Hollywood, and the film industry in general, has significantly impacted the United States of America. Through movies, many historical and social changes have occurred alongside. This is especially the case in regards to the gradual acceptance of African-American individuals in society.
To kick off the respect towards African-Americans in the film industry, Hattie McDaniel was the first nominated and award-winning supporting actress for role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind in 1939. For Gone with the Wind's premiere, all black individuals were not allowed to see the film. This included Hattie McDaniel and other black actresses in the film, like Butterfly McQueen. A similar dilemma occurred at the actual Academy Awards where Hattie McDaniel had to receive special permission and an escort to enter the event. Fay Bainter, the previous winner of the award, makes sure to express how historically significant the presentation of the award to Hattie McDaniel is as you can watch in the following short video of McDaniel's humble acceptance.
McDaniel's acceptance (left), McDaniel's award-winning role: "Mammy" (right)
The next official nomination wouldn't come until 1954 with the first nomination of an African-American woman in a leading role. Dorothy Dandridge played the leading role of Carmen Jones in the film of the same name. The movie was exclusively all African-American actors which was something rather unheard of for a successful film across an expansive audience. Unfortunately, Dandridge did not win the Oscar for her performance in Carmen Jones. However, she was regarded to be a respected and successful Hollywood actresses during her career. Dandridge even ended up on the cover of Life magazine as seen below.
A black actress winning the award of Best Actress in a Leading Role has only been done once in 2002 by Halle Berry in Monster's Ball.
https://www.biography.com/people/hattie-mcdaniel-38433
https://www.biography.com/people/dorothy-dandridge-9542081
One thing notable in Hollywood these days is how critics, the media, and the public alike seem to group successful firsts (such as minority actors and directors). For example, while Halle Berry and Hattie McDaniel are different actors with different achievements, one might compare them as being black actresses who have won awards. A recent example of this kind of thing is how Hollywood has tried to compare Black Panther, an action superhero movie with a majority black cast, to A Wrinkle In Time, a fantasy movie with a diverse cast, because both had black directors and did well at the box office.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.refinery29.com/2018/03/193204/a-wrinkle-in-time-black-panther-box-office?bucketed=true&bucketing_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Great post Braden! It was super interesting to hear how intense racism was in the film industry that even Hattie McDaniel couldn't even see her own film and needed special permission to attend the oscars. Most recently in the 2018 Oscars, the highlight of the African American community was Jordan Peele who directed "get out". This was monumental as it was not only a movie about an interracial couple but was also the first time an African American had won in the category of Best Original Screenplay. With all of this, its exciting to think what the future will hold for african american actors and actresses in 2019 and on.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.demandafrica.com/entertainment/movies/top-african-american-oscar-winners-of-2018/
This is a very interesting post that clearly expresses how Hollywood has represented different groups very unequally throughout history and how African Americans in particular have had to face a long history of very limited representation, discrimination, and unequal opportunity and treatment even in cases when they have played essential roles in popular movies, such as in the case of Hattie McDaniel. The movies "Black Panther" and "Get Out", mentioned in the comments above, are two very successful recent movies that have shown how far Hollywood has come regarding the representation of the African American community. But, as Kenneth mentioned, many people often choose to simply associate these movies with the fact that they symbolize progress for African American representation in Hollywood, and, while it is very positive that this progress is being made, this emphasis really shows that there is still very unequal representation of different groups in Hollywood and that there is a lot more progress that needs to be made. In a similar example, the movie "Love, Simon" that is currently in theaters is a huge milestone in Hollywood for the LGBT community, as it is the first mainstream teen film to feature a gay protagonist. Since the film's release, there have been many stories of people feeling inspired by the movie to come out to their families, which they had not felt comfortable doing before. Because of the amazing impact movies like this can have on many people, it is incredibly important that Hollywood continue to expand its representation of different groups.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/love-simon-first-gay-studio-film-lgbtq-nick-robinson-greg-berlanti-riverdale-a8261866.html
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/love-simon-i-came-out-bisexual_us_5ab3a49fe4b008c9e5f4b417