Last week I went to see “London Has Fallen.” Gerard Butler plays Mike Banning, President Benjamin Asher’s primary secret service agent. Asher, played by Aaron Eckhart, is targeted in a massive terror attack in London. I won’t give away the main spoilers, but it’s a typical action-packed macho movie with lots of plot twists and some funny lines.
One part of the story really bothered me. Banning’s partner Lynne Jacobs, played by Angela Bassett, is portrayed as a tough as nails, competent and caring agent. She’s tender enough to agree to be godmother to her partner’s infant and smart enough to plan the president’s security detail in London.
I should have known she wouldn’t be given any respect when I saw her emerge in London wearing four-inch stilettos with her serious pants suit. During the initial action scenes, she screams and waits for instruction from her partner. She is clearly not up for the challenging circumstances and ultimately is killed in the opening action scene. [sorry for the spoiler!]
Here’s an opportunity to give a strong black woman a meaty role that shows her intelligence, her skills and her tenacity. Instead she’s a shaky, screaming victim. As soon as she dies, the movie becomes the white boys brotherhood.
I’m a white woman who enjoys a great deal of privilege in my life. I cannot pretend to understand what black women experience and feel. And, it’s entirely possible had the role been cast as a white woman, the outcome would have been the same. Still, I could not ignore that horrible sinking feeling watching Bassett’s character become what happens to too many black women in movies. She’s not only marginalized by being killed off early, she’s portrayed as not being up to the job.
During the 2015 Emmy Awards, Viola Davis, in accepting her award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, quoted Harriet Tubman and then said this: “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.”
“The 2015 Hollywood Diversity Report: Flipping the Script” by the Ralph J. Bunch Center for African American Studies at UCLA documents the dismal showing of people of color in the entertainment industry. The disconnect is especially apparent because audience composition reflects this nation’s diversity and box office success also is just as likely to come to films with diverse casts.
Bassett played her “London” role well. She’s an outstanding actress, albeit severely limited by typecasting and marginalized in one of the most cruel ways possible. Casting her in this highly visible character for the movie was a smart decision. The producers, however, didn’t follow through on their promise to develop her character. Despite Davis’ moving speech, despite all the attention called to the need for meaningful roles for women of color, we’re still being subjected to more of the same.
Special thanks to my former State News colleague and friend Rhonda Sewell, who pointed me to the study and read a draft of this piece.
Writer and Raconteur 