In film, as with any art form, old archetypes and stereotypes integrate themselves into society's conscious through reinforcement. The common threads, positive or negative, were perpetuated by creators who were content to stick with something the audience knew well enough to not be threatened by, and in return the audience was comfortable enough with the subject that they would greet the work with a generally warm reception. This exact thing happened with the Jezebel archetype, a racist, sexist, harmful portrayal of black women in early films as hyper-sexualized objects. Directors were comfortable in perpetuating the idea of the Jezebel, both overtly and subtly. In "She's Gotta Have It", Spike Lee attempts to re-appropriate the misogynistic jezebel stereotype by imbuing Nola's character with self-assurance and positive traits, but ultimately falls short in his execution through flaws in supporting detail. .
The Jezebel has been around since the Old Testament, represented by a Phoenician princess responsible for temple prostitution and the exiling of the Hebrew prophet Elijah (Anderson, 87). The association of the biblical Jezebel with prostitution and amorality led to the creation of the Jezebel in Christianity and Eurocentric dominant culture. Unlike the Mammy and the Tragic Mulatto, the Jezebel's identity is rooted in the discourse of "science". In the nineteenth century, Europeans invented a branch of science called physiognomy. They used this "science" as a biological foundation to support their beliefs that certain people were fundamentally "lower". Most of the research concentrated on "criminal" personalities, which included prostitutes, mannish women and non-white women. These people were seen as less than whites and closer, genetically, to animals than humans. This association laid the groundwork for the myth black people were inherently animalistic, sexual creatures.
