African American Women In Hollywood

Before reading the articles and listening to Dr. Palmer’s lecture I had, once again, never really thought about the issue of black women having a harder time landing acting jobs in Hollywood, and when they do get paid less. I had known about the fact that women, in general, have a harder time getting hired in the film industry, but I never thought of women of color. These are issues that I have never seen in Finland.


After reading the articles from 1991, 2013 and 2017 I was stunned with the numbers surrounding women of color in the Hollywood. Also, the fact that during these years not much progress had been made on the issue stunned me. With all the progress that has been made with issues involving women and people of color, it is crazy to see that an issue this big has not made any real improvements.


I liked the Oprah video that Dr. Palmer showed us. It was about toxic competition between black women for the limited acting roles. Because of the unfairness of the industry, black actresses are forced to work against each other instead of trying to change the system by working with each other.


I recently read an article that explained a situation involving the well known African-American actress Octavia Spencer, who has been nominated for three Oscars and won one, and a white actress named Jessica Chastain. In 2011 they were both on the cast for the movie “The Help”. According to the magazine People, Jessica Chastain had contacted Octavia Spencer about making a comedy together. Jessica Chastain went on to talk about that her goal with their movie was that women should make as much as men. During the conversation, Spencer said, “But here's the thing, women of color on that spectrum, we make far less than white women. So, if we're gonna have that conversation about pay equity, we gotta bring the women of color to the table." Chastain admitted that she had never thought of that and they both agreed that they would work together to ensure that they would receive equal pay for their upcoming film. With the help of Jessica Chastain, Octavia Spencer ended up getting five times the salary she had asked for. The movie has not been released yet.


According to the Economic Policy Institute, white women are paid 83 cents to every dollar a white man gets paid. When it comes to black women, it is 65 cents for every dollar. The actions of Jessica Chastain are admirable. Men and women should all fight for equal pay. I believe that change to this issue has to come from the inside, meaning from leadership positions. The article from 1991 said, “If any significant change is to occur, many say that it will have to come from Hollywood’s writers.” This is saying that if African-American female writers would get more opportunities it would also benefit black actresses, by creating more parts for them.