So this past weekend I watched "The Green Mile" (1999), an ostensibly classic black movie. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed it, something about the film made me feel uneasy. Initially, I couldn't pinpoint what it was. I tried pushing my reservations aside as I excitedly brainstormed possible article topics: "Ooh, I should write about this! No, forget it, I should write about that!" Then I thought, "Maybe I should just screw it and watch a Spike Lee Joint instead." You see, what bothered me about "The Green Mile" went beyond what I saw on the screen. It wasn't until I considered watching another movie altogether that I was finally able to conceptualize what had been bothering me. While searching for a second film, I noticed two disturbing patterns.
The first pattern is that most of the critically acclaimed, Oscar-nominated and/or high-grossing productions that can be considered "black movies" are ones that star black actors or actresses playing only a handful of different roles. The second pattern is that almost all of these movies star the same few black actors. Whether or not there is a causal relationship between these two related patterns may be indeterminable. However, the fact of the matter is that they both exist, and they have always existed in American cinema.
So what are these typical roles for black actors? The first is exemplified by the late Michael Clarke Duncan's character in "The Green Mile:" John Coffey, a godly figure of sorts - one that is all-knowing, completely trustworthy and utterly flawless. This character is often boldly paralleled with Jesus. Think Morgan Freeman's God from "Bruce Almighty" (2003), Mufasa (James Earl Jones) or even Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). Note that these three actors have played very similar or identical characters in other movies.
A second role designated for black actors is the funny sidekick - but not the funny main character. Because that would, of course, be too bold for Hollywood (unless you're Eddie Murphy or Martin Lawrence). A third character reserved for black males is the depraved, scary and violent gangster, thug or petty criminal. Ironically, this third role often overlaps with the first one I mentioned. Think Denzel Washington from "Training Day" (2001) or "American Gangster" (2007) or "Flight" (2012) or "John Q" (2002) or ... really anything else he's done. This brings me to the second pattern I noticed, which is that there are a depressingly small number of black actors in Hollywood. Try naming five black actors that aren't comedians. You'll likely find that it's difficult to do.
So where are black women in all this? There aren't very many black women in Hollywood movies, which is a whole other issue in itself. Nevertheless, black women who do make it to the screen typically get pigeonholed into roles that paint them either as domestic figures or perpetual victims of society. Examples include any woman in any Tyler Perry movie or the maids in Tate Taylor's "The Help" (2011).
Movies that stray away from these bona fide norms rarely, if ever, seem to get recognition. More specifically, they just don't get nominated for Oscars or other significant movie awards. Exceptions to these unspoken rules are few and far between. The awards come when casting directors, producers and actors alike, make films that conform to patterns. For instance, Denzel Washington received his first Oscar for Best Actor when he brilliantly portrayed a merciless thug, while Halle Berry won for her role in "Monster Ball" (2001), which depicts her character's victim-savior relationship with a racist white man. Perhaps the diversification of the roles that black actors and actresses are asked to play in Hollywood is imminent. Or perhaps it's a lost hope.
Nash Simpson is a senior majoring in English. He can be reached at Nash.Simpson@tufts.edu
