A Study On The Stereotype Of Watermelon Of African-American （From The Late 19th Century To The Middle 20th Century）

At the end of the 19 th century and the beginning of the 20 th century,the American economy was in a period of rapid development,and the concept of consumerism gradually took root in the hearts of Americans.However,economic development did not solve the racial contradictions in the United States.At the same time,racism was most prevalent in the United States.American historians refer to this period as the "Jim Crow" period,in which black and white groups were artificially separated as the infamous "segregation" system spread across the states.During this period,many images of black people with racial discrimination emerged in the American society,among which the watermelon stereotype was one of the more typical images.The white people associate the black people with the watermelon,and integrate a large number of negative connotations into the stereotype of the black watermelon,in order to seek political,economic and social status and other benefits for the white people.At the same time,the white people,with their advantages in economy and culture,spread the stereotype of the black watermelon widely through watermelon eating contests,consumer goods,films and TV dramas.Since then,the stereotype of black watermelon has gradually been deeply rooted in people’s hearts,and the white people have constructed a three-dimensional image connotation of "the other" about black people and watermelon.Such connotation includes not only the white people’s interpretation of black people,but also the white people’s construction of their own national character and the concept of the American South.In the face of the stereotype of watermelon constructed by the white people,the African American community experienced a stage from passive acceptance to active resistance,and finally forced the American society to gradually give up the use of the stereotype of watermelon.Although the stereotype of the watermelon has a negative impact on the racial relations in American society,the remaking of the stereotype of the watermelon by blacks has imperceptively promoted the unity of the black community and enhanced the internal consensus of the ethnic group.As a cultural symbol,the black watermelon stereotype promotes the white people’s propaganda of racism and racial segregation,and the evolution of this stereotype can be said to be a microcosm of the process of the change of race relations and consumerism in the United States.