jezebel.com: At this point, Viola Davis is a household name. As the holder of an Academy Award, an Emmy, and two Tonys, she is the only Black actor to achieve what is known as the “triple crown of acting.” Now, with the most recent release of The Woman King, an action-packed 1800s historical epic about a group of women warriors who protect the African kingdom of Dahomey, Davis feels like she’s reached a particular peak: She told the Guardian she sees the film as “a culmination of my career over the last 33 years.”
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Viola Davis is a truly inspiring actor and individual. Anyone who watches her perform can see the amount of energy, depth, intensity, and emotion she brings to every role, living her full self on the screen. The disrespect and lack of appreciation that the industry shows to Black actresses is disheartening and appalling. What really stuck with me is the quote, “The bottom line is money. It’s not about cultural impact – it’s about money.” Constantly producers are wary of Black-led projects because they think they won’t make money, when the truth is that people are hungry for representation. The classic example is Black Panther, which was wildly successful; these are stories that people have been waiting to see on the big screen for their whole lifetimes. Money is not a concern. People show up for representation. And the media needs to showcase all kinds of stories; like Viola Davis talks about, representing Black women as individuals and not lumping them into a category as the media so often does.
Viola Davis is someone who everyone should look up to. She is powerful, humble, ambitious, kind and so much more. Not only is she an insanely talented actress, who has one many different Academy awards for her work, but she is an active member in the fight for social justice, specifically in the theatre and film industry. I was unaware of her new film The Woman’s King and plan on watching it when I have time. I am always in awe of Davis’s talent and humbleness and I know this film shows the story in a way that mainstream Hollywood would not. When Davis states that she believes she “betrayed myself and my people”, I find that this quote helps to establish who Viola is as a person and what she stands for. If anything, reading this article made me understand the type of relationship Davis has with the industry and what type of person she is inside and outside of her work, and it is inspiring to see.
Viola Davis is obviously someone who has been in the industry for a long time and has seen many different sets and environments, not to mention her time at Julliard. She mentions feeling alienated in her time at school because of how white it was, and that is not an uncommon problem with many performance schools. It is a huge problem on Broadway and it is just now being addressed, and many of the most famous performance schools reflect that. Colorism certainly even comes more into play in those spaces and Viola is taking on a huge burden by saying that she has the power to change how the world sees dark-skinned women, but it is a hugely admirable thing to do. I can only hope that other actors on her level of talent and fame are as committed to doing this work as much as she is because it is so important.
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