Have you noticed lately, especially on TV, that there are a new breed of characters which have made a huge impact in the way Black women are portrayed? These woman are beautiful, wily, have integrity or intensity and are driven, but above all these female depictions of Black beauty are almost ultimately powerful. Here are some examples:
Suits - Jessica Pearson played by Gina Torres
She is ruthless, cunning, incredibly smart, cool, collected and strategizing. Above all else she is a gorgeous statuesque woman who is the managing partner of her law firm. Her character is quite empowering.
Person of Interest - Joss Carter played by Taraji P. Henson
She has integrity oozing out of her, she is beautiful, intense, intuitively smart and fearless. She is a single mom, a great cop who suspends judgement to gives the heros of the series a chance to make it out alive of many deadly situations. She is their rock, if not a pure gem.
Dexter - María LaGuerta played by Lauren Vélez
She is a no-bullshit lady. As the captain of the Miami-Metro Homicide Department, she has to keep many errant men in line, and through her nose for sniffing out crime and criminals she gets quickly promoted to a position every cop in her line of work desires. She is pure sex appeal and has curves that could stop traffic.
***
I think all these amazing television characters, whom I have enjoyed watching intently, are rare in the vast sea of television series that don't represent the cultural diversity of North American fairly enough. It is rarely that strong original female leads are created - ones that can be admired and emmulated.
Though these series have done a great job creating some fresh new characters that reach out to a large segment of viewers (women of colour), who so far has been ignored by television producers; I still feel kind of let down.
If you take a closer look, what is the fate of these powerful Black women in their narratives? All three ladies have dysfunctional or problematic relationships. they ALL have trust issues. They all have jobs that are mainly dominated by men, and in Jessica Pearson's case, white men. Joss Carter and María LaGuerta both had troublesome marriages, and their curiosity ended up getting the best of them - they were killed off.
Broken relationships, isolation and animosity targeted specifically toward these characters leads me to believe that even though they are players on the small screen, they are more likely being used as moving targets. It's a way to give the audience a feeling that are being represented, but ultimately that hope gets taken swiftly away when these female characters overstep the line. They are tragic figures in every sense of the literary word.
At least Jessica is still alive, let's see if she can pull off a coup.
***
Are there any other similar characters that I have missed?
Most Helpful Opinions