karnythia:
baddominicana:
mujerinterrumpida:
fuckyeahfamousblackgirls:
Congrats to actress Octavia Spencer who picked up the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards tonight!!!
Time out. Is this the sister from “The Help”? Is it too soon to make a socio-political analysis on the type of roles that win AfroDiasporic actors an award? Anyone?
girl, pls do because i cant right now as happy and joyful as i am for her its just…
so fuckin typical.
Playing a stereotype seems to be the very first requirement. Sapphire, Mammy, or Jezebel for black women.
But you have to understand. Just like White people have set up the narrative for what Blacks can acceptably be in society (Entertainers, Sports Stars, Welfares Queens, and other harmful stereotypes) they’ve set up what kinds of roles are acceptable for blacks as well.
Look at Denzel Washington. They didn’t give him anything for some of his best roles (well, what I thought were great roles) but instead, give him honors for being a scary, corrupt individual. He’s now done several films where he gets to be the “most dangerous” thing on the planet. And while you would think, “Hey, they’re letting a black man be powerful and bad ass” it’s actually backhanded.
Black people are dangerous. Given enough power, they’ll do wrong.
While people like Morgan Freeman have climbed the ladder int erms of respect and accolades, please notice he is now the universal image of the Magical Negro. Notice, he played God. And he taught Bruce a lesson. Think about it, really hard. Morgan Freeman is everyone’s magical Negro. He’s either that or he again gets to be extremely dangerous or corrupt in some way (things like Wanted).
Hattie McDaniel won for not only the stereotype, but for legit playing Mammy. This set the precedent that White hollywood adheres to. Black Women will only get awards for playing stereotypical roles that are generally subservient to Whites and or that acts out their fantasies in some way. Sorry Halle Berry, you didn’t win because of your great acting. You won because you fulfilled their fantasy.
Will Smith continues to be given pats on the back and honored by White Hollywood for being safe, manageable and magical at times.
The only way Black people can win and have won is by living up to White Hollywood’s stereotypes and fantasies.
Once again, it seems black people can win, but only if we play the White man’s games. It doesn’t matter if it’s Hollywood, it doesn’t matter if it’s Washington DC, it doesn’t matter if it’s your job or my job…
We don’t play the game, we don’t win shit. I’m sure Spike Lee knows.
