The history of African Americans in early Hollywood films began with blacks representing preconceived stereotypes. D.W. Griffith's 1915 film, Birth of a Nation, sparked many controversial issues within the black community. The fact that Griffith used white actors in blackface to portray black people demonstrated how little he knew about African Americans. Bosley Crowther's article “The Birth of Birth of a Nation” points out that the film was a “highly pro-Southern drama of the American Civil War and Reconstruction period, and glorified the role of the Ku Klux Klan” (76). While watching this film, one could argue that the members of the Ku Klux Klan are heroic forces who save white women from sexually violent black men. Griffith introduced the "mulatto, faithful mammy, Uncle Tom and brutal buck" character; some were disguised as villains and hateful individuals. Donald Bogle's "Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks" describes the brutal black male as "niggers big and bad, sexual and wild, violent and frenzied as they crave white meat" (13-14). Some of the film's most objectionable scenes depict black men trying to rape white women and blacks destroying the South, however, the Ku Klux Klan is coming to the rescue. Bogle also recorded some scenes in the film that featured blacks as a joke. For example, Bogle reiterates that "freed Negro legislators are portrayed as lustful, arrogant, and idiotic: one bites into a chicken leg, another secretly drinks from a bottle of liquor, and another takes the show off during legislative meetings" ( 12). this time, whites could not see blacks as normal people. Instead, they recognize that blacks were jesters and haughty. In addition to the biased and racial stereotypes shown in…middle of the paper…shame. Therefore, he quit his job and started dreaming about the kind of roles he would like to play in reality. Hollywood Shuffle successfully shed light on the lack of major roles for black actors in Hollywood and the misconception of blacks in films. The film shows how racism is behind the scenes because the director constantly asks the actors to be more black. In other words, Townsend intended to show the negative stereotypes directed at black actors. Surely, blacks who aspire to become actors and actresses have no choice but to accept humiliating roles in exchange for money and the chance to be famous. Bogle states that "In one sequence, Bobby does what can only be described as a brilliant imitation of Stepin Fetchit" (300). Hollywood Shuffle reinforces the racial stereotypes of Birth of a Nation in terms of portraying blacks as fools and idiots.