Bamboozled
Here's an interesting article discussing the history and implications of Uncle Tom's Cabin that George pointed out. My knowledge of this text is shamefully lacking, but the discussion of the negative stereotypes perpetrated by the book got me thinking about the Spike Lee film on the topic, Bamboozled, which I recently saw.
For all the disagreements Spike and I have had over the years, I thought he did a great job with this one (as did Terence Blanchard, whose perfect accompaniment of a score deserves a mention). If you take away all the commentary on Hollywood and the entertainment industry, what's left at the core is a brutal commentary on how oppressive and damaging these stereotypes have been and continue to be for the people subjected to them, as well as the ill effects on society and culture. Probably the most moving scene of the film is Tommy Davidson breaking down and crying while applying his "blackface" make-up before the show. That kind of sums up the weight of these stereotypes in one scene. On this point, Spike perfectly succeeds in getting James Baldwin's criticism of the book across.