Monday, March 8, 2010

Fo' Real?


Yeah, yeah...
The big girl won an Oscar so now all the other big girls can feel good about themselves thinking, "I can do it too.".

I can't stand Mo'Nique.
I hated her even more after watching Precious - she was that good.
But my problem isn't so much that The Bigness won - my problem is the role for which she won.

I guess The Slop can always say, "But I have an Oscar.".
That, "I now have the approval of those who I'd always sought to emulate."
I guess it's better to play a maid than to be one.

But what role does a Black woman have to play to presume inclusion in a society that doesn't think of them in any other capacity than that of a maid, overweight terrible mother, or sex object?
Weren't Black women upset that Halle Berry won an Oscar for Monsters Ball and not Losing Isiah?
Did Halle really have to play a sex object to gain respect in Hollywood?

Sure, Whoopi won an Oscar for Ghost.
Did the movie bring to mind all of the hallmarks of a trained thespian?
Nope - but she won anyway.
Wasn't she much better in The Color Purple?
(But I like Whoopi so I'm happy for her.)

Jennifer Hudson stole the show in Dreamgirls.
I'm no fan of Bey but Dreamgirls made me a fan of J.Hud.

And now we return to the stereotypical role of an ugly fat and selfish Black mother.
Mo'Nique's role is often cited as "Keeping It Real".
Real for whom?
Real in the minds of those voting for Hollywood's most coveted statuette?
Congratulations Big Girl (And to all the other big girls who now feel redeemed with The Fatness' win.)- your performance was great.
I just don't wish to see another twenty years worth of broken Black families on the big screen.

No comments: