Does An Actress Have To Be White Or Half White In Order To Reach The A List In Hollywood?

Halle Berry fans are going to throw rocks at me, but is Halle Berry the only black woman in Hollywood? It is very interesting to visit the white media blogs and the black media websites. On the black websites, there is so much diversity. The black websites such as AOL’s Black Voices or Concrete Loop will discuss black celebrities such as Gabrielle Union, Kerry Washington, Sanaa Lathan and many more.

However, on the mainstream white websites the only black woman who receives any mainstream attention is Halle Berry. The question is why? Recently, in September 2010, Vogue Magazine picked Halle Berry to be on the cover of the September issue.

Now, anyone that knows fashion knows the September issue is the most important issue for Vogue magazine each year. However, I am disturbed that Vogue thinks they are being progressive by selecting Halle Berry.

I strongly disagree, Halle Berry is a safe choice and an image of a black woman that is palatable to the white North American mainstream. Berry is half white, and this is very important she has light skin, she obtained a nose job  to appear more  Eurocentric. So the top black actress in Hollywood isn’t even really a real black woman!  Berry is consistently on the lists of the most beautiful woman in Hollywood and usually she is the only black woman selected.  So Halle Berry is the apex of black beauty  and success? I think that’s disgusting! What about other black women are they all chop liver compared to the mixed race Halle Berry?

Angela Bassett can act circles around Halle Berry, but since she a real black woman and not  half white she doesn’t get leading lady film roles anymore. Angela is very outspoken about racism and sexism in Hollywood against black women. For example, Bassett criticized the white Jewish director Woody Allen for promoting negative images of black women. Usually in Woody Allen movies, the only black female characters in his films are prostitutes! Bassett also turned down the female lead role in Monster’s Ball because she said the character Leticia Musgrove was a whore!

I also must point out Halle Berry is forty-four years old! Where are the young black women under the age of thirty-five and why haven’t they obtained any leading lady film roles? I think it is disturbing that  a middle-aged woman is considered the top black actress yet the young black women are invisible!

Now some many argue what about Jennifer Hudson? It is true Hudson won an Oscar for Dreamgirls, but the jury is still undecided whether she can act or not?  Hudson did complete a new Winnie,  but it won’t be released until next year. Can Jennifer Hudson can really act and have a successful acting career? Hudson is young, she’s only twenty-nine but it is sad that she is the only black woman under thirty that can obtain leading lady roles!

Next, people will say that Gabourey Sidibe the star of Precious  can become A list. I do not believe Sidibe will become a leading lady and I know people will be angry at me. I believe Sidibe doesn’t have the right look to be a leading lady because of her obesity. I also think it is very disingenuous for the white media to promote this woman who only had one leading lady role and claim she represents black women.

Why did the obsse black mammy Gabourey  Sidibe obtain the cover of Elle Magazine and not Kerry Washington? Washington is an amazing actress she is talented and young but she is consistently ignored.  I am undecided whether Sidibe will become a good actress. One movie role doesn’t make someone a top actress. I believe mainstream Hollywood provides this illusion that promoting the obese Gabourey Sidibe is progress for black women and it is not! Sidibe is being promoted by American media because she is considered a safer image of a black woman the fat black mammy.

Meanwhile, a young beautiful and talented black actress such as Kerry Washington is viewed as more dangerous. After all, Hollywood doesn’t want Kerry Washington to upstage less talented white actresses such as Scarlett Johansson! Why is Johansson suddenly A list what good movies has she been in? Where is Johnasson’s range? Washington has demonstrated in numerous films such as The Last King Of Scotland, Ray, Mother & Child, Night Catches Us, that she has a lot of talent.

Also,  what is so special about the young white women Hollywood does promote such as Anne Hathaway? I personally believe Kerry Washington is a better actress than Anne Hathaway but she is also not white. Halle Berry reached the top of Hollywood due to her acting talent but her since she is also half white it helped her to become accepted.

I am not suggesting that Anne Hathaway or Scarlett Johnasson cannot act because they can. I am suggesting that if Hathaway and Johnasson can reach the A list why can’t Kerry Washington?

The subversive message Hollywood   sending is,  a black woman has to be mixed race or light skinned in order to reach the top of Hollywood. The closer a black woman is to the image of whiteness the more palatable she becomes to the American press. I am not excluding the black media from this subliminal racism either. On black media blogs such as Bossip and Mediatakeout.com they consistently promote the mixed race beauty queens such as Rihanna, Beyonce, Alica Keys, Halle Berry,  Paula Patton or Leona Lewis. Any black woman that is half white or have some white heritage is immediately at the top of the hegemonic hierachy. It is disturbing but not surprising that heterosexual black men are also to blame for promoting mixed race women over darker skinned black women.

I am not suggesting I think it is very disturbing that Halle Berry is the only A list black actress in Hollywood. I guess, if people want to be technical they can include Queen Latifah but what hit movies have either women been in lately? Queen Latifah’s romantic comedy  Just Wright bombed at the box office this year grossing only $20 million dollars. Black people keep on complaining that Hollywood doesn’t make quality blacfk films but why didn’t black folks support this movie? Tyler Perry’s drama For Colored Girls only made $37 million dollars and the film was financial a disappointment. The movie wasn’t a bomb because it only cost $21 million dollars, but the negative publicity contribute to the poor box office result.

Next, Halle Berry was nominated for her a Golden Globe for her performance in her  new film Frankie & Alice. Surfing the web many media critics ripped the movie to shreds. I commend Halle Berry for having a lot of determination and drive to get this movie made. It took Halle over a decade to obtain distribution for Frankie & Alice. However, I also think it is a bit deleterious when talented black women such as Kimberly Elise, Thandie Newton, and Kerry Washington are ignored why didn’t they obtain Golden Globe nominations for their performances in For Colored Girls? And why do people care? It is obvious to me that the American media creates new stars every couple of years. The Hollywood dream factory and creation of new celebrities  is reserved mostly for white women not black women. I have noticed a pattern the American media only allow two black women to reach the A list level per decade.

In the 1950s, it was Dorothy Dandridge, in the 1960s and early 1970s it was Diana Ross and Dianhann Carroll, in the 1980s it was Whoopi Goldberg, 1990s it was Angela  Bassett, and in the 2000s Halle Berry and Queen Latifah.

Should black people care about the Golden Globes, SAG Awards, or the Oscars? It is a fair question, aren’t these award shows simply a white standard of achievement? Isn’t it just white Hollywood patting each other on the back? So why do black people care if black actors win these awards? Is it just an example of blacks been psychologically enslaved and desperate for white America’s validation? After all, shouldn’t black folks just be concerned with black actors releasing quality movies and not worrying whether these films are palatable to white folks?