Colorism In Your Favorite Sitcoms and Movies

“It doesn't just exist in Hollywood. I think it exists in society and to be quite honest, I don’t know how much it exists in the larger society, but it definitely exists in the Black Community” this was a quote spoken by Tatyana Ali. The “it” being referred to in the quote is Colorism. Whilst researching I came across a video titled “Colorism in Your Favorite Black Sitcoms” by I Am Eloho. The sixteen-minute video finds every problem in so many of the shows we grew up on. To begin the video discussed the popular cartoon The Proud Family which was aired on Disney in 2005. This show consisted of the main character Penny Proud, a 14-year-old light- skin girl who lived with her two parents, twin siblings, grandma, and dog. Her mother was a veterinarian and her father ran his own business selling “Proud Snacks”. Penny’s character can be described as a well-liked, respectful, smart, and often a mediator to everyone's problems. Penny was well-liked by everyone and many guys were attracted to her. Penny’s best friend Dijonay Jones was the complete opposite of her. Dijonay was the same age as Penny however she was darker skinned, her character was loud, obnoxious, aggressive, and ghetto. She was often seen as always getting Penny into trouble and chasing after the same boy who showed no interest in her. This is not the only colorist example in a popular TV show that was discussed next up is the popular sitcom My Wife and Kids which aired on ABC in 2005, within the same year as Proud Family. The family consisted of a family with a mother, father, and three children. The oldest daughter, Claire, originally was a darker skin female. However, the next season Claire was replaced with a lighter skin actress and her character traits changed to soft spoken, desired by boys, ditsy, spoiled, etc. For whatever reason the original actress had to leave the show, however many of us question why the next actress couldn't remain the same skin tone. Another character switch discussed was in the popular sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air which aired on NBC in 1990. The original cast consisted of a couple of dark skin women Ashley, the youngest daughter, and Aunt Viv, the mother. However in later seasons a huge change occurred, the original actress that portrayed Aunt Viv was exchanged for a lighter skin actress. Once again once the actress changed so did the character's traits. The darker-skinned Aunt Viv was a “strong black woman”, active, educated, and stricter with the children. However, the lighter skin Aunt Viv was the complete opposite she didn't have the same “spice” and attitude as the original actress. She was more soft-spoken. Shows like these sends the message and keeps the stereotype going that darker skin women are aggressive, loud, ghetto, obnoxious, etc. just everything negative. Another show that was not discussed in the video was Martin which aired on Fox in 1992. The iconic friendship duo Pam and Gina were what many young black women in the 90s had to look up to. In almost every episode Martin and Pam are going at it and Martin is calling Pam ugly or comparing her to animals. Pam is loud and outspoken and often speaking up for Gina who is quiet and soft-spoken. Another colorist event that occurred in Martin was his portrayal of the character Shanaynay who was a dark skin, ghetto, loud, character who always was seen to be picking on Gina, the lighter skin character. Simone De Beauvoir states in The Second Sex “If today femininity no longer exists, then it never existed” (Beavoir 1).Movies that displayed colorism consist of Norbit, The Wiz, Coming to America, etc. In Norbit a popular film in the black community that aired in 2007 his wife, Rasputia was a heavy set dark skin woman who was seen as a bully and overly verbally abusive to her husband and others in the film, many feared her and avoided her at all costs. One character that Rasputia had jealousy towards and often spoke harsh words to unprovoked was a lighter skin, soft-spoken, unproblematic, character named Kate. In Coming to America the sister duo Lisa and Patrice another light skin and dark skin stereotypical character split. Lisa is lighter skin who is soft-spoken, active in the community, loved by everyone, and desired by all men. She is seen as the ideal wife, on the contrary, her younger sister Patrice who is darker skin is selfish, promiscuous, and problematic. One last example would be in The Wiz where we see the “good” witch as lighter skin and the “bad” witch as darker skin. All of these TV shows and movies continue the divide in the black community of light skin and dark skin. The divide began in slavery and has continued for years and years. Beverly Tatum states in The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I? “Choices made in adolescence ripple through the lifespan” (Tatum 1). This quote is stating that the choices made in our younger lives continue throughout our entire lives. For example, if a young dark skin girl sees all of these stereotypical movies that show women of the same skin tone in a negative light she may grow up to believe all of these things are true and hate herself and her skin. In Closing, Hollywood not only needs to work on diversity but also include women of color of all skin tones with equal opportunities to be seen in a positive light. 

Video Link:https://youtu.be/Xgacb5vv9WE

Works Cited

I Am Eloho. “Colorism In Your Favorite Black Sitcoms”, Youtube. 16 May 2019

Beavior De, Simone. “The Second Sex”(1949)

Tatum, Beverly. “The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?” (2000)