When talking about Black
stars in Hollywood who is it that normally comes to mind? If you ask my
grandparent’s generation you’d probably get Sidney Poitier and Dorothy
Dandridge. I suspect my parent’s generation would say Denzel Washington and
Angela Bassett. My generation would still say Denzel Washington, but at the
same time wouldn’t forget to mention actors and actresses in their late 40’s
like Will Smith, Halle Berry and Don Cheadle. With all this a certainty, what
didn’t seem so certain was what new black talent would emerge on the scene to
fill the void when this present group of talent fades from the big screen and
into our memories.
With this being
inevitable, stars like Kerry Washington and Michael B. Jordan are beginning to
receive a lot of attention in Hollywood. Kerry Washington’s performances on the
big screen in Ray and Django Unchained lead to her starring as Olivia Pope in
the popular ABC drama Scandal, and Michael B. Jordan’s role as the teenage drug
dealer Wallace on the HBO drama, The Wire lead to him being cast as Oscar Grant
in the critically acclaimed film Fruitvale Station. Because of these
performances, these young stars are on their way to becoming household names. Nevertheless,
two talented stars are still not enough to carry the torch of Black Hollywood
into the future. So the question is who would the rest of those talented black
actors, actresses, and directors be?
That question
might have been answered at the Oscars, as an emergence of new and relatively
unknown black talent managed to shine. On this night Hollywood acknowledged a
Black historical drama, and 5 new black stars as they were all nominated for
awards. This was a day history was made as Michael Cieply and Brooks Barnes
state in a New York Times article, “In a triumph long deferred, 12 Years a
Slave won the best picture Oscar at the 86th Academy Awards on Sunday night,
the first time Hollywood conferred it’s top honor to the work of a black
director.”(New York Times) History was also made when John Ridley won the Oscar
for best-adapted screenplay for 12 Years a Slave, making him just the second
African American to win the award. The other black talent nominated but didn’t
win were Chiwetel Ejiofor for best actor and Steve McQueen for best director.
This was also a night an
unknown young actress’s first major film awarded her an Oscar. Lupita Nyong’o
won best supporting actress for her role as Patsey in the film 12 Years a
Slave. Though Oscars don’t always translate to long lasting success, in her
case it seems to be heading that way. According to an article in The Hollywood
Reporter “the awards season “it” girl
and Academy Award winner for her work in 12 Years a Slave is fielding multiple
offers for her next film and is currently gracing theatres for with “Non
Stop”.” (Hollywood Reporter)
Also unknown and nominated for best supporting
actor in his role in the film Captain Phillips was Barkhad Abdi. However unlike Lupita Nyong’o a graduate from
the Yale School of Drama and with acting on her resume, Barkhad Abdi, had never
even acted a day in his life. Before his role in Captain Phillips Barkhad Abdi
was a cab and limousine driver. Like Lupita though it doesn’t look like we’ve seen the last of
him either. According to Rebecca Ford in an article for the Hollywood Reporter
“The actor is in talks to star in the film The Place That Hits The Sun from
Noel Pearson (My Left Foot) via his Ferndale Films.”(Hollywood Reporter).
Nevertheless, even with all this new black talent flourishing, Hollywood still
needs to do more to create more opportunities for black actors.
Still the good
news is that in 2013, black talent in Hollywood showed that they are more than
just capable of acting and painting pictures of slavery and struggle but rather
that they are capable of playing more diverse roles, such as Barkhad Abdi
playing a pirate in Captain Phillips or Kerry Washington playing a crisis
management expert to the President in her ABC drama Scandal. This is supported
in the article written by Ray Rahman for Entertainment Weekly where he states,
“What really made 2013 notable, though, was
that studios and networks finally learned that "diversity" isn't
limited to stories about historical injustices and civil rights struggles —
that it's okay to show minorities doing other things, too.”(Entertainment
Weekly)
In conclusion, seeing new black talent
shinning will impact the film industry in the future because it will force
Hollywood to recognize talent and not race.
It will also show black children that no matter your skin color or like
Lupita Nyongo said in her Oscar speech “where you are from your dreams are
valid.” (YouTube)
Rahman, Ray. "This Was The Year That... Hollywood Got Race
Right." Entertainment Weekly 20 Dec. 2013. Web.
"Oscars: What's Next for Lupita Nyong'o?" The
Hollywood Reporter. N.p., 3 Mar. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Ford, Rebecca. "Barkhad Abdi in Talks to Star in Marathon
Drama 'The Place That Hits the Sun' (Exclusive)." The Hollywood
Reporter. N.p., 25 Feb. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Cieply, Michael, and Brooks Barnes. "A Landmark Oscar Win
for ‘12 Years a Slave’." The New York Times. The New York Times, 02
Mar. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2014
"Lupita Nyong'o's Beautiful Oscar Speech for *Best
Supporting Actress* for Movie *12 Years a Slave!*." YouTube.
YouTube, 02 Mar. 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Michael,
ReplyDeleteFirst I like to start by telling you that your topic on black talent emerging in Hollywood was brilliant! Coincidently, over spring break a couple of friends and I discussed how black actors and actresses are raising to the top and are truly changing the film and acting game. Personally, I am obsessed with Lupita Nyong’o, not just because she happens to be the number 1 fashion trendsetter but her role in 12 years of Slave was amazing, and she deserved the Oscar for best supporting actress. Like you mentioned in your blog, the impact on black talent emerging on the film industry will force Hollywood to recognize talent and not race, I really thought this statement was well said. The truth is there are many “underdog” African American actors and actresses that have a lot of potential and talent but are often overlooked for their skin color. Just recently I watched the movie 42 which was based on Jackie Robinson’s baseball legacy, and let me tell you that movie moved me, not just emotionally but mentally it did something to me, it was an eye-opener and I gained knowledge from past history and it truly made me question about African Americans and where they stand today in society?
Thankfully, the world isn’t as ignorant and there is less racism and restriction between whites and blacks, or even now since we are so diverse, between Hispanics, blacks, Asians and whites as well. I do believe it’s been long enough and it was about time black talent was recognized not just nationally but internationally. Things are changing, and it’s not just race, but gender as well. For example, take a look at actress Zoe Saldana, I consider her a good actress, thought she was great in Avatar, however when looking at Entertainment Weekly’s article, Hollywood: Just Not That Into Women, they focused on how Saldana’s character never interacts with the character of Dr. Carol Marcus which is played by British actress Alice Eve. According to Entertainment Weekly, both characters never addressed each other, then the article went on and said, “But the movie does find time for Dr. Marcus to pose in lingerie.”(52). This of course objectifies women but this is another issue in today’s society, what I am trying to say is that there is an irony between both female characters as one in this case blonde, blue eyed beauty Eve outshines Saldana, because although Saldana isn’t African American, she is a dark skin Latina which makes me believe that Hollywood and the film industry are still somewhat oppressing minorities by giving them minority roles. Sadly, Ethnicity and race color still play a part in today’s society.
However, I do believe there is hope, as I mentioned earlier black talent is on a role to conquer Hollywood and the film industry. For instance, take a look at African American actress Kerry Washington, she is a great example of a strong powerful black woman who has been able to succeed in Hollywood, started from the bottom to now taking the lead role in a kick-ass show like Scandal. In Entertainment Weekly’s article This Was The Year That Hollywood Got Race Right, author Ray Rahman said, “What really made 2013 notable, though, was that studios and networks finally learned that "diversity" isn't limited to stories about historical injustices and civil rights struggles — that it's okay to show minorities doing other things, too.”(1). In other words, people in show businesses like film industries, TV studios and the Hollywood scene are realizing that just because there’s diversity in the world, it does not mean people have to be divided into groups or roles, this is the time where people of different ethnicities, cultures and race color can prove to be outstanding actors and actresses through their performances and talent, rather than being overlooked for how they look like. Hollywood needs to prepare for big changes, because as years go by, the people who were known as minorities will become priorities, and unless Hollywood expects to succeed and attract large audiences, they better adapt to change.
WORKS CITED:
ReplyDelete"Hollywood: Just Not That Into Women." Entertainment Weekly 29 Nov. 2013: 52.
Rahman, Ray. "This Was The Year That... Hollywood Got Race Right." Entertainment Weekly 20 Dec. 2013. Web.
Michael,
ReplyDeleteFirst, you ask a great question to start off with and back it up by listing all the past famous actors and actresses, but who would be the rest of the present or future talented black actors, actresses and directors be? Well to answer your question in my opinion about who are the next big actors or actress being those of different race such as African American or known as the people with the colored skin ‘black.” I would say you have covered a lot of them but one in particular I have really noticed that has taken another path besides comedy is the male actor, Kevin Hart. Just in the past year he has been in about eight movies some being his own and for the years to come he is already the lead actor scheduled out till 2016 box office movies, shows and even a star host. I found these movies and shows listed on a few different websites but one being on ace showbiz website with the name of the movie, plot and charters roles.
Second, my female actress that you have covered would be, Lupita Nyong’o. Again, like you had mentioned Nyong’o has just won the best supporting actress in 2014 Oscar’s and the movie 12 years a slave is names best picture being from the Yale school of drama student. It is amazing to me to see such an award given to someone with such a passionate role about our past history.
I completely agree that Hollywood still needs to do more to create more opportunities for black actors and actresses. I am a person with strong beliefs on race and do believe that someday we will all come around to be looked at as equal. Race is very important to me and I truly believe with all of the positives coming and occurring in the film industries this can do nothing but help our countries racial barriers. This is supported in the article written by Ray Rahman for Entertainment Weekly where he states, “What really made 2013 notable, though, was that studios and networks finally learned that "diversity" isn't limited to stories about historical injustices and civil rights struggles — that it's okay to show minorities doing other things, too.”(Entertainment Weekly)
Part two
ReplyDeleteAlso, black talent in Hollywood showed that they are more than just capable of acting and painting pictures of slavery and struggle but rather that they are capable of playing more diverse roles and like I had mentioned Kevin Hart sheds light on a positive and up beat comedy movies or romantic loving happy endings. (Entertainment Weekly)
To get an overall ethnicity share of total population, moviegoers and tickets sold chart given to us in one of the class readings. It shows that lastly although Caucasians make up the majority of the population and moviegoers (140 million), they represent a smaller share of 2012 ticket sales (56%). There is a rise for African Americans to be the next big and the overall population, moviegoers now and buying to expensive movie tickets in theaters is slowly rising. I feel that it all falls back on that there is many more African American actors, actress and directors so they are gong to be supporting what we call “their” people of race in all the success they are accomplishing, to show respect, and represent their race as a overall and particular group in Hollywood film industries. (Theatrical Market Statistics 2012)
Work Cited:
Rahman, Ray. "This Was The Year That... Hollywood Got Race Right." Entertainment Weekly 20 Dec. 2013. Web.
Quinnipiac Blackboard, Motional Picture Association of America, “Theatrical Market Statistics 2012”
Michael,
ReplyDeleteI like how you started your blog off with a question about black stars in Hollywood. Depending upon which generation you ask, it is easy to say the stars that come to mind. However, I am not so sure I agree with you saying “With all this a certainty, what didn’t seem so certain was what new black talent would emerge on the scene to fill the void when this present group of talent fades from the big screen and into out memories.” My reason behind this is that although we can’t predict the future, I feel that there will always be new talent that rises onto the big screen.
Hollywood is certainty changing and you do not find as many restrictions about gender, race and culture compared to the past. Entertainments weekly article, Hollywood: Just Not That Into Women, touches on gender when it discusses Zoe Saldana is Avatar. While Zoe Saldana and Dr. Carol Marcus do not have much interaction in the movie, the directors clearly found ways to make women stand out. For example, “the movie does find time for Dr. Marcus to pose in lingerie” (52). Although, you may not find as many restrictions in Hollywood, I still believe that there are some gender, race and cultural issues. Issues such as the ones I mentioned will never be perfect, but can always be improved.
I agree with you Michael that 2013 showed how black talent are more capable of acting and playing more diverse roles, compared to just painting pictures of slavery and struggle. A perfect example that you gave was the role of Barkhad Abdi playing a pirate in Captain Philips. I recently just watched Captain Philips and I feel that movie was a stepping-stone for black stars in Hollywood. In Entertainment Weekly’s article This Was The Year That Hollywood Got Race Right, author Ray Rahman said, “What really made 2013 notable, though, was that studios and networks finally learned that "diversity" isn't limited to stories about historical injustices and civil rights struggles — that it's okay to show minorities doing other things, too.”(1). Ray Rahman could not have said it any better. By showcasing black talent in other ways besides what society is used to, Hollywood is taking the right steps to improve these race issues that are constantly going on in the world that we live in today.
DeleteWorks Cited
"Hollywood: Just Not That Into Women." Entertainment Weekly 29 Nov. 2013: 52.
Rahman, Ray. "This Was The Year That... Hollywood Got Race Right." Entertainment Weekly 20 Dec. 2013. Web.