The acceptable black girl: tokenism and colorism in the film industry

Diversity in Hollywood has been a problem for as long as we remember, through the years it has slightly improved but I'm beginning to notice a trend in movies with added diversity. 9/10 the “diversity” is a model minority or if they’re feeling fancy a biracial girl with a small nose, 3a or completely straight hair, and a token black parent. This biracial girl is always Zendaya or more recently, Amandla Stenberg. Why?

Over the weekend, It was announced that Amandla Stenberg, will play Alana in the new Dear Evan Hansen movie. 

This is Alana from the original musical:

This is Amandla: 

See the problem? Having a dark-skin girl who is an incredible actress, not overly sexualized, and actually has screen time with a substantial role in the production is an anomaly. The one time that we get all of this, it’s immediately invalidated because a girl of a lighter complexion has taken the role. Amandla knows what the original Alana looks like, and I would like to think she knows how important it is for little dark skin girls to see themselves in entertainment, so why did she accept the role? 

In an interview at BeautyCon last Sunday when asked about colorism in the film industry Zendaya said: “As a black woman, as a light-skinned black woman, it’s important that I’m using my privilege, my platform to show you how much beauty there is in the African-American community,” she said. “I am Hollywood’s, I guess you could say, acceptable version of a black girl and that has to change.”

Wow.  Zendaya recognizes her place in the film industry and is using that to create opportunities for other black actresses. But why does Zendaya get praise whereas Amandla gets hate? Zendaya takes white roles. She accepts roles meant for white people which helps diversify films, and she is committed to never accepting a role meant for a black girl with a darker complexion. 

That’s the difference between her and Amandla, Zendaya recognizes her privilege and acts accordingly, Amandla recognizes her privilege but doesn't do anything about it. Amandla is a biracial, non- binary and gay woman which means that not only is she a minority race wise, she is also a minority sexuality and identity wise. Amandla has so many opportunities to be a role model for young girls but she never really chooses to be vocal about that part of herself. Amandla can choose how vocal she wants to be about her identity, but I wish she would talk about more than just her race because young LGBTQ+  girls need her as a role model. 

Here’s the catch, it isn’t directly Amandla’s fault. While she can and should be held responsible for taking roles meant for darker actresses, she can't control why she is always cast. Amandla is cast so frequently for the same reason Zendaya is. Her hair texture is ideal, she has light skin and her love interest can always be white without it causing controversy. 

In the film industry, darker people or animals are typically cast as villains. I’m not referring to evil demons, spirits, or ghosts. Those are typically black because we associate them with death and danger. (which is an issue of its own) But if you look at the protagonist vs. the antagonist in certain movies and tv shows the antagonist is always darker. We’ve begun to associate darker skin with evil and violence and lighter skin with heroism and friendliness. 

Protagonist Antagonist

Antagonist Protagonist

But what about people like Skai Jackson and Viola Davis? Skai is the exception, not the rule, and Viola didn’t find success until later in her career. Zendaya is only 21, and she has an incredible resumé. Why can't young dark skin black girls have the same type of success? 

Zendaya and Amandla are great Actresses, but so are many aspiring dark skin black girls. They are just as talented, beautiful, and deserving as their lighter-skinned counterparts.

“We’re vastly too beautiful and too interesting for me to just be the only representation of that” “What I’m saying, it’s about creating those opportunities, sometimes. You have to create those paths. And that’s with anything, Hollywood, art, whatever.”- Zendaya

As always,

Stay funky, spunky, spicy, and hydrated

-Elliott☆