The Shakerite VOL 91 ISSUE I

protagonists experiencing a racial awakening and
Black supporting characters who are there to help
them cope with guilt.
The intent is noble. In fact, I love that people
want to learn more than ever, it seems. The issue is
that there are thousands of articles, TV shows and
YouTube videos explaining these exact questions
in detail. That’s how people can help support Black
people who are trying to give people the answers to
these questions: Don’t burden your Black friends
with frequent questions on our oppression that
could be answered easily in a quick Google search.
Communication is important when it comes to
uncomfortable discussions and combating systemic
issues, but a little individual research goes a long
way in aiding these conversations.
There also is the huge issue of colorism in
Black representation. Zendaya is probably one
of the most well-known Black actors, and she’s
a mixed-race, light-skin person and is clearly a
standard of beauty for Black people. Zendaya even
acknowledged that she is the “acceptable version
of a Black girl” according to BBC news.
When I was younger, I used to say, “When I
grow up I’m going to marry a white man so that
my baby can come out with light skin and pretty
hair.” I said this often, and when my mother would
tell me not to, I was confused. The only time I ever
saw a Black girl on the screen, she was fair skinned
and had long, curly hair. Their beauty was always
noted. Didn’t it make sense that I would want my
child to experience that same praise?
Years later, I was so excited to watch the movie
“The Hate U Give.” I got the book a while after
it was published, so it had already gotten a lot of
attention, and when I heard there was going to
be a movie adaptation, I was even more excited.
A movie about police brutality and the struggle
of being Black in a predominantly white school is
something that I knew I had to see because the
story struck a chord with me.
However, when I saw who was cast as the lead,
I never picked up the book again. On the cover of
the book, a dark-skin girl with kinky hair holds a
sign bearing the title. But on the movie poster was
light-skin actor Amandla Sterling. I was so hurt.
The Cosby Show
It’s interesting to note though that with the “Cosby Show”
specifically, while there were white people who viewed it
positively, there were white people who took the message in
a whole different direction. According to “The Cosby Show:
The View from the Black Middle Class” some white people
took the show as, ‘if this Black family can do well then stop
complaining at racism’ which shows that the message went
right over some people’s heads.
It was such a disappointment because I thought
this movie wouldn’t be able to fail me in any way. I
refused to see it for a while.
Even the illustrator of the book was disappointed.
“I wasn’t exactly thrilled, because of the colorism
in Hollywood and everything. I was hoping it
would be a very Brown-skinned actress, because
there’s so little opportunities in these big movies
for darker-skinned actresses. I can’t fudge. That’s
how I felt,” she said in an article published on ColorLines.
I did end up seeing the film because I heard
great reviews and I figured I’d still be supporting
Black actors as a whole. Sterling did a great job, as
usual. Sterling and Zendaya are talented, there is
no denying that, and there’s never any hate in my
heart toward them. The anger and disappointment
comes from the industry, which sees them as the
only acceptable Black people to play parts of respectable
Black people. The only time I see darkskin
actors is when they are the sassy best friend
with no storyline.
The last common trope of Black people that I
see is when Black characters provide comic relief
in films and TV shows but never see their stories
developed further.
Let’s look at the example of “To All The Boys
I’ve Loved Before.” The trilogy is about Lara Jean
Covey and her relationship with Peter Kavinsky
throughout the course of three movies. Lara Jean
has two sisters, two best friends, another lover, her
parents and an enemy. Throughout the movies, it
seems like everyone’s story developed. Lara’s older
sister had issues with a boyfriend; her little sister
gets a boyfriend in the last movie; her best friend,
Chris, gets a boyfriend; we learn about her nemesis
and how she lost Peter to Lara but also why she
was so mean to Lara; and she gets into NYU and
Spring 2021 THE SHAKERITE 33