Why does TV portray black women home wreckers
‘
Scandal’, ‘Being Mary Jane’ and ‘The Have and Have Not’s’ all share one thing in common, the black woman is the home wrecker. Whether the character is working class or the upper class the black women being portrayed by Kerry Washington, Gabrielle Union and Tika Sumpter are still conniving jezebels at odds with weak, unfulfilled white women. Have black women shifted once again from the roles of maids making the bed to the other woman in the bed?
Kerry Washington’s role as Olivia Pope on ‘Scandal’ has gotten incredible reviews and a loyal following. However, as a Washington power broker having an open affair with the president of the United States, she becomes the 21st century version of Sally Hemming. Like the relationship between black slave Hemming and President Thomas Jefferson it was an open secret in powerful circles.
Gabrielle Union actually auditioned for the role of Olivia Pope in ‘Scandal’ but was beaten out by Kerry Washington. Now she plays the title role of Mary Jane Paul on the show ‘Being Mary Jane’, a TV newscaster with a demanding job and a hectic social life. Union’s role however seeks to portray the everyday professional black woman who masturbates when a man is not available, rips her bra off after a hard day’s work and drinks while on the toilet talking to her girlfriend on the phone. In her love life she is involved with a married man who proposes to her while still married in a hotel room after sex.
Tika Sumpter’s role as Candace Young in ‘The Have and Have Not’s’ is a true low down jezebel. Her character background includes being a prostitute, mistress and blackmailer. Her character is involved with a powerful white lawyer in Savannah, GA. Her characters only redeeming quality is that she loves her family.
The three women on these shows all have the same issue, bad relationships and adultery. Is this the best that Hollywood can offer these incredible actors?
