The Segregated Gun as an Indicator of Racism and Representations in Film

The paper interrogates how guns function as symbols within film to both reflect and perpetuate structural racism, especially when wielded by Black characters framed through stereotypical tropes. Situated at the intersections of philosophy, sociology, and film theory, the authors argue that despite increased representation of Black creators and stories, Hollywood frequently encodes narratives that segregate Black from White and normalize inequities. The study proposes that the gun, as a theatrical object, often undermines attempts at portraying freedom, equality, and justice by reinforcing stereotypes that intensify bias and sustain White privilege. The authors set out to analyze how contemporary films with Black leads brandishing guns contribute to or challenge structural racism, and to offer guidance for desegregating the gun in film.

The paper situates its argument within a historical overview of Black representation in American cinema: from early 20th-century race films and mid-century Hollywood works featuring the 'saintly' Black figure (e.g., Poitier-era films criticized for soft handling of racism) to 1970s blaxploitation (both empowering and stereotype-laden), 1980s–1990s 'hood films' and the New Right context (Denzin, 2003; Sheridan, 2006). It integrates sociological and cultural scholarship on guns as symbols of identity, status, and honor (Livingston, 2018; Anderson, 1999; Burgason et al., 2014; Felson & Pare, 2010), and on cinematic tropes such as the Magical/Saintly Negro, White savior, Uncle Tom, Mandingo, Jezebel, and Mammy (Entman & Rojecki, 2001; Glen & Cunningham, 2009; Hughey, 2009; Jewell, 1993; Pilgrim, 2002). The review also notes the politics of representation and reception, including the encoding/decoding framework (Hall, 1980; Holub, 1984; Procter, 2004) and critiques of racialized authorship and 'Black voice' in scripts (Gormley, 2005). Prior research on violent female action characters (Gilpatric, 2010) informs the analysis of Proud Mary. Collectively, this literature frames guns in film as multiplex symbols (freedom, affiliation, power) whose meanings are racialized by longstanding cinematic stereotypes and production/reception dynamics.

The paper employs a qualitative, interpretive textual analysis of three 21st-century films with Black leads who wield guns—John Q. (2002), Proud Mary (2018), and Django Unchained (2011)—selected after an extensive scan of genres for works featuring lead Black gun users across drama/thriller and blaxploitation/crime/western hybrids. Selection criteria included: Black lead characters wronged by systems or individuals; explicit use of guns to express authority, power, or achieve justice; and filmmakers’ stated or evident engagement with racism/racial discrimination. The analysis is organized in three acts: (I) theorizing the gun as a symbol of structural racism and a theatrical object; (II) close readings of each film’s deployment of guns and stereotypical character tropes; and (III) recommendations for desegregating the gun in film. Media representation theory and reception theory (encoding/decoding; negotiated/oppositional readings) guide the interpretation of production choices, textual elements (dialogue, imagery, marketing), and potential audience receptions.

- Across the three films, guns purportedly symbolize freedom, protection, affiliation, and power, yet when placed in the hands of Black leads framed by enduring stereotypes, they frequently reinscribe structural racism rather than challenge it. - John Q.: The gun as freedom/independence. John’s unloaded gun functions as a theatrical threat mobilizing attention to healthcare inequities and racial disparities in organ transplantation. However, pairing his vigilante actions with the Saintly/Magical Negro trope recasts him as irrational and dangerous, muting systemic critique and reinforcing fear of the armed Black man. - Proud Mary: The gun as loyalty/affiliation. Mary’s arc shifts from assassin aligned with a crime ‘family’ to caregiver-protector of Danny, invoking vigilante justice but reinscribing the Black Mammy archetype. Although she subverts some VFAC norms, her empowerment is undercut by gendered/racial caregiving stereotypes and industry underpromotion of the film. - Django Unchained: The gun as identity/power. Django’s weapon use signals resistance and freedom, yet his agency is diluted by the White savior dynamic (Dr. King Schultz) and a gallery of stereotypes (Uncle Tom via Stephen; Mandingo; Jezebel/Mulatta; Mammy). Tarantino’s scripting, including repeated racial slurs (e.g., the n-word reported as used 110 times), amplifies racialized spectacle over complex Black subjectivity. - Historical film practices (e.g., cutting scenes in Uncle Tom’s Cabin for White audiences) and contemporary marketing (e.g., Proud Mary’s limited promotion) demonstrate how production and distribution choices encode racial meanings that shape reception and sustain segregation. - Empirical context supports gendered patterns: VFACs target males in 61.1% of films and often serve male heroes’ narratives (Gilpatric, 2010), echoing Proud Mary’s constrained agency. - Overall, the gun’s cinematic symbolism is racially contingent: in White leads it reads as heroism/patriotism; in Black leads, framed by tropes, it is more readily decoded as criminality/violence, perpetuating bias.

The analysis shows that cinematic guns function as racialized symbols whose meanings depend on representational context. By pairing Black leads’ gun use with entrenched stereotypes and White-savior frameworks, films dilute critiques of systemic injustice and recenter White normativity. Reception theory suggests that even well-intentioned texts can be oppositionaly decoded, particularly when tropes trigger entrenched biases; thus, the same narrative gesture (armed protection of loved ones) is valorized in White characters and feared in Black characters. These findings address the paper’s core question by demonstrating how gun theatricality and stereotypical casting jointly encode structural racism. The implications for the field include rethinking characterization, dialogue, marketing materials, and audience testing to anticipate negotiated/oppositional readings; centering Black creators and critics at all production stages; and employing representation frameworks to avoid tokenism and trope recycling. Desegregating the gun in film requires complex Black character development detached from reductive archetypes so that weapons can signify equality, agency, and justice rather than criminality or savagery.

This paper contributes a historically informed, theory-driven critique of how guns operate as racialized symbols in contemporary film. Through close readings of John Q., Proud Mary, and Django Unchained, it shows that aligning Black gun use with stereotypical tropes sustains structural racism and segregated reception. The authors recommend: eliminating reliance on tropes (Magical Negro, Mammy, Uncle Tom, White savior, Mandingo/Jezebel); foregrounding complex Black subjectivities; applying encoding/decoding analyses during development and marketing; and amplifying Black participation across writing, directing, promotion, and criticism. Future research directions include empirical audience-reception studies across diverse demographics; comparative analyses across additional genres (e.g., science fiction, horror, war) where Black leads wield guns; and industry-focused research on promotion/placement effects (e.g., poster imagery, trailer cuts) on racialized decoding.

The paper does not include a formal limitations section. Its scope is confined to qualitative textual analysis of three films and does not present empirical audience data. The focus on selected genres and cases may limit generalizability across the broader landscape of contemporary cinema.