Newsweek: On Charlize, Viola, and the Plight of Black Women in Hollywood →
Yesterday we posted two frames from our Oscar Roundtable in which Viola Davis, alluding to the fact black women who are not exactly Halle Berry have it hard in Hollywood, was silenced by Charlize Theron’s well-intentioned, “Stop saying that…you’re hot as shit.” It kinda blew up. So we asked…
I feel like Newsweek and a lot of people on Tumblr are making hay out of nothing. It was an isolated soundbite IN A FREE-FOR-ALL ROUNDTABLE INTERVIEW. There were five people in the roundtable and two interviewers and people were cutting each other off left and right. I watched all the clips and no subject was more than merely touched on. There were no in-depth analysis or follow up questions (unless it was edited out).
Viola Davis certainly has a valid point but I don’t think Theron was trying to minimize her struggle as an African American woman in Hollywood at all. It seemed more sisterly and complimentary of Davis’ beauty than a disagreement of her point. I’d wager that if only Davis and Theron were being interviewed together the discussion would have developed more and Theron would have agreed and supported Davis’ point about the politics and Hollywood’s “standard of beauty”.
For Newsweek to write a follow up hit-piece on Theron rings as cheap and reminds me of the style of tabloid reporting downscale “rags” trade in. This is uncharacteristic of Newsweek and their normal style of reporting. I hope, for the sake of the magazine and the blog, that this piece was a fluke and not representative of what I can expect from them in the future.
Look, as an actor and writer in Hollywood, I can assure you that it is difficult for ALL WOMEN OVER 30 to get work and even more difficult for women to get QUALITY acting work. So many people are attacking Theron as having some sort of charmed career and no idea of the struggle of people of color. They’re forgetting she’s a human rights activist and an accomplished filmmaker. In addition, she grew up in South Africa during Aparteid. Off all the white actresses in Hollywood, she is arguably one of the most qualified to weigh in on African-American struggles.
What’s more, Theron herself has had to overcome preconceived notions about her own looks to land the meaty acting roles. Has everyone forgot her Academy Award winning transformation in MONSTER? It doesn’t compare to the struggle of African-American women but I think it does add context to her reassurance to Viola about her looks. To me, her intention to Viola was “don’t let someone’s thoughts about your beauty stop you from going for the roles you deserve.”
During the interview, I don’t think Viola Davis was offended by Charlize Theron’s remarks and neither should we. Why do magazines always try to create drama between two women?
(Source: thedailybeast.com)
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