The Emmys came on Sunday night and I have to be honest and let y'all know that I didn't watch them. I typically don't watch the Emmys or the Academy Awards, just the red carpet to see what everyone's wearing. It's not that I don't support the actors or the films/shows that are nominated, but most times we know who's going to win. There aren't too many surprises, but that wasn't the case on Sunday. This year was a huge win for people and most importantly women of color! Regina King won the award for 'Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie' for 'American Crime', Uzo Aduba won the award for 'Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series' for 'Orange is the New Black', and Viola Davis became the first black woman to win the award for best lead actress!
I was beyond excited for all of them when I heard the great news. Uzo is Julliard trained and actually won the award last year for 'Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy' for 'Orange is the New Black' for the same role and to me that speaks volumes to her skills. I'm not sure if you guys watch OITNB, but in my opinion she's earned both of those awards.
Regina King is another one who's overdue for recognition, her resume dates back to 1985 with numerous projects in front of and behind the camera as a director and producer; and her talent wasn't recognized until she was tapped by John Ridley to be in 'American Crime' last year. Don't get me started on Viola Davis! She's another one who's resume dates back to the mid-90's with movies like 'Doubt', 'The Help', 'Law Abiding Citizen' and shows like 'Law & Order: SVU' and 'The Andromeda Strain', but it wasn't until after Shonda Rhimes paid her dues to network execs was she allowed to pitch the idea of 'How to Get Away with Murder' and give Viola the platform she needed to win the award on Sunday night. That's crazy! Viola quoted Harriet Tubman and said that the only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity and I couldn't agree more. I reposted her acceptance speech on Facebook and it sparked a debate.
The first question was how opportunity separates women of color from anyone else to which I responded with this:
Historically women of color haven't been offered the same roles. Typecasting is a real thing in Hollywood and women of color have been relegated to roles like mammys, sidekicks, best friends and overtly obvious sex symbols (I left out the loud and ghetto roles because I felt like that went without saying). Until recently (like Shondaland) there hasn't been a series centered around a woman of color on primetime TV. Shonda Rhimes and co have come in and changed the game, opening doors and breaking stereotypes. Actresses of color aren't afforded the same opportunities as their Anglo counterparts and I applaud Viola for coming forward and saying that on last night's platformwomen of color are being the chance to star in primetime shows like Jada Pinkett Smith on 'Gotham' and Priyanka Chopra on 'Quantico' and that's awesome!
From there the question of typecasting was asked and if it was so widespread in Hollywood was it really an issue. Yes, it is an issue! I wasn't trying to turn it into a race thing, because it's more than just black and white, it's anyone who's not Anglo. Networks want to make money so for every 'Fresh Prince' there are 5 'Full Houses'. For every 'Living Single' there are at least 3 'Friends'. For every 'Fresh of the Boat' there are 10 'Goldbergs'. It's not a black and white thing, it's a green thing. What ever brings in money is what sells. For decades network and studio execs didn't think that they could make money off of shows and movies who's leading characters weren't Anglo. Unless it was a time piece (like '12 Years a Slave', 'The Help', 'Django'), book/comic adaptation (but even Michael B. Jordan was given grief for portraying Johnny Storm) or biopics the main roles were given to those of Anglo decent.
This isn't a Black Lives Matter issue, nor was I trying to turn it into that, it's an opportunity issue. It's more than just Black actors and actresses who need recognition for their previous work in Hollywood and the opportunity to showcase their talents further, and that's what Viola meant. I stand by her and proud of her, Regina, Uzo, Queen Latifah's 'Bessie' (the movie won like 4 Emmys) and Reg E. Cathy for his win 'Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama' (he was nominated last year, but didn't win). Their wins along with Gina Rodriguez's Golden Globe win from January are proving that people of color are making strides this year and this needs to continue.
Did any of y'all watch the award show on Sunday? What were your thoughts?
