Viola Davis, Meagan Good, Gabrielle Union, Kerry Washington. Black woman are as popular in Hollywood as the small dog or adopted black baby. That’s not to say that the acting skills of black actresses are a fad, but rather, Hollywood hasn’t been as accepting of them as their white counterparts.
SAY WORD: D Wade Banned Gabrielle Union From Sitting Courtside
Case in point: the first black actress to be nominated for an Oscar played a maid, and the last black actress to be nominated for an Oscar played a maid.
But times are changing and I think it has a lot to do with our First Lady Michelle Obama. For the first time in history, American women are represented by a black female in the White House. Michelle is powerful, but doesn’t have the stigma of being an “angry black woman.” She shops at J. Crew, started a Garden in the White House, reads to kids and doesn’t want children to be fat.
Michelle shined a new light on black women as a whole, and has possibly opened a lot more doors in the world of entertainment. Since Michelle and Barack are in the White House now, I feel like mainstream America is more likely to see a black film.
EXCLUSIVE: Think Like A Man Cast Has Their Own Battle Of The Sexes
I feel like producers and casting directors are more likely to put a black woman as the leading role in a cast full of white folks. Kerry Washington’s Scandal is a huge hit for ABC with the ratings getting better each week.
Meagan Good, Regina Hall and Gabrielle Union knocked The Hunger Games from the top spot after a month-long run.
Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis racked up the awards this season in The Help. What all these roles have in common is that none of them are ratchet. Sure, Octavia and Viola played maids, but I never got ‘weak’ from their characters.
Instead I got strength, courage, and bravery to change things. Even the ladies of Think Like A Man, they all wanted change.
Change we can believe in. Who knows, maybe since we got “Change” in the White House we can finally get change in Hollywood.
~ Blog Xilla Follow Me On Twitter
Xilla is the Sr. Entertainment Editor for GlobalGrind.com as well as CEO of the number 1 relationship blog BlogXilla.com/M2TB.com. He has been featured in XXL, The Source, Essence, LA Times and is considered one of the premiere bloggers in the industry. Follow him on twitter @BlogXilla
