Supplemental Post #6 - KC Chow

In discussing Hattie McDaniel last week during lecture, the big question posed was “What price did she have to pay?.” With McDaniel, the only way she could act was to act as a stereotype, one that she would continue to reenact and perfect over her career. Though it was a step backwards in terms of African American representation, her portrayal as such was the only currency that she could work with to make currency, famously saying “I’d rather play a maid than be a maid.”

As an Asian American who often doesn’t see a lot of nuanced representation or representation at all, this question on the price to pay immediately brought me back to my last summer in New York when I kept seeing posters for the revival of the Miss Saigon musical plastered everywhere. Though I understand that there’s been a resurgence of many classic musicals as of late similar to the trend in Hollywood reboots (e.g. Cats), I was divided on the choice to revive such a dated musical in this day and age. Despite being lauded for its music and performances since its inception in the late 80s/early 90s with Filipina celebrity Lea Salonga in the starring role, the work has always received criticism for its racist and sexist portrayals of Asians with some whitewashing to boot. While I disagree with the depictions in Miss Saigon, back then and fast forward to now, I understand that the musical gives actors and actresses of a certain race that doesn’t see a lot of entertainment representation opportunities to be the star or realize their dreams on Broadway but just at the cost of perpetuating an outdated stereotype in a modern age.

Going back to the Hattie McDaniel “Mammy” character, Octavia Spencer came to mind as I’m sure she does with many other people, specifically the similarities between her roles in 2011’s The Help and 2017’s The Shape of Water. Frankly, I’m still completely baffled by the marketing surrounding the latter film. I remember before watching the film that I kept seeing continuous video and print interviews of Spencer reiterating that director Guillermo del Toro wrote her The Shape of Water role specifically for her and being proud of it. Despite his minority status being undercut by many award comments (e.g. Emma Stone & the all-male category), del Toro is still an anomaly as a Latino director with mainstream and awards recognition. Given this fact, it completely baffles me that a minority who knows how difficult it is for minorities’ voices to be heard in the entertainment space would write a role for Spencer that was pretty much the same “Mammy” role she played in The Help. Additionally, for both roles, she was nominated by the Academy! Especially because I thought del Toro gave a progressive portrayal of a deaf/older/and untraditional beauty in Sally Hawkin’s character so well, I am still perplexed that talent still can’t seem to progress their depictions of African American females further in these times.

In related news, Hattie McDaniel’s story is finally getting the big screen treatment. You can read more about it here: http://variety.com/2018/film/news/hattie-mcdaniel-biopic-development-1202658833/