Black actresses have come a long way since the day when Hattie McDaniel won that Oscar:
Yet have they come far enough? Everyone remembers that watershed moment when Hallie Berry made her electrifying and heartfelt speech when she won the Oscar for Monster’s Ball. Berry’s acting in Monster’s Ball was first class as was her break-out role in Jungle Fever. What about the women who had come before her? Which actresses do you rate and why?
I love going to the cinema and watching films: what I don’t like is the feeling that black films are not as good as mainstream ones. I think many black actors and actresses have done a great job by showing that they can integrate in the mainstream but at the same time, I do think featuring in black films adds depth to our culture and creates more talking points.
Here are some of my favourite Black actresses:
4. Marianne Jean Baptiste
She was the first Black British woman to be nominated for an Oscar for Secrets & Lies. She is currently in one of my favourite TV shows, Without A Trace.
3. Halle Berry
I think Halle Berry was astounding in Monster’s Ball but her performance in Jungle Fever was a good hint to how talented she is. I hope she gets better vehicles for her talent in the future. She is the only African-American woman to have won the Best Actress award.
2. Angela Bassett
I think if I ever met Angela Bassett, I would be in awe. She is one of the most talented actresses ever. Boyz N The Hood, What’s Love Got To Do With It are excellent films. The former and the latter being the types of films that one can watch over and over again. Although I do think Halle Berry was amazing in Monster’s Ball, I respect how Angela Bassett turned up the chance to act in it because of what she believed in (she said that she did not like how it represented African-American females). This shows me that she is a woman who does what she believes in, as opposed to being dictated by the industry.
1. Dorothy Dandridge
A lady who lived a tragic life but on screen, she was mesmerising. I had always heard about Carmen Jones and when I finally saw it I understood why DD was so enigmatic.
She jumps off the screen and her performance was nuanced yet scorching. She toys with Belafonte yet asserts herself as the main character in how she acts with each character. Dazzling film. I think she was a star born in the wrong era. She could have gone so far if she had not been tied by those restraints.
I love the glamour that many of the old-guard black actresses had and here are a few others of which I have not seen their films but I intend to hunt down and watch.
Lena Horne
She endured a great deal of racism but is an iconic black actress. According to wikipedia, Whitney Houston may be in a biopic about Lena Horne so let’s see what that brings. She made her film debut in “Bronze Venus”:
Hazel Scott
Born in Trinidad and Tobago and moved to the USA in her childhood, this dynamo was “proficient on the piano by the time she was three years old and on scholarship to Julliard by age eight”. She was the first African-American woman to have her own television show but because she opposed McCarthyism, this led to the show’s demise. She sounds like she was a strong woman and talented too.
Nina Mae McKinney
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According to the African American Registry, she was the first black actress to make her name in US cinema. The site also notes that “McKinney was a leading lady in an industry that had no leading roles for a Black woman. ” She was given a 5yr contract with MGM but the article highlights that it did not come to proper fruition.
Fredi Washington
I have mentioned her before in a post to do with passing as she famously refused to pass for white when she was told to in order to further her career. She was most famous for being in the film “Imitation of Life” and was a life-long activist for African-American interests.
Whilst researching the information on these legends and thinking about black actresses today, I wonder now what do the past black actresses mean for black women today. Do you think that they are important or do you resent some of them for playing “Mammy” roles? I think the old black actresses are so important in the image of the black woman. The black woman comes in many shades and she too comes from different backgrounds. I think they are vital in how black women worldwide deal with beauty issues. Many black actresses back then had to conform to horrific Eurocentric ideals of the “tragic mulatto” or the “mammy” but these circumstances are important in order for black girls today to realise all the hard work these women put in so that we can live our lives the way we do.
I hope many more black actresses get chances to flex their creative muscles. We need this to happen because if it doesn’t, what is the alternative?
[...] I find these types of portrayals extremely problematic for various reasons. While, I don’t discredit the challenges that some Black women face in this regard, I am extremely suspicious of mainstream media and its intent in telling this story. In a media industry that has made a sport of demonizing Black men, people of African descent in America should ask the question: “why would Euro-centered media outlets broadcast this story? How does white supremacy benefit from this presentation?” Keep in mind, this is the same corporate-sponsored media that deems it permissible to present Black women as sexual objects and disposable property. This is the same industry that awarded Halle Berry for begging to be ravaged by the white man that executed her Black husband. (I elaborated on this over at Charcoal Ink) [...]
I would like a Lincoln movie done from elizabeth’s keckley’ view I would like to get the former slave’s oppinion about abraham lincoln towards the end of his life when he was shot , then focus on mary todd lincoln’s insanity being saved by elizabeth keckley .
You raise a really good point about XXL. I would like to post about that if you don’t mind so I will include what you said if that is okay.
Mos Def v T-Pain? The former would CRUSH him. I do think MDef is talented and intelligent but of late…what has he been doing? What about Dead Prez? Why were they not supported?
You are right about “my turnism” — I like that phrase. Everyone wants instant validation instead of instant coffee. People want want want instead of thinking what they could do to further a society or cultural group. And black people are definitely culprits in that sphere.
Are there any films that you think would have a good impact if they were made? I would like to see a film done on the literary artists of the Harlem Renaissance. That would be magnificent. Like perhaps a biopic of Langston Hughes or Jean Toomer?
African films are also receiving a boost with the accolades that Tsotsi received. I hope that black films find their way back to the early days of spike lee et al. I do also think the cloud of multiculturalism shrouded a great deal of potential success for black films. I dont mean that in a bad way because multiculturalism is a good idea however it has meant that many good ideas for black films may have been washed down the drain because people think they are “too” black and wont appeal to the mainstream.
aulelia
xxl mag , that magazine is marketed torwards young white males as is most of hip hop is,? Isn’t that that is who buys it? Ive brought it and found it terribly boring nothing groundbreaking ? Mos def should not be on the cover of xxl , speaking of that again there aren’t any American black magazines geared towards the educated american black people who would be interested in what mos def has to say … Let’s see mos def versus t pain ? A frightening reality!
If you as a film maker have something to say to the population u are marketing too , they will support you . Look at spike lee when he did “she’s got to have it “. He had only 175,000.00 to produce with but he had something to say , the movie was promoted by word of mouth , it put him on the map .. Can we say that was then and this is now ; we are now are in a age of “my turnism ” , where we believe we must get paid above all else especially before we create ,we now want to be the pimps the REIGNING majority overlords have taught us to be ? Why to create w/o knowing the benefits one will reap, isn’t that considered stupid now ? Are we afraid to take that chance? Is it because all the media and shows focus on 15 mins of fame and quick money to do disgusting acts and or humiliate/ remodel yourself , so a nation votes for you ? Is it fear of failure? Or is it studios and investors don’t want to support it ?
If black movies are easy to produce , how come halle berry had to take a decrease in salary to produce dorthy dandrige , did the producer of the ” hbo series Rome ” has to take a decrease in salary , since Rome failed , due to rising production cost against viewer ratings ? what about jack black did he take a cut to produce ” Nacho Libre”?
I think if we really want to watch great movies , they will have to be shown in makeshift upscale themed moving theaters or by pay on the internet, downloaded and burned by the client on a dvd. Gone our the days of the early spike lee’s and john singleton ( the latter who only had 1 hit )
I particularly loved “akeelah and the bee” which was written by a Doug Atchison a white man and it took him over four years to find funding , they wanted to change the actresses / actors , to white or light , but thankfully the movie in all it’s glory subsquently did well do to heavy promotion at starbucks ( a new promotional angle )..
On another note Halle Berry is supposed to be producing the movie on Phillippa Schulyer the pianist, they have been talking about it for 3 years !! What is taken so long, is it the funding ?
Heber Brown, III — Thank you for your comment.
I really liked the Malcolm X film by Spike Lee (I have a big soft spot Denzel so I try and watch anything he is in) and the fact that it was about a luminary like Malcolm X was fantastic. It should have done better but it probably upset big wigs because it was so passionate.
I think Halle Berry did a great job in Monster’s Ball. I do agree that it was a stereotypical role and it did make people very uncomfortable but in terms of her acting, she was magnificent. The reaction it provoked does highlight how much race and relationships with the white mainstream still irritate and cause problems for black people.
I think it is so important for films like Eve’s Bayou (Samuel L.Jackson needs to start doing more films like this) to be supported by black communities. Black actresses need more vehicles like this in order to shine. It was a stunningly made film but because it does not conform to all this gangster/50 cent tripe, films like that do not get their just do.
Another question we have to ask ourselves is being applauded by the mainstream what we really want? Is it really that important or is being a top-class actor and making roles for yourself AND your community what is needed?
I must agree with Angela Bassett’s sentiments concerning the role in Monster’s Ball. I was completely disgusted with the movie’s portrayal of an African American woman who has an intimate relationship with the White man who killed her husband. The film provided safe haven for racist and sexist stereotypes. (similar to the 1915 Birth of a Nation movie which President Woodrow Wilson applauded). Please believe that if Halle Berry’s role was played by a White woman and the leading male actor was African American the movie would have never hit the mainstream. Just look at the controversy following the Monday Night Football intro segment involving then-Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver, Terrell Owens (Black) and Desperate Housewives actress Nicollette Sheridan (White). That sent shockwaves through White America. White men could not stand to see a White woman throwing herself at a strong Black man. After an outpouring of criticism, ABC apologized for the segment. We also know that here in the U.S., many White men in particular have strong pre-existing prejudices about White women and African American men – resorting to intimidation and even violence to discourage interracial relationships. It is at the root of the murder of Emmett Till (the White men who killed him were never convicted and the White woman who was involved and is still alive is a free woman today) and in the political arena it was used to scare Tennessee voters away from supporting African American democrat, Harold Ford. (A republican campaign ad attacking Ford portrayed a blonde, half-dressed, White woman winking and inviting Ford to “call her”. It is believed that the ad contributed to Ford losing the election)
For all of the great roles that Halle Berry has played in; this one was the absolute worst and did a ton of damage to the psyche of many African people in this country. She received numerous awards for the role which provided evidence of what “mainstream” America will recognize as applaudable behavior for African American women. (Did the movie Malcolm X directed by Spike Lee receive an Academy Award? of course not.)
Kudos to Angela Bassett (who played Betty Shabazz in the Malcolm X movie by the way)for having enough self respect and dignity to refuse this demeaning role.
Thanks for your comment ByrdParker.
I have heard a lot about Octavia Butler and I would hope that film versions of her work comes out. Although are we black people to blame? I remember reading a comment by Elliott Wilson, the editor of XXL and he stated that when he puts people like Mos Def on the cover, the magazine does not sell as well as G-Unit people. Can this same perspective be applied to certain black films? I think so. I do think that many black films that do incredibly well are ones that are HEAVILY HEAVILY stereotyped (Tyler Perry’s ridiculous Madea/Norbit) and that annoys me because we could do so much better than that. What about more dramas? I heard about Pride with Terrence Howard and I very much want to see that. I also remember commenting on a post on another blog (I cannot remember whose) and I think it was a blogger on my blogroll who was talking about a Huey Newton biopic and who could play that. I would LOVE to see something like that.
I do think black films need to give more variety for black actresses. Black women should not always be the temptresses OR the mother figure — it is time for the leading ladies roles to be created.
I completely agree with you on Murphy’s films with most of the leads being lightskinned. Even Eartha Kitt in Boomerang as the woman he did not want! I do think that it is a correction that should be imbalanced but one that can only be done by black directors since light skinned actresses are preferred over dark-skinned ones in a mainstream market. Both light skinned and dark skinned black actresses should have equal weighting but we must be careful to represent all shades of the black woman and not to have a skewed vision of what the black woman is.
I want the energetic days of Spike Lee and John Singleton’s filmmaking to come back. We need a kick in the teeth for black actresses and black film in general to be regenerated. Dreamgirls was good but in hindsight, it has not provided that oomph for black actors. I would like for once to see a brilliant black film that does not solely rely on music too.
Good post ..
I don’t feel there are enough viable vehicles out there for black actresses or black actors. Black movies are only greenlighted if they think it will be a money maker … How come Octavia Butler books have not been made into movies??? Just the other day i was watching a dvd , and although i was enjoying it half way through i got bored why ? No one represented me. Have u noticed in alot of our movies there is always the token white , but not true if you look at the reverse.
I also think multiculturalism , plays a big part in the way black movies are and will be shot … In the black persons world there always have to be whites but in the white persons world there does not always have to be black or anyother nationality ..
The actresses you name chronologically , starting now and moving backwards , it seems as though those actresses fought more equality and black women’s as well as people’s rights , than the actresses of now . Angela Bassett is great and plays strong roles , but we hardly get to see her because of non-existant roles. Marie Baptiste is good , but i have not seen her in much .. Halle Berry makes stupid movies gone are the days of jungle fever, or Boomerang.
So to sum it up , blacks in film still have to live up eurocentric ideals on and off film , no matter how many forward steps these actresses might try to take , it seems there is always someone to throw a wrench in the plot. Watching Eddie Murphy a black man play and market a movie globally based on a overindulging stereo type such as Rasputia , should really have put these women over the edge. Have u ever noticed all murphy’s movies has a lightskin lead?? Who ever wrote this movie and funded it , must really have self hate as well as hatred towards black women in general to stoop so low to put that image out there globally!!!