Viola Davis: “Cinema Is Missing Regular Black Women”

Published: Wednesday 24th Oct 2018 by David

Viola Davis believes Hollywood is missing out on the opportunity to tell stories about regular black women.

The star of the new Steve McQueen picture ‘Widows‘, Davis made her way to the U.K’s ‘Guardian’ to discuss her role in the project and why she feels it will offer moviegoers something fresh, thrilling and exciting.

In the same conversation, she also revealed why moviemakers should set their sights on realistic stories about black women.

Read below…

I always say that one thing missing in cinema is that regular Black woman. Not anyone didactic, or whose sole purpose in the narrative is to illustrate some social abnormality. There’s not meaning behind it, other than she is just there…I would love to have a black female Klute, or Kramer, or Unmarried Woman or Annie Hall. But who’s gonna write it, who’s gonna produce it, who’s gonna see it, again and again and again?

She added…

I’ve gone through the heartache of losing a parent, the joys of being married, the joys of getting a job. I’ve lived a life, so when I read a script, and it strikes me as being disingenuous–a person who’s not fully explored–that’s what stops me.

 

Fuelling her desire to play fully-explored humans is the turmoil she faced trying to play Hollywood’s game.

I was trying to fit in, stifling my voice, stifling who I was, in order to be seen as pretty, in order for people to like me. And then going home, not being able to sleep and having anxiety. I have found that the labeling of me, and having to fit into that box, has cost me a great deal. I’ve had a lot of lost years.

‘Widows’ hits theatres on November 16th for U.S. fans. For British supporters? The 6th.

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  1. Achooo! October 24, 2018

    Viola didn’t get the memo. Blacks are being replaced by light skin blacks and Latinos. This what happens when powerful whites are in power that control the narrative. Stop seeking validation and acceptance from whites. It will never be equal as long they are in power. Be Proud, Be Real, Be You!

    • Casual October 24, 2018

      C.R.E.A.M.: Cash rules everything . . . Latinos for sure. The black population in the United States is static as a percentage of the total. Latino numbers exploding, especially when you factor in the tens of millions of undocumented residents. They have massive economic power.

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