African American Women in Hollywood

After reading three different articles on the topic of black women in hollywood from 1991, 2013, and finally 2017, it was apparent that not much progress had been made in this issue. All three of these articles were saying the same thing, even though the gap between the oldest and most recent was 27 years. The issue presented in these articles addressed the subject of black women in hollywood, or lack thereof. For a very long time now, black women have had very little representation in media, movies, and television. The roles that are offered to them are few and far between, resulting in fierce competition between many battling for these limited opportunities. This can often result in these actresses viewing their counterparts as just competitors or enemies, rather than sisters. In a video shown during Dr.Palmer's lecture, actress Gabrielle Union discussed her speech which she gave at the Essence awards. In this speech, she was honest in saying she had been a mean girl, had once revealed in gossip, and was willing to step on anyone to get to the top. In an industry where there are so few roles and opportunities for black female actresses, it is no surprise that it can create a toxic environment of competition between people who are all wanting the same thing.

As if it was not difficult enough for black women to make it in the entertainment industry, colorism is also rampant in casting. When a producer is searching for a black women for a role, if he/she is at all, more often than not, they are looking for a light skin woman. This results in even less representation for dark skin women, and creates the impression that the lighter the skin, the more desirable a person is or more beautiful. I myself have observed this in television as well as in advertising. From my observation, shows or companies sometimes throw in one light skin black character/person as if that makes the work diverse. If there is a black actor/actress in some type of work, it is much more frequently a light skin person, at least from my own observations.

Another issue which was presented in the articles as well as given to us in the form of a question during the lecture was the types of roles in which certain groups are cast in. One of the articles discussed the fact that characters played by black women are often, “bitchy” or “aggressive”. This would be acceptable if black women were cast in all types of roles, like white women are. Unfortunately, an overwhelming amount of roles for black women are characters with these types of qualities. Since they are cast in mostly roles like these, that is the only image or interpretation of black females that is given to the consumers. This is a huge issue as it perpetuates stereotypes by only presenting black women in this light. I myself can recall more characters which are played by black actors and actresses which involve these types of personalities for the women, bitchy, loud, aggressive, as well as, “hood” for both males and females. Dr. Palmer listed stereotypes such as neighborhoods in which characters live, if they commit crimes, the cars they drive, if they live in government housing, as well as over sexualiztion. I think some of these stereotypes are definitely reinforced through the majority of black actors/actresses being cast in roles in which there is more crime, where the characters tend to be poorer and therefore live in government housing, as well as the oversexualization of black women. Additionally, black men are often portrayed as sexually aggressive in this industry, a very toxic stereotype to put in consumers minds.

      In closing, I will say that all of the issues presented in the articles and Dr.Palmer’s lecture; colorism, lack of representation/roles, and stereotypes in these roles, and others, are not new to me. It is very apparent that black women are underrepresented in media, television, and movies, and the ones that are cast many times are on the lighter side. While these problems have existed for quite awhile and are far from gone, a glimmer of hope is the release of Black Panther on the 16th of February. This movie features an almost entirely black cast, with many of the main roles set to be played by black females. While this movie does not nearly make up for the lack of diversity in most other works, it is an exciting step to those hoping and working toward a hollywood that gives black women the representation and opportunities which they work extremely hard for.