today’s times and therefore are related to the film. African-American fathers are a delicate group that does not receive the credit that they deserve in society.

The film “The Pursuit of Happiness” is based on an African-American father who is living in poverty with his young son. The man splits up with his wife early in the film and the wife insists that she should take full custody of their child because of the man’s lack of income. The father demands that their son remains in his custody and that he would never let his son be away from him. Throughout the majority of the film, the father struggles to make ends meet and him and his son are eventually forced to sleep anywhere from homeless shelters to bathrooms in the subway station. No matter how hard times get for him and his son, the father refuses to give and continues his entrepreneurship. The media focuses heavily on the...