Written originally for Women’s Studies, a Stage 2 subject, during 2005.

“Critically analyze how films, or television programs, depict women from a specific cultural group or social class. Discuss the impact that such texts have on the social positioning of women”

Since the invention of film in the late 1890’s, people have been obsessed with putting people on film, capturing them – as it was the reason for the objects birth. But, whilst men were always behind the camera, women were usually in front. There for the world to see, to gawk at – to be judged and objectified. While Caucasian were always having starring roles, all throughout the silent era and then in “talkies” – it seems that a revolutionary boom took place in the 1970’s, and suddenly African American women were seen up on the big screen for the first time, and they’ve been there ever since.

“…in 2002, the first African American woman won the Academy Award for best actress. Halle Berry became the first Black woman to win an Oscar for a starring performance. The honor left the "Monster’s Ball" star in tears and unable to speak for nearly a minute. "This moment is so much bigger than me," she finally choked out, ticking off the names of other Black actresses. Given the sign to wrap up her acceptance speech at the 74th annual Oscars, she protested, "This is 74 years here; I’ve got to take this time." Berry went on to say "This moment is for all the nameless, faceless women of color who now have a chance because this door tonight has been opened."”

To get to this memorable moment in not only cinematic history, but racial history, we need to look back to the mid-60’s. Times were changing in American; Lyndon Johnson was president, bras were being burnt by feminists the nation-over; trying to stress to males that they will not be enslaved and bound the way that it was always conceived necessary – and African American women were starting to find their new place in society, just like their Caucasian sisters. While all women were trying to achieve a form of equality with their male counterparts, African American women were just trying to become equal with the white women firstly. Exposure was a necessity, and many feminist women of an African background started auditioning for acting roles on television in an attempt to try to familiarize society with their faces – these were the faces of every African American woman; if you don’t discriminate against them on television, there’s no point in doing it out on the street. In 1968, Ellen Holley became the first Black actress to star on day time television, playing the role of Carla Benari on ABC’s “One Life To Live”, a role she was to play, on-off, until 1983. “The show was the first to have a racially mixed cast and confront interracial relationships”. Through Holley, and many others like her, African American women were represented in film and television with sincerity and nuance.

When the 70’s finally arrived, the world finally seemed ready enough to bear witness to a cinematic experience that would not only liberate a race, but re-define the way we look at movies and make movies, even today – the blaxploitation film. This phenomenal, edgy new genre started Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetback’s Baaaadasss Song; made as an artistic form of defiance against “the man”, the white man – but, more importantly, it was made to give hope to all African Americans all of the United States. The film was a huge success and from that spawned movies trying to imitate the “feel” of the film. Films such as Black Samson and The Mack were made, containing characters with the same motifs as in Sweet Sweetback. But, soon big Production Companies, Warner Brothers especially, started to make blaxploitation films with female characters are the leads instead of the usual male actors. From these unprecedented choices came ground-breaking films such as Cleopatra Jones, Cleopatra Jones and The Casino Of Gold, Foxy Brown and Coffy. All films were about women, beautiful African American women, solving crime with a vigilante form of justice. These films alone gave society the image that women too can be aggressive, and can be violent, too – just like males. Films of the 70’s gave us the image of the “angry woman”; not just tied to African American women, it opened society’s eyes to the idea of women being something other than docile and motherly. On legendary actress, Pam Grier’s role author Darius James wrote “Not only did the revenge motifs of Pam’s films quell the racial hostilities of inner-city audiences hungry to see the white man get his ass kicked, she also presented the perfect model of the woman beyond male control” Men began to see women in a completely different light after seeing these films; “Male students have told us that images of women’s violence make them “not want to mess with the wrong female” and female students say that such images help them think that women can fight back if attacked.” Mixing sultry scenes of tenderness and incorporating empowering violent outbursts, blaxploitation films empowered black women by pushing them to the forefront of mainstream pop culture.

The main message that blaxploitation films gave was a strong advocate for was the idea of the beautiful black woman – not just typical skinny women, either; full figured women were included in this message, left out by most films with Caucasian backers. The image of the beautiful, full figured, black woman can be seen in such films Eddie Murphy’s 1989 film; Harlem Nights, where Della Reese plays a larger woman who is not only found to be beautiful, but is also quite commanding of her male companions. Maybe the most interesting of the full figured African American woman can be seen in Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 hit; Jackie Brown. Blaxploitation cinema icon Pam Grier, star of classics such as Foxy Brown and Coffy, made her return to the genre that made her a star. She played a heroine, once again, like in the 70’s; but things had changed – she had no male companions unlike in her original roles, and she wasn’t the slim bombshell that we were used to. She was full figured, and even had wrinkles – yet, she was portrayed as a beautiful African American woman. Also, her character in the film, Jackie Brown, overcomes her male oppressors by outsmarting them, using intellectual thought; unlike in her original films in which she used violence as the only solution. This empowered black women by showing them that not only are they beautiful no matter what their appearance was, but by giving them the message that they are just as smart, if not smarter, than males – they’re not always right and letting them think that is unacceptable.

Maybe the most outspoken individual on the issue of the beautiful black woman is critically acclaimed African American director; Spike Lee. Being known to go public with his opinion of racial discrimination in Hollywood quite often – “Ask any dark-skinned sister with short hair: She’s having a hard time because she’s not getting the type of play the light-skinned sister with long hair is getting”. In the majority of his films, black women play a crucial role – never being a character that is overpowered by males, always seen as equals, if not more. A very memorable scene from Lee’s 1991 film Jungle Fever, which was about Wesley Snipes, a black man who has an affair with a white woman, involves Snipes’ character conversing with a friend of his. When he tells his friend that he’s having an affair, it’s called an “H-Bomb”; but the fact that the woman is white is referred to as a “nuclear holocaust”. It’s not that he is disgusted by white women to refer to them this way, it’s just that he has no idea why a black man would want to be with someone other than an African American woman – they are the “epitome of beauty”.

Finally, in 2002, an African American woman won the Academy Award for Best Leading Actor – Halle Berry won the Oscar for her performance in Monster’s Ball. This honor cemented, not only the recipient, but African American women the United States over as truly talented individuals who are on the same level as Caucasians, who had won the award for 73 years prior to that.

In conclusion, African American women have been helped by the artistic medium that is film; if it wasn’t for the blaxploitation films of the 70’s, black women could very well have been left in the background of American culture. But now, they are firmly in place as women who are beautiful, strong, talented and, above all, individuals – not having to rely on a male. The black woman is an independent one, thanks to the media.