Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film PDF
Preview Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film
Divas on Screen Mia Mask on black women in american film UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PRESS Urbana and Chicago © 2009 by Mia Mask All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1 ∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Mask, Mia, 1969– Divas on screen : Black women in American film / Mia Mask. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-252-03422-0 (cloth : alk. paper) isbn 978-0-252-07619-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. African American women in motion pictures. 2. African American motion picture actors and actresses—Biography. 3. Actresses—United States —Biography. I. Title. pn1995.9.n4m327 2009 791.43'6352996073—dc22 2008041246 Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 1. Dorothy Dandridge’s Erotic Charisma 13 2. Pam Grier: A Phallic Idol of Perversity and Sexual Charisma 58 3. Goldberg’s Variations on Comedic Charisma 105 4. Oprah Winfrey: The Cathartic, Charismatic Capitalist 141 5. Halle Berry: Charismatic Beauty in a Multicultural Age 185 Notes 233 Selected Bibliography 269 Index 291 Acknowledgments So many people have contributed to the development of this proj- ect, which in many ways began long before the actual writing and research it entailed. I must acknowledge the fact that without encouragement (from family, friends, teachers, and mentors) to pursue film studies, I certainly would not have written the manuscript for this book. Instead, I would have pursued a career as a journalist and written film reviews, possibly publishing a collection of reviews rather than this book on African American women celebrities working in the film and television industries. Chief among the colleagues and mentors to encourage me to pursue a doc- torate in cinema studies was Robert Stam. During my graduate training, he provided the tutelage, advising, and general guidance I needed to survive a competitive, overpopulated program at New York University’s renowned Tisch School of the Arts. I was grateful that anyone—not to mention a prominent, prolific scholar—would take interest in and encourage me. Despite the atten- tion and concern Professor Stam and Professor Ella Shohat showed me, there was—for a short time—something missing from my experience at NYU. The missing ingredient was that sense of community, camaraderie, and friendship that comes from spending time with one’s peer group. For me, that peer group was a collective of young African, African American, and Afro-Caribbean graduate students with similar aspirations, goals, and life experiences. There were, of course, many other students of color and white students in our circle. However, as students of color, we were closer because we shared a sense of our “double consciousness.” After all, graduate depart- ments in the aftermath of the Culture Wars attracted a cross-section of ambi- viii . acknowledgments tious, intelligent, literate, and sometimes condescending folks from around the world. I sometimes felt these folks too quickly absorbed the dominant ideology of American race relations, questioning the legitimacy of black participation in higher education. Fortunately, for many of us who were graduate students in programs and departments across New York University, Manthia Diawara took the helm of Africana studies and the Institute for African American Affairs. Like a benevolent pied piper, he demonstrated a unique ability to draw people to him and band them together under the program’s auspices for the purpose of intellectual and artistic engagement. Over the years, I witnessed literati and luminaries alike cross the threshold of Diawara’s office door. Manthia succeeded in making many of us feel not simply that we belonged, but that we were entitled to spaces, places, and locations on campus where rumina- tions on the African diaspora would be taken seriously. During our time, Andrew Ross accomplished the same for my peers in American studies. I am grateful for the kind of community that Manthia Diawara and Andrew Ross created for graduate students at NYU. During this time Ed Guerrero also joined the cinema studies faculty. We ap- preciated his candor and accessibility when so many others were indirect and misleading. Even today, Ed is a friendly colleague and source of information. He reminds me that as film scholars and critics, we help create audiences for films through our scholarship and published criticism. Chris Straayer was, and still is, a strong feminist voice that emboldened many graduate students. Beyond graduate school, I would like to thank Sarah Kozloff for recruiting me to Vassar College. She provided professional mentoring and personal sup- port throughout my years as untenured faculty. Over the years, Sarah helped me wade through the dispiriting voices from colleagues seeking to discourage young African American faculty from believing they can succeed at predomi- nantly white educational institutions. Dudley Andrew and Charlie Musser must be acknowledged for their generous offer. It is one I will not forget. At the University of Illinois Press, I would like to acknowledge the support and guidance of veteran editor Joan Catapano. Thankfully, Joan was interested in Divas on Screen from the early stages. Her assistants Alison Goebel and Danielle Kinsey were instrumental in pulling together art design, imagery, and logistical details. Danielle was especially helpful during the final, and perhaps most important, phases of the book’s publication. Assistant manag- ing editor Angela Burton was also part of the team. I appreciate the access I was given to John Kisch’s Separate Cinema archive in Hyde Park, New York. John offered film production stills, movie posters, and sound advice about acknowledgments · ix illustrations for the text. Were it not for my colleague Judith Weisenfeld, I might not have met John Kisch when I did or sought his assistance with photography. Finally, I would like to acknowledge “the elders”: the genera- tions of African American cultural critics, scholars, and professionals who came before us and led the way. The elders in my own family to whom I owe eternal gratitude include (but are not limited to) my parents, George and Barbara Mask, Melissa and Marc James, Cheryl Odim, and Ruth Jeffries. It is my sincere hope that my generation can continue the tradition of provid- ing increased access to opportunity for those who will follow.
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