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Americans had earlier been introduced to in films like Gone with the Wind, where a similar
narrative was portrayed. Beulah stayed true to this corrupt imagery as she appealed to White
audiences under the same premise. She found sheer joy and happiness in her position as a
domestic. The mammy figure often never mentioned a family of her own. However, when this
family was mentioned it was clear that she preferred her white “family.” Beulah makes a joke of
her lack of husband, yet this proves to be convenient for her white employers. Mammy figures
are often portrayed as asexual and lacking any true attachment to a family of their own:

“You make her so happy, and you make her so unaware of her own
children. And so aware of someone else’s children, that is a
hollywood maid. I knew a lot of people who worked as domestics,
and I know people who have to educate their children as a
domestic. And they did it because they didn’t want their children to
go through what they were going through” (Esther Rolle, Color
Adjustment).
Similar to that of most portrayals of African Americans in television The Beulah Show differed
from the reality of Black domestic workers. Shows like Amos and Andy, too, used archetypes to
portray a comic narrative of race relations. Both shows were successful in their ability to uphold
the notion that racial tensions were nonexistent. However, they painted a fabricated image of
Blacks that would stain the minds of White viewers.
In 2015 Riva Tukachinsky explored the portrayals of race/ethnicity in prime-time
television over the span of twenty years. Riva questioned the frequency of ethnic minority
appearances on television. She also explored “the qualities associated with ethnic minority
characters on primetime television" and questioned "whether these qualities change over time?”