Just went to see Antwone Fisher today. Good movie. But there was one thing that kind of confused me….
Look at this picture of the two actors that play the main couple in the story:
Now here is a picture of Salli Richardson-the half-Irish actress that plays Denzel’s film wife:
Antwone’s aunt, who was portrayed in a good light, was of medium brown complexion, but his mother, who was not depicted with any great sympathy by the film’s conclusion, was played by a very dark-skinned woman.
I just bring this up because the film addresses black color consciousness-as Antwone says: “First the light-skinned girls were adopted, then the light-skinned boys, and then the dark-skinned girls, and finally the dark-skinned boys.” Antwone recalls how his foster-mother would compare him unfavorably with his half-white foster brother (“He has good hair & skin & is better than you!”).
So in light of all this, the stereotypical portrayal of light-skinned women as the ideal mate or relative seems out of place. But perhaps it was just me that noticed it (though the two light-skinned actresses were in my opinion very attractive, so I’m not complaining about that)….
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