Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambiton, White Hollywood
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambiton, White Hollywood
By (Author) Jill Watts
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
HarperCollins
1st February 2007
United States
Classifications
General
Non Fiction
Ethnic groups and multicultural studies
Biography: arts and entertainment
Individual actors and performers
Ethnic studies
Gender studies: women and girls
Social discrimination and social justice
B
Physical Properties
Paperback
384
Width 130mm, Height 197mm
Description
Hattie McDaniel is best known for her performance as Mammy, the sassy foil to Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. Though the role called for yet another widegrinned, subservient black domestic, McDaniel transformed her character into one who was loyal yet subversive, devoted yet bossy. Her powerful performance would win her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and catapult the hopes of Black Hollywood that the entertainment industry after decades of stereotypical characters was finally ready to write more multidimensional, fully realized roles for blacks.
But racism was so entrenched in Hollywood that despite pleas by organizations such as the NAACP and SAG and the very examples that Black service men were setting as they fought against Hitler in WWII roles for blacks continued to denigrate the African American experience. So rather than see her stature increase in Hollywood, as did other Oscarwinning actresses, Hattie McDaniel, continued to play servants. And rather than see her popularity increase, her audience turned against her as an increasingly politicized black community criticized her and her peers for accepting degrading roles. "I'd rather play a maid then be a maid," Hattie McDaniel answered her critics but her flip response belied a woman who was herself emotionally conflicted about the roles she accepted but who tried to imbue each Mammy character with dignity and nuance.
Reviews
"A provocative biography." -- Edward Rothstein, The New York Times on Mae West: An Icon in Black and White
"Fascinating. . .A compelling, disturbing history of blacks in early Hollwyood." -- Publishers Weekly
Author Bio
A professor of history at California State University and the coordinator of the film studies program at California State University, San Marcos, Jill Watts has written two previous books, God, Harlem U.S.A.: The Father Divine Story and Mae West: An Icon in Black and White. She lives in San Marcos, California.
