If you are keeping score in terms of Academy Awards, it’s Mo’Nique one...Angela Bassett, zero. That fact seems to be upsetting some critics.
No one is arguing that Mo’Nique didn’t give the performance of her life playing Mary Jones in the much-praised film “Precious.” However, some feel that her win is symbolic of Hollywood’s grim view of black women. They argue that someone like Bassett, who has made a career of playing notable black women including Rosa Parks, Tina Turner, Betty Shabazz (twice) and even Katherine Jackson, is a better representation.
We’d all be lying if we said that we saw an Oscar in Mo’Nique’s future back when she was on “Def Comedy Jam,” but that was then. She gave an amazing performance in “Precious” and now the rest is Oscar history.
Noted Princeton University professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell stated on Twitter, “[It’s]fine for ‘Precious’ to have been made. Great for Mo'Nique to win. [Question] is why we like consuming these versions of black womanhood.” While noting that she was “thrilled” for Mo’Nique, Harris-Lacewell went on to say, “’Precious’ & ‘Blind Side’ wins together were a double gut punch for representations of black motherhood.”
I respect Harris-Lacewell’s opinions, but as a professor myself, I worry about where this type of thinking leaves my students. I’m also concerned about how it boxes me in as a writer. I teach Cinema Studies courses at a historically black university. I am invested in my students’ freedom as thinkers. I worry they may become shackled to telling stories of empowerment and “strong black man/womanhood,” because they owe a debt to the black “community.” I worry that I, as a flawed, black, gay man, will be unable to use my life as inspiration, because some parts of my story are in direct opposition to the mythical view of what black manhood is.
I screened Todd Solandz’s “Welcome to the Dollhouse” in class recently. The film, a dark comedy about an awkward suburban girl, is filled with characters doing and saying deplorable things. It’s brilliant. Like Lee Daniels' “Precious,” “Welcome to the Dollhouse” won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Both films, in very different ways, explore the underbelly of American family life. “Welcome to the Dollhouse” has its own monster-like mother figure, Mrs. Wiener. Dark comedy isn’t a genre that you find marketed towards black audiences. Yet, as I sat in the back of the screening room, my class full of African-American students howled in laughter.
After the film ended, I asked the class if they thought they would have laughed as hard if the film centered on a black family. Many said they wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it in the same way. They believed that they would have been sensitive to some of the characterizations. That’s unfortunate.
The Mary Jones character in “Precious” is not a representation of black motherhood. Mrs. Weiner doesn’t represent white motherhood. They are characters in fictional stories. Period. I’m not naïve. I am aware of Hollywood’s fascination with white people offering salvation to blacks, or any other people of color for that matter. I am also aware of Hollywood’s love affair with black pathology portrayed as reality. For example, “The Sopranos” was clearly seen as a fictional, while “The Wire” was often regarded a quasi-documentary. It was perfectly okay for people to assume they understood more about blacks because of “The Wire,” but it would be ignorant for someone to presume to have more understanding of Italians, because of watching “The Sopranos.”
Dismissing the achievement of “Precious,” because of socio-political intellectual fear, is almost as backwards as any pandering, poorly executed piece of art. I’m not saying the film is above critique; but some critics confuse me calling for forward movement, while hanging on to old and often repressive ideology.
You want new images? Stop waiting for Sundance to anoint a film and check out the selections that come out of smaller festivals. “Precious” was not the only quality independent film featuring African-Americans this year. If you don’t have time to look through festival selections; just Google Hill Harper. He’s in several little films filled with black characters from two parent homes, who learned to read in grade school. Might I suggest “Loving Jezebel?”
African-American artists have long been criticized for creating work that highlights the rougher edges of the culture. The irony is that many educated blacks fight against the invisibility they face professionally and socially, while seeking to render their cousins who don't have the same pedigree, invisible.
Congratulations to the entire “Precious” team. Job well done.
No one is arguing that Mo’Nique didn’t give the performance of her life playing Mary Jones in the much-praised film “Precious.” However, some feel that her win is symbolic of Hollywood’s grim view of black women. They argue that someone like Bassett, who has made a career of playing notable black women including Rosa Parks, Tina Turner, Betty Shabazz (twice) and even Katherine Jackson, is a better representation.
We’d all be lying if we said that we saw an Oscar in Mo’Nique’s future back when she was on “Def Comedy Jam,” but that was then. She gave an amazing performance in “Precious” and now the rest is Oscar history.
Noted Princeton University professor Melissa Harris-Lacewell stated on Twitter, “[It’s]fine for ‘Precious’ to have been made. Great for Mo'Nique to win. [Question] is why we like consuming these versions of black womanhood.” While noting that she was “thrilled” for Mo’Nique, Harris-Lacewell went on to say, “’Precious’ & ‘Blind Side’ wins together were a double gut punch for representations of black motherhood.”
I respect Harris-Lacewell’s opinions, but as a professor myself, I worry about where this type of thinking leaves my students. I’m also concerned about how it boxes me in as a writer. I teach Cinema Studies courses at a historically black university. I am invested in my students’ freedom as thinkers. I worry they may become shackled to telling stories of empowerment and “strong black man/womanhood,” because they owe a debt to the black “community.” I worry that I, as a flawed, black, gay man, will be unable to use my life as inspiration, because some parts of my story are in direct opposition to the mythical view of what black manhood is.
I screened Todd Solandz’s “Welcome to the Dollhouse” in class recently. The film, a dark comedy about an awkward suburban girl, is filled with characters doing and saying deplorable things. It’s brilliant. Like Lee Daniels' “Precious,” “Welcome to the Dollhouse” won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Both films, in very different ways, explore the underbelly of American family life. “Welcome to the Dollhouse” has its own monster-like mother figure, Mrs. Wiener. Dark comedy isn’t a genre that you find marketed towards black audiences. Yet, as I sat in the back of the screening room, my class full of African-American students howled in laughter.
After the film ended, I asked the class if they thought they would have laughed as hard if the film centered on a black family. Many said they wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it in the same way. They believed that they would have been sensitive to some of the characterizations. That’s unfortunate.
The Mary Jones character in “Precious” is not a representation of black motherhood. Mrs. Weiner doesn’t represent white motherhood. They are characters in fictional stories. Period. I’m not naïve. I am aware of Hollywood’s fascination with white people offering salvation to blacks, or any other people of color for that matter. I am also aware of Hollywood’s love affair with black pathology portrayed as reality. For example, “The Sopranos” was clearly seen as a fictional, while “The Wire” was often regarded a quasi-documentary. It was perfectly okay for people to assume they understood more about blacks because of “The Wire,” but it would be ignorant for someone to presume to have more understanding of Italians, because of watching “The Sopranos.”
Dismissing the achievement of “Precious,” because of socio-political intellectual fear, is almost as backwards as any pandering, poorly executed piece of art. I’m not saying the film is above critique; but some critics confuse me calling for forward movement, while hanging on to old and often repressive ideology.
You want new images? Stop waiting for Sundance to anoint a film and check out the selections that come out of smaller festivals. “Precious” was not the only quality independent film featuring African-Americans this year. If you don’t have time to look through festival selections; just Google Hill Harper. He’s in several little films filled with black characters from two parent homes, who learned to read in grade school. Might I suggest “Loving Jezebel?”
African-American artists have long been criticized for creating work that highlights the rougher edges of the culture. The irony is that many educated blacks fight against the invisibility they face professionally and socially, while seeking to render their cousins who don't have the same pedigree, invisible.
Congratulations to the entire “Precious” team. Job well done.
What's up Bowie State! Thanks for reading.
I think I am on the fence about my sentiments with Mo'Nique's win for the category. Yes, the role she played was powerful but it nonetheless bothered me, no, it made me uncomfortable. That's what I think it was for a lot of people, to think that a mother treat her child in such a manner. And Mo'Nique played it with such conviction was what scared me most. But it was definitely Oscar-worthy. I'm not saying I agree wholly with people who believe that more deserving actors have entire careers that warrant the same sought after prize, but we can see where they're coming from. I like the way you put it.
"many educated blacks fight against the invisibility they face professionally and socially, while seeking to render their cousins who don't have the same pedigree, invisible."
We should start pushing the envelope for a new construction of the American family juxtaposed to the stale "standard" we've seen time and again. Let's just say Angela Bassett paved the way for Mo'Nique to claim the victory. I think that is progress.