Diamond Williams

ANTH 35000
Media Assignment

The 67th annual Emmy Awards ceremony was a night to remember in which a multitude
of actors and actresses strutted in their luxurious garments, HBO dominated by receiving the
major awards and Tracy Morgan received a standing ovation from the crowd after blessing the
stage for the first time since his near-fatal car accident last year. However, the highlight of the
ceremony was Viola Davis achievement as the first African-American to win Outstanding
Actress in a Drama Series, for her role as a defense lawyer on ABCs How to Get Away With
Murder. Beyond this immense achievement, was the significance of her acceptance speech, in
regards to racial diversity and the spaces, or lack thereof, which are available to AfricanAmericans in Hollywood. As she accepted the honor, Davis stated,
In my mind, I see a line. And over that line, I see green fields and lovely
flowers and beautiful white women with their arms stretched out to me, over that
line. But I cant seem to get there no how. I cant seem to get over that line. That
was Harriet Tubman in the 1800s. And let me tell you something: The only thing
that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. You cannot win an
Emmy for roles that are simply not there.
Viola Davis proclamation is indubitable, in which she redirected the attention of her
achievement, to the larger context of diversity in Hollywood. It is clear that Davis
accomplishment is one rooted in racism, seeing as though after 66 years of the award ceremonys
broadcasting, she became the first black to be honored for said award. Viola Davis Emmy
experience illustrates racism in Hollywood, in which there exists a lack of recognition towards

minorities, thus the proper accolades are not given. Moreover, the medias perspective of her
achievement as one embedded in racism, further validates this notion.
During numerous Hollywood award ceremonies, minorities as a whole are not properly
recognized or given the proper accolades, due to the lack of racial diversity among the nominees.
The Emmy Awards has a long standing reputation for being white-washed, wherein minority
actors/actresses and directors have remained underrepresented and fail to receive proper
recognition. During the 66th Annual Emmy Awards ceremony in 2014, not one minority was
awarded in any of the lead or supporting actor/actress categories, in which only six of the sixty
nominees were African-American. Additionally, according to Lee and Low Books infographic
of the 2013 Emmy Awards, the program failed to nominate a black woman for Outstanding Lead
Actress in a Comedy Series since Phylicia Rashad of The Cosby Show in 1986. Moreover, no
black woman has received said award in over 30 years since Isabel Sanford of The Jeffersons
in 1981 (Schneider, 2014). The space for Emmy Award winners in 2013 remained dominated by
whites in numerous categories including, lead actor/actress in a drama series and best director of
both comedy and drama series. According to the infographic, from the years 1991-2012 only 5%
of the winners were actors of color for the Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series award, given to
Andre Braugher in 1998. Furthermore, the award for best director of a comedy series has failed
to honor a director of color and a low of only 14% of minority directors have received the award
for Outstanding Director of a Drama Series. The evidence of such disproportioned statistics for
the nominations and awarding of colored actors/actresses and directors, validates the lack of
recognition and underrepresentation of minorities and the failure to provide the proper tributes.
After being honored as the first black woman to be awarded the Outstanding Lead
Actress in a Drama Series, the medias coverage of Viola Davis achievement further validates

the notions of racism in Hollywood, lack of recognition towards minorities, underrepresentation

and failure to receive the proper accolades. John Koblins New York Times review of the 67th
Annual Emmy Awards, discretely relates Violas achievement to racism as he compares it to the
whitewashing of the Academy Awards. His argument states,
Diversity and a lack of it has been a topic of intense discussion
surrounding awards shows in the past year. There was an outcry at this years
Academy Awards over a lack of racial diversity among the nominees. The
backlash was enough for the awards to earn a hashtag that spread on social media,
#OscarsSoWhite. (Though Empire, with its largely black cast, was an enormous
ratings success for Fox, the show received only one Emmy nomination in the
major categories.) (Koblin, 2015).
Based on this statement, in regards to lack of racial diversity and overrepresentation of whites at
award shows, Koblins perspective becomes quite clear wherein he believes Davis
accomplishment is one rooted in racism. As a compliment to the aforementioned perspective,
Dwight Hobbes MSR News article regarding Davis win displays a more blatant perspective of
racism in Hollywood. He proclaimed, Unlike Queen LatifahViolas acceptance speech on
receiving an Emmy Award after 66 years of Black women being relegated to the periphery made
a world of sense (Hobbes, 2015). Later, he passionately stated, It is no great leap of the
imagination to surmise Davis can be bathed in the spotlight today and Viola Who tomorrow.
Only White actors have it like that, to safely expect continued, still-greater success on the heels
of such a victory.

Hobbes accurately radical perspective of Viola Davis achievement

impeccably justifies the lack of recognition and underrepresentation of minorities in Hollywood,

particularly with his use of the sardonic Viola Who technique.

Together, both media

perspectives, although differing in style and language, confirm that Davis accomplishment is
one embedded in racism.

Historically, the spaces available for actors and directors of color have remained quite
narrow and rigid. Therefore it was no surprise that Viola Davis became the first AfricanAmerican to win the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series after 66 years of the
Emmy Awards existence. When discussing the media, Hollywood and representation one must
identify the notions of power and voice. Who holds positions of power, and consequently whose
voices matter and whose do not?

I believe those questions are central to the issue of

underrepresentation and lack of recognition towards people of color in film and television. It is
accurate that white elites have dominated all forms of media throughout history, therefore
explanations for the lack of diversity and proper tribute that is rarely provided to people of color
in Hollywood, becomes quite clear. When marginalized groups in society are absent from the
stories a nation tells about itself, or when media images are rooted primarily in stereotype,
inequality is normalized and is more likely to be reinforced over time through our prejudices and
practices (Entman and Rojecki, 2000).

This statement is the perfect explanation of the

underrepresentation and hegemony which exists in Hollywood. It also justifies the lack of
available and diverse roles for people of color and validates the Emmy Awards failure to honor a
black woman with best lead actress. Furthermore, the homogeneous standards of beauty that
dominate film and television, can also act as an explanation for the underrepresentation of
colored actors and actresses and lack of racial diversity. Whiteness has reigned supreme as the
prevailing standard of beauty in Western society and the media further perpetuates this notion.
For this reason, I believe black actresses such as Viola Davis have not received the proper
recognition or accolades as a result of their failure to fit into the white frame.
In closing, Viola Davis Emmy experience exemplifies racism in Hollywood, in which
there exists underrepresentation and a lack of recognition towards minorities, thus the proper

accolades are not given. To further validate this notion, the medias perspective of her
achievement illustrates Davis achievement is one rooted in racism. Various statistics, including
Lee and Low Books iconographic, reveal the lack of racial diversity and recognition of minority
actors/actresses and directors, and validates the notion of racism in Hollywood. Perhaps, if
Davis was a white actress, she would have the unwavering ability to make it across that line into
the green fields. Better yet, the line would cease exist.

Works Cited

Entman, R., & Rojecki, A. (2000). The Black Image in the White Mind. Black Content, White
Control.
Hobbes, D. (2015, October 7). Viola Davis Emmy No Death Knell for Hollywood Racism.
MSR News Online. Retrieved from http://spokesman-recorder.com/2015/10/07/violadavis-emmy-no-death-knell-hollywood-racism/
Koblin, J. (2015, September 21). Emmys 2015: Firsts for Viola Davis and Jon Hamm, and a
Victory Lap for HBO. The New York Times, p. C1.
Schneider, V. (2014, August 29). IS TV GETTING MORE DIVERSE? NOT BY THE LOOK
OF THIS YEARS EMMYS. Retrieved from http://blog.leeandlow.com/2014/08/29/istv-getting-more-diverse-not-by-the-look-of-this-years-emmys/