the Transcript
Opening Monologue:
"Hollywood’s representation of black women has grown exponentially. However, the representation is still severely unbalanced. Yes, we do see black women on magazines, runways, and the red carpet. But are the faces we see in the media a dynamic and valid portrayal of the complexities and varieties a black woman’s identity can have? I asked five black girls what they think about this idea."
Interview (Not All Responses Were Included in the Film) :
What's your name and age?
Name at least five black women in Hollywood.
Geraldine: Halle Berry, Kerry Washington, Thandie Newton, Jada Pinkett Smith
Christa & Christa: Angela Bassett, Lupita [N'yongo], Gabrielle Union, Keke Palmer, Nia Long
Briana: Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington Sheryl Underwood, Amber Riley, Oprah
Mariah: Sanaa Lathan, Taraji P. Henson, Kerry Washington, Gabrielle Union, Viola Davis
What do these women that you listed have in common?
Geraldine: [They are] Iconic women, they have a lot of confidence. And they are pretty much all light skinned
Christa & Christa: They are famous, they are black, and they are women.
Briana: They are all women of color, but I've never seen them wear natural hair. So I don't see them with the cute little ringlets, or what ever type of hair they do have. They all seem to be very strong women, and I've never seen them in a vulnerable position. So its kind like they are just strong, and they don't have any other emotions besides strength.
Mariah: I think all of these women are considered beautiful and like desirable in some way. They're also considered, some of them maybe like sex symbols.
Describe Media or Hollywood’s “Black Woman” (Physically, personality wise)
Geraldine: Sexy, Fragile, Explosive, and basically unstable
Christa S. & Christa N. :
Christa S. : They are pretty, a lot of them are very shapely too.
Christa N. : They have "good hair"
Christa S. : Or weaves. A lot of them are sex symbols too
Christa N. : A lot of them are light skinned, Lupita [N'yongo] has really changed the game.
Briana: She is light skinned, straight hair. Black women [in Hollywood] also seem to be very sensuous and kind of just out there. If you see Kerry Washington's character from Scandal, she's having sex with the president. I mean, come on! Again they are all very strong and they can't be vulnerable
Mariah: I think it depends on if it's something scripted or like something with reality TV. I think reality TV, black women are much more boisterous, loud, stereotypical. And women in like Hollywood, are much more like, put together and more ideal I guess.
Do you think Hollywood is becoming more open to women of darker completion?
Geraldine: Very slowly, like super slowly. Super slowly
Briana: Very slowly. Like, if you look at Lupita [N'yongo] She's is just one person, there are more people with a darker skin complexion
Christa S. & Christa N. :
Christa S. : Yeah, I think so. I definitely noticed with like, Lupita. She is getting so much attention. And there are so many people like her. She like, one of the ones to break through. And it's just like, how many have been overlooked. So yeah I think Hollywood is becoming more open to but...
Christa N. : Slowly but surely
Mariah: I think slowly Hollywood is embracing women of darker complexion. Like with Lupita in Twelve Years a Slave. And also Gabrielle Union, a women of darker complexion who has her show "Being Mary Jane"
What pressures are put on black woman today? And why?
Geraldine: A lot of us compare ourselves to the women we see on TV. I remember when I was a kid, even though Ciara isn't really a Hollywood name, I had seen Ciara on TV and she was in this music video. And I asked my cousin I was like " Sedrick, how can I get hair like her" and he was like "Oh, you just got to get all the right hair products and weave" and I was like "Okay, but what about her eyes? I want her eyes too" and he was like "Oh, contacts" and then I asked "No, but I want her skin though" He was just like "Oh" you know? And that's just where it stops. You know, you could probably fix all of the other stuff, but skin color is the most apparent thing we see between the women portrayed in Hollywood and the women in our day to day lives.
Briana: Definitely the natural hair, and how to deal with my hair.
Mariah: I think there is a pressure for black women to act a certain way and to be well behaved in order to combat certain negative stereotypes that are usually associated with us.
Closing Monologue:
When our eyes are constantly focusing on the media our perception becomes distorted. We begin to develop fanciful ideas of the way we should live, look, and behave. We begin to develop thoughts of what the “ideal” is, and by doing that we silence dimensions in others and ourselves.
When our mind is constantly swarmed with the images the media claims to be beautiful, we begin to feel a pressure to fit into an unrealistic mold.
And we end up casting away our own raw beauty to seek something unattainable.
And when our ears constantly are filled with voices telling us what is acceptable and what isn’t, we loose pieces of ourselves. We loose the ability to believe that we are good enough.
"Hollywood’s representation of black women has grown exponentially. However, the representation is still severely unbalanced. Yes, we do see black women on magazines, runways, and the red carpet. But are the faces we see in the media a dynamic and valid portrayal of the complexities and varieties a black woman’s identity can have? I asked five black girls what they think about this idea."
Interview (Not All Responses Were Included in the Film) :
What's your name and age?
Name at least five black women in Hollywood.
Geraldine: Halle Berry, Kerry Washington, Thandie Newton, Jada Pinkett Smith
Christa & Christa: Angela Bassett, Lupita [N'yongo], Gabrielle Union, Keke Palmer, Nia Long
Briana: Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington Sheryl Underwood, Amber Riley, Oprah
Mariah: Sanaa Lathan, Taraji P. Henson, Kerry Washington, Gabrielle Union, Viola Davis
What do these women that you listed have in common?
Geraldine: [They are] Iconic women, they have a lot of confidence. And they are pretty much all light skinned
Christa & Christa: They are famous, they are black, and they are women.
Briana: They are all women of color, but I've never seen them wear natural hair. So I don't see them with the cute little ringlets, or what ever type of hair they do have. They all seem to be very strong women, and I've never seen them in a vulnerable position. So its kind like they are just strong, and they don't have any other emotions besides strength.
Mariah: I think all of these women are considered beautiful and like desirable in some way. They're also considered, some of them maybe like sex symbols.
Describe Media or Hollywood’s “Black Woman” (Physically, personality wise)
Geraldine: Sexy, Fragile, Explosive, and basically unstable
Christa S. & Christa N. :
Christa S. : They are pretty, a lot of them are very shapely too.
Christa N. : They have "good hair"
Christa S. : Or weaves. A lot of them are sex symbols too
Christa N. : A lot of them are light skinned, Lupita [N'yongo] has really changed the game.
Briana: She is light skinned, straight hair. Black women [in Hollywood] also seem to be very sensuous and kind of just out there. If you see Kerry Washington's character from Scandal, she's having sex with the president. I mean, come on! Again they are all very strong and they can't be vulnerable
Mariah: I think it depends on if it's something scripted or like something with reality TV. I think reality TV, black women are much more boisterous, loud, stereotypical. And women in like Hollywood, are much more like, put together and more ideal I guess.
Do you think Hollywood is becoming more open to women of darker completion?
Geraldine: Very slowly, like super slowly. Super slowly
Briana: Very slowly. Like, if you look at Lupita [N'yongo] She's is just one person, there are more people with a darker skin complexion
Christa S. & Christa N. :
Christa S. : Yeah, I think so. I definitely noticed with like, Lupita. She is getting so much attention. And there are so many people like her. She like, one of the ones to break through. And it's just like, how many have been overlooked. So yeah I think Hollywood is becoming more open to but...
Christa N. : Slowly but surely
Mariah: I think slowly Hollywood is embracing women of darker complexion. Like with Lupita in Twelve Years a Slave. And also Gabrielle Union, a women of darker complexion who has her show "Being Mary Jane"
What pressures are put on black woman today? And why?
Geraldine: A lot of us compare ourselves to the women we see on TV. I remember when I was a kid, even though Ciara isn't really a Hollywood name, I had seen Ciara on TV and she was in this music video. And I asked my cousin I was like " Sedrick, how can I get hair like her" and he was like "Oh, you just got to get all the right hair products and weave" and I was like "Okay, but what about her eyes? I want her eyes too" and he was like "Oh, contacts" and then I asked "No, but I want her skin though" He was just like "Oh" you know? And that's just where it stops. You know, you could probably fix all of the other stuff, but skin color is the most apparent thing we see between the women portrayed in Hollywood and the women in our day to day lives.
Briana: Definitely the natural hair, and how to deal with my hair.
Mariah: I think there is a pressure for black women to act a certain way and to be well behaved in order to combat certain negative stereotypes that are usually associated with us.
Closing Monologue:
When our eyes are constantly focusing on the media our perception becomes distorted. We begin to develop fanciful ideas of the way we should live, look, and behave. We begin to develop thoughts of what the “ideal” is, and by doing that we silence dimensions in others and ourselves.
When our mind is constantly swarmed with the images the media claims to be beautiful, we begin to feel a pressure to fit into an unrealistic mold.
And we end up casting away our own raw beauty to seek something unattainable.
And when our ears constantly are filled with voices telling us what is acceptable and what isn’t, we loose pieces of ourselves. We loose the ability to believe that we are good enough.