Aunt Jemima or Entreprenuer

Queen Latifah: The New Aunt Jemima?

I was puzzled frankly when Queen Latifah did the movie  "Bringing Down the House"with Steve Martin.  She pulled every stereotype of a black woman possible in the movie. She was loud, big and ghetto.  Instead of feeling happy that she had--and is getting--plenty movie roles I was left wondering, "okay but at what cost?"

  She has done one movie after another, Shampoo excluded, where she takes on roles that are flagrantly racist, and are outright black woman bashing on the sotto vocce.  Like many I loved her style, her presence and voice.  She had a dignity about her that I loved.  I can even enjoy her Covergirl ads though for obvious reasons, she is not the perfect covergirl and doesn't fit that role at all. But "Hollow Wood" is not listening to our need to pick our own representations...

In a back room somewhere there are people who make decisions that affect what we watch, and who our singers and actors become on screen. It is hard to deny that money is good to make.  But if I was offered the chance to do any role, I wonder if I would be able to turn down the money for my principles?

Her weight I suppose is one reason Hollow Wood loves her and finds the roles she will take. She is safe to them, not sexy enough for a white man to want, and not threatening to white females.  Always the buxom loud talking diva figure, busting men in the mouth, kicking everybody's you know what, and she stays well, big.

When Latifah did Lorenzo's Oil, I applauded her.  She was beautiful in that movie.  Sympathetic, realistic and cast correctly.  But I wonder now if we will ever see her:

1. Take control of her weight and seek out acting jobs that don't depend on her girth and joviality to sell tickets. 
2. Find more parts that call for less merriment and slapstick and some real drama like she did in the movie "Set it Off" with Jada Pinkett-Smith.

I like Queen Latifa and always want to see a black woman prosper and move up in the world, but at what cost? Perhaps it is just a weight thing, and once that is addressed she will be offered roles that have nothing to do with keeping her distanced from serious jobs and better co-stars, perhaps some male.  I haven't planned on seeing the movie "The Last Holiday" with   LL Cool J in it.  It looks promising basically because he's in it, and perhaps it hints at her getting away from the Aunt Jemima trap

Comments

[Breez]

I'm not sure if it's only because of her weight. Women of color are more often than not, stereotyped in "Hollow Wood" (I like that *smile*). Think Nia Long in Alfie, Halle Berry in Monster's Ball, etc. Latina and Asian women are also characterized as either sexless or sexpots. This is usually only avoided when we do our own movies, and even that's not a guarantee.

With all that being said, great post!

[Miss Ahmad]

Well I wonder if this has anything at all to do with Queen's rumored sexual orientation in combination with her size? As a Hollywierd resident I know for a fact that not many women over a size 4 are considered to be sexpots in this industry period. I am also aware that although the "gay mafia" may run Hollywood, there's a double standard for women and thus far Ellen is the only women to really straddle the fence of mainstream and being out and gay. Queen is main stream, but she's also a woman who has built her career on not taking her clothes off, or playing a whore..which I am quite certainly impressed with!

[Don't Push Me]

I find it interesting that Latifah just got her "Hollow Wood" star, which touches not only the ironic timelyness of your post, but it also triggers an issue I've always had with Hollow Wood: Why we seek Hollow Wood's approval in the first place.

I remember when Flava Flav was White girl free and he and Public Enemy recieved an award at the Soul Train Music Awards, he was juiced! He said something about the Soul Train music awards was the only one that counted... and I felt him. It is our music. We should not only celebrate, but our performers should appreciate us just as much as we them.

I've never been big on Hollow Wood's standards of success either. Lastly it just annoys me to see Tom Cruise kicking it with Jame Fox. A part of me just what's to yell at the TV, "Niggah, that ain't your boy!"

Now Queen got a star on the Blvd. In all fairness, I can see that as a huge personal accomplishment, but that's it. I will continue to respect Latifah for pushing Hip Hop in the late 80's and early 90's when the media was waiting for Hip Hop to die out.

But yo, the photo similarities of Queen and Aunt Jemima...Hilarious.

[satisfiedsistah]

Hollow wood awards the "good negros" Latifah hasn't had any real negative "drama" to cause "White Hollow wood" to distance from her. If in fact she is gay, then it's working for her behind the scenes. Someone alluded to the "GAY"mafia in Hollow wood. I think we need to pay attention to that. There are black performers in Hollow wood that "deserve" that star and don't have one. I think when she was nominated for best supporting in Chicago I saw the train leaving the station already. But are we hating her because of her success? No, I think it's because in my estimation it's too soon, other more worthy one's have been overlooked and she hasn't got the chops. If it took Denzel all of his career to get an Oscar, and he is a consumate actor, what is Queen Latifah doing on his coat tail? Come on now folks, we can't let Hollow wood Jemimah us back into the 1950s.

[nubian]

i'm kinda skeptical about this. many black stars deserve more recognition, than some shucking and jiving representation of black women, that queen latifah perpetuates.

i remember when she was all about u-n-i-t-y and being a strong woman....have her morals changed?
now when i see her on tv, acting like the "good negro" or the "loud fat black woman"--in every movie after chicago, it makes me sick. but i guess, thats how you have to
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