Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2018 Melodramatic Melanin: A Critical Analysis of the Mammy, Mulatta, and Mistress in Black Female Representation on Stage and Film Devair O. Jeffries Follow this and additional works at the DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS MELODRAMATIC MELANIN: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MAMMY, MULATTA, AND MISTRESS IN BLACK FEMALE REPRESENTATION ON STAGE AND FILM By DEVAIR O. JEFFRIES A Dissertation submitted to the School of Theatre in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2018 Devair O. Jeffries defended this dissertation on August 9, 2018. The members of the supervisory committee were: Elizabeth Osborne Professor Directing Dissertation Tamara Bertrand Jones University Representative Jerrilyn McGregory Committee Member Kris Salata Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii I dedicate this project to my mother, who was my constant encouragement throughout the process and who has inspired me to embrace my Black femininity throughout my life. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefully acknowledge my advisor, Dr. Beth Osborne, for going above and beyond her contractual obligation to ensure my success on the completion of this project. I am forever indebted to her for the genuine enthusiasm shown toward my research as well as her overall concern and support of my well-being throughout this process. I am also extremely appreciative of Dr. Kris Salata for his contributions toward my scholarly development throughout this program and on my project. Together with the guidance from Dr. Tamara Bertrand Jones and Dr. Jerrilyn McGregory, your collective and invaluable feedback positively impacted this dissertation as well as its future iterations. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures .................................................................................................................................................... vi Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................. vii 1. Melon Mine? An Examination of Derogatory Black Female Stereotypes: Mammy, Mulatta, and Mistress .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Ghosts of Dramas Past: The Historical Origin of Black Female Stereotypes ................................. 33 3. Judge Ya Mammy: A Respect Check for Black Female Motherhood ............................................... 61 4. “Get In Where You Fit In”: Every Mixed Chick’s Mystery ................................................................ 97 5. The Evolution of Promiscuity: From Traditional Jezebel to New-Age Mistress .......................... 131 6. The End Credits: An Overview & Expectations for Research on Black Female Representation ......................................................................................................................................... 154 References ....................................................................................................................................................... 159 Biographical Sketch ....................................................................................................................................... 180 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Photo by Roberto Schmidt, AFP/ Getty Images, Source: USA Today (reprint) .................... 6 Figure 2: The New Yorker cover, July 21, 2008, Illustrated by Barry Blitt; Source: Huffington Post (reprint) ................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Figure 3: Outline of project .............................................................................................................................. 9 Figure 4: Similarities and differences between the mammy, mulatta, and mistress types ..................... 14 Figure 5: By the Way, Meet Vera Stark productions with Black Veras and White Glorias ...................... 69 vi ABSTRACT Black feminist scholars such as Lisa Anderson describe the most common stereotypes as that of the mammy, the mulatta, and the mistress. My research analyzes how each of these negative stereotypes are articulated or challenged in contemporary plays and films by bringing together scholarship that critiques dramatic representation, mass media that disseminates those representations, and social media that reveals popular perceptions of race. I utilize Black feminism to critique the stereotypical representation of Black women in dramatic works, and critical race theory to consider the social and political environment that allows these representations to proliferate. After setting up the historical context of stereotypes from the slavery era to the present day in chapter two, each of the following chapters explore one specific stereotype, beginning with the mammy in chapter three, moving to the mulatta in chapter four, and ending with the mistress in chapter five. Each of these chapters focuses on two case studies include one successful play and one film with a nation-wide release that features Black female characters and plays on mainstream networks. With theatrical case studies ranging from Lydia Diamond’s Voyeurs de Venus (2006) to Lynn Nottage’s By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (2013), films from The Help (2011) to Dear White People (2014), my work questions how these stereotypes persist and create meaning in popular culture. The work addresses the following questions: How have the mammy, mulatto, and mistress stereotypes functioned and persisted in dramatic works and popular culture in the contemporary era? How do contemporary works adapt, challenge, reinterpret, and reimagine these stereotypes? What does this suggest about shifts in representations of Black women in the contemporary United States? vii CHAPTER ONE MELON MINE? AN EXAMINATION OF DEROGATORY BLACK FEMALE STEREOTYPES: MAMMY, MULATTA, AND MISTRESS It was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge afro and machine gun... Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I’m really being honest, it knocked me back a bit. It made me wonder, just how are people seeing me? ~Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States1 Introduction: Black Female Representation through the Distorted Societal Mirror National news and social media consistently evaluated and documented Michelle Obama’s every move during her time as First Lady of the United States. Her many accomplishments, including a Harvard law degree as well as positions as an associate marketing and property lawyer at the Sidney Austin firm, Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, and Vice President of Community and External Affairs for the university’s medical center, provide ample evidence of her abilities. While First Lady, she enjoyed sustained public approval, even when President Obama’s approval ratings reached their low point. Yet, as a Black woman in the public eye, Michelle Obama never escaped the many ways in which public representations reduced her to a Black female stereotype. My assessment of the term stereotype is based on two definitions courtesy of Oxford Dictionary and critical race scholars Richard Delgado & Jean Stefancic respectively; “a widely held and oversimplified idea of a particular type of person or thing,” and a “Fixed, usually negative, image of members of a group.”2 Black feminist pioneer Patricia Hill Collins 1 Collier Meyerson, “Michelle Obama Isn’t Holding Back on Racism Anymore,” Fusion, May 12, 2015. Michelle Obama in response to New Yorker magazine cover, July 21, 2008. 2 Oxford Dictionary, s.v., “Stereotype,” Accessed April 2017; Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, Critical Race Theory: An Introduction, (NYU Press, 2012), 173. 1 recognizes stereotypes of contemporary popular culture including “mammies, jezebels, and welfare mothers” as controlling images Black feminism challenges. 3 These representations manifest in figures from nineteenth century minstrel show figure and pancake brand character Aunt Jemima to Cookie of television series Empire (2015). Though audiences might interpret characters in plays, films, and scripted television series as fictional, these figures undoubtedly inform people’s real-life perceptions. Despite attributes of these popular figures having shifted over time, they largely remain one-dimensional perceptions of Black women. In her discussion of Basketball Wives and the cultural impact of reality television, literary scholar Sharon Lynette Ward identifies how stereotypical deceptions typically associate Black women with inferior qualities including “being unaffected by hardships, lacking womanly attributes, engaging with unlawful activities, and [being] libidinous.” 4 The danger of reality television is the overt implication that the material being viewed is real though ironically, the situations and events the cast encounter are usually constructed for dramatic effect. Though Basketball Wives had the potential to promote positive representation of Black women who dominate the cast, the show upholds traditionally damaging images with several scenes of arguing, fighting, and