Popeyes and the Modern Mammy

There are endless stereotypes about minorities that popular American culture has managed to create and perpetuate, beginning in the 1800s and unfortunately extending to our modern day. The history and impact of the caricature of black Americans in particular was chronicled in the film, Ethnic Notions. I would argue that the caricature of the mammy has perhaps been the most everlasting and dominant stereotype in current popular culture. I chose the marketing and advertising of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen as an example of a modern mammy figure. In 2009, Popeyes introduced "Annie the Chicken Queen" as the face of their advertising campaign. Annie is the fictitious chef responsible for continually producing Popeyes' fried chicken according to the original recipe. Even her title as the "Queen" of chicken reminds me of the stereotypes of the controlling "African Queen" or even the more modern "welfare queen."

In the print ad, we can see Annie proudly showing off a table topped with a large feast and a relative mountain of chicken. She appears in a way that is typical of the mammy figure according to Ethnic Notions, in other words, she is happily waiting to serve, wearing her uniform, which of course, includes a large smile. Then, in the first commercial, we see Annie proclaiming that "for years people have been singing about [her] chicken." This is followed by a large gospel-esque choir singing about their love for the chicken. Although not every member of the choir is white, I found myself associating both the song and the love of chicken to Annie and by extension, other black people. This is evidence of stereotypes that are deeply rooted in our culture that subsequently cause these types of cognitive associations within our minds. A stereotype does exist that black people are always singing,  as well as a stereotype that black people love fried chicken. Therefore, I do not believe it is by coincidence that we see these images displayed in Popeyes' advertising. Finally, in the second commercial, Annie is telling the audience about "Payday" at Popeyes. Even the name of the marketing has a connotation with labor, and as we are learning in this class, labor and race are inextricably connected. Annie relates to those in the audience who are struggling to make ends meet implying a connection between labor, race, and poverty. True to mammy tradition, Annie refers to the audience member as "honey," which places her in a matronly position. Despite being a young woman, Annie is referenced as a mother or auntie figure. She is not a sexualized figure, like so many women in advertising are, she wears modest clothing and wears her hair up. I have trouble seeing how the figure of Annie in the 21st century is very far removed from the original mammy figure of over a hundred years ago.