tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post5755019641487863436..comments2023-05-14T03:03:09.451-05:00Comments on Female Impersonator: Racism in the CityAmeliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884754298018500343noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-10581843805844948512008-06-04T13:16:00.000-05:002008-06-04T13:16:00.000-05:00I think this is a fair analysis. It is possible fo...I think this is a fair analysis. It is possible for her to fit the stereotype since well, it's been updated. Even Aunt Jemimah lost the headscarf and a few pounds in the advertisements. Mammy is just a name for the phenomenon of the black female character who doesn't seem to have her own life but is always there for other characters with tokens of wisdom--it doesn't hurt if she's not conventionally attractive either. It is a symptom of racism, but more than that--a sign of comfort. These characters exist because they are a representation that will be familiar and comfortable to the audience. If we don't pick up on these hints, if we don't question it, they'll keep making these characters figuring there's no room for complexity when it comes to black female characters. (I did a paper on the sitcom Living Single and found incidences of all major black stereotypes in the characters, so it doesn't have to be black token characters on a majority white show/movie to exist--mammy, tom, jezebel, and more are tried and true character molds that people will continue to use until people get sick of them).OutcrazyOpheliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01962033787590226582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-91098360618962960912008-06-01T08:51:00.000-05:002008-06-01T08:51:00.000-05:00From The Root: http://www.theroot.com/id/46662/pa...From The Root: http://www.theroot.com/id/46662/page/1<BR/><BR/>Helena Andrews writes about Louise's role as the Black Best Friend. Pretty good.lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13285797515594923013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-78275662350032782962008-05-31T15:46:00.000-05:002008-05-31T15:46:00.000-05:00feministblogproject, I was going to post a link to...feministblogproject, I was going to post a link to your feminism in the city post! I suppose there's no time like now:<BR/><BR/>http://feministblogproject.wordpress.com<BR/>/2008/05/30/feminsm-and-the-city/<BR/><BR/>I guess I'm hesitant to think of her as a mammy because I've always thought of the mammy stereotype as an older woman. I suppose that doesn't mean the indicators aren't there, but in Emilie Townes' <I>Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil</I>, she describes mammys as a post-emancipation version of an older female house slave who was desexualized. The lack of sexualization was important because younger black females were hypersexualized - in order to be in a white domestic sphere, the mammy stereotype had to be older and matronly, to avoid being a temptress for the white man of the house. If anyone knows more about the stereotypes we're talking about, they should jump in - I'm not super knowledgeable about cultural representations about Black women.lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13285797515594923013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-14118300627055919302008-05-31T14:23:00.000-05:002008-05-31T14:23:00.000-05:00I agree with Lindsay that Lousie tends to fit the ...I agree with Lindsay that Lousie tends to fit the "Magical Negro" stereotype than the "Mammy" stereotype. <I>Maybe</I> your overanalyzing, but when I was watching the movie, my friend and I were definitely picking up on tokenism. So there's something going on there. <BR/><BR/>And I think that even <I>if</I> you're overanalyzing, such criticism is good. You're not the only one who picked up on the racial stereotypes, after all!<BR/><BR/>Good post and I wish I had thought to address the race issues in my blog entry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-58205937714505276432008-05-31T10:16:00.000-05:002008-05-31T10:16:00.000-05:00The role also kind of embodies the "magical negro"...The role also kind of embodies the "magical negro" stereotype, where she comes in and fixes everything and then leaves again. Although the character does fit many of these stereotypes, she was well-rounded and given more than just a superficial role. I haven't seen anything else that Jennifer Hudson has been in, so I'm not sure how it compares to other roles. <BR/><BR/>Overall, I have been disappointed in the diversity in series and it's nice that they tried to address that, even if they missed the mark somewhat.lindsayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13285797515594923013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-90137781716365211202008-05-31T03:59:00.000-05:002008-05-31T03:59:00.000-05:00I really think that the movie should have had more...I really think that the movie should have had more women of color, but I wouldn't know how to put them in there considering the main 4 are all white, and the movie takes place in upscale New York. Regardless, I didn't find her role as "mammy" obvious (yes, I saw the movie, and I liked it, which was weird).<BR/><BR/>She's one of the more together of the women in the movie, so I didn't pick up some inferiority vibe that the stereotypical mammy role should have. She is portrayed as having somewhat of a life outside of Carrie (the movie she bought her, the purses she rents, her "booty call").<BR/><BR/>I think, just my opinion, that the movie would have to dehumanize her properly in order to make her a "mammy". She had her own vices and strengths, and they were eerily similar to Carrie's (man troubles, obsession with fashion).<BR/><BR/>Maybe I'm just making excuses for a movie that I like. I suppose it hinges on how people of color view the movie. You are right, however: the movie does look very much like the mammy role when you look it at it closely. If anything, they probably could have done more to avoid that. I'm going to say, however, that the undertones were completely unintentional, and that the producers didn't really pay up the "black mammy" role for laughs. There's tons and tons of movies that intentionally use race as a gag, and I didn't see Sex in the City do it. A little sensitivity, however, would have been nice.Jennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05333226493312516551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6730657139931062421.post-21320658076143891842008-05-31T02:35:00.000-05:002008-05-31T02:35:00.000-05:00I think it might be this side of too much analysis...I think it might be this side of too much analysis.<BR/><BR/>Would you have made this list if she were white?<BR/><BR/>You make it sound as if it's not allowed for a black person to work for a white person, and care about her at the same time.<BR/><BR/>This is a remarkably simplistic post, but I've far too much on my mind, and I'm exhausted, and it's all I can manage right now. If/when a dialog gets going, and I'm more stable and rested, I'll try to do better.Black Thirteenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13664034966378614620noreply@blogger.com