Thursday, August 4, 2011

What to Make of Black Women Playing Maids and Other Stereotypes in Hollywood?

Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

by Renee Greene, Your Black World

“The Help” opens in theaters August 10.

In the midst of new millennium accusations of racism in Hollywood, and with the “underhiring” of blacks in the movie world for major A-list roles, it appears that black actresses can still find roles forged out of perpetually stereotypical characters. The Help, a best-selling novel-gone-silver-screen, is centered on the lives of Aibileen and Minny, two black maids living in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. The maids are portrayed by African American actresses Viola Davis andOctavia Spencer.

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