Viola Davis has become a huge success in the past few years for her powerful leading roles in The Help and How to Get Away with Murder, earning a multitude of nominations in the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Primetime Emmy Awards, BET (Black Entertainment Television network) awards, and many more. She uses the attention from the media to talk about diversity in the entertainment industry, or the lack thereof. On the lack of opportunities for people of color in the entertainment industry, she stated, “I’m not going to get the same kind of roles as Meryl Streep. I’m not going to get the same kind of roles as Julianne Moore. I’m not going to get those same roles. I’m just not. Now, I’ve been out there for 30 years. I’ve gotten two Tony Awards. I’ve done Broadway, Off-Broadway. I’ve come out of Julliard. I’ve done television, film, all of it. But there is not the same opportunity for me. Even though I would say that, if given the chance, I could show people that I could do just as well as any one of my Caucasian counterparts” (Hilmantel).
In The Help, Viola Davis played the role of "Aibileen Clark" a stereotypical mammy that took care of her employer's home and children for minimal payment. A study by Melissa Harris-Perry (2011), referenced by Golash-Boza, revealed the three prominent stereotypes of black women-Mammies, Sapphires, and Jezebels. A "Mammy" is a stereotypical image of a black maid. A "Sapphire" is a caricature of an angry black woman. A "Jezebel" signifies an oversexed or hypersexual black woman. Rather than settling for these roles, Viola Davis and many others are beginning to take a stand to act outside of their "designated roles." Although representations of African Americans have improved, the stereotypical images are still prominent and will remain this way until attention is brought to the issue.
Golash-Boza, T. M. (2016). Race & Racisms: A Critical Approach. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Hilmantel, R. (2016, February 28). Viola Davis: 'People of Color Are Part of the Human Experience, Too' Retrieved April 26, 2016, from http://motto.time.com/4239239/viola-davis-diversity-in-hollywood-oscars/
No fairness will occur until the people with the power in the industry stop racializing roles that do not need to be racialized and stop normalizing roles to equal white skinned actors. The industry reinforces a racial and ethnic bias, a gender bias and an age bias, but we buy the tickets anyway.
ReplyDeleteI agree that African Americans presence in television has improved over the years. Two popular recent television shows stand out in particular; Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder as you mentioned above. Written by Shonda Rhimes, both Kerry Washington and Viola Davis play the leading roles of strong, independent, career focused women. Both individuals play a character who is in the midst of chaos and somehow, they are burdened with the task of diffusing the situation. Both of these shows have been criticized for their content, as both shows have scenes where the main characters are portraying a stereotypical “angry black woman”. However, almost every television show has at least one scene where a main character of any race loses their cool. Although there has been progress towards a more equal representation of every race, there are still many hurdles to overcome. Here is the link to the article if you are interested in reading about it in more detail.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/arts/television/viola-davis-plays-shonda-rhimess-latest-tough-heroine.html
I find it interesting that in How to Get Away with Murder, Annalise Keating played by Viola Davis is portrayed as a powerful woman, but the writers did incorporate stereotypes into her character. She is often shown as "angry" and "lustful." It is kind of a double-edged sword. On one hand, she is powerful, but on the other she is "angry and psychotic" in the eyes of other characters. Even though anyone is capable of "losing their cool," I think it is more of a racialized role issue in the television industry.
DeleteShonda Rhimes, almost single-handedly, increased the percentage of African Americans in TV by a significant degree. Recall that she started with Grey's Anatomy. It its original form, it was the most diverse cast on television. There are other TV shows that have a diverse cast too because it reflects our reality--Major Crimes on TNT for example.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to study the evolution, or perhaps lack thereof, of African Americans in TV programs stemming back decades, such as "Good Times" and "The Jeffersons." Florida Evans from "Good Times" was a strong matriarch, but did she in any way fall into the stereotypes describes by Harris-Perry? Same for Louise Jefferson? And how has any of this changed in television and film since the 1970s? How much is the same? A very interesting topic of discussion.
ReplyDelete