Sassy Black Chicks Are Pissing Me Off!!

Las week I watched the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” movie on DVD. The movie itself was ok at best (and I’m glad I didn’t spend money seeing it in the theatre), but there was something I noticed - and chances are, if you’re black, you’ve seen this hundreds of times…

There’s a scene in the movie where the Chipmunks, having sung so much that their throats are sore, are being checked by a doctor - specifically, a black woman doctor who’s slightly overweight. After checking their tonsils, the overbearing white manager asks if they’ll be able to sing at the concert that evening.

The black overweight nurse turns to him, and says something to the effect of “they need to stay home.” However, the way she said it, along with the look of “what the hell is this fool thinkin’” on her face, is the same line delivery I’ve seen hundreds of black women on-screen over and over again.

And it’s starting to get to me.

I didn’t really start noticing it until a few years ago, but in almost every movie or TV show involving a majority white cast, the one or two black people in the movie usually have the following characteristics:

• 9 times out of 10 it’s usually a black woman (more on why this is a problem later)
• The woman in question is usually slightly overweight and has a sassy, sarcastic attitude
• Her facial expressions involve her looking pissed off at being in her environment in the first place

A person who is white may not even notice this, and if not, I completely understand. After all, they’re not black. Therefore, they may not necessarily be looking at the nuances of the black characters in the program they’re watching.

However, I invite you to look back on a few instances where you may remember what I’m saying to be true. For example:

• On the TV show “Becker” with Ted Danson. Who’s one of the assistance in his office? The slightly overweight black chick with the sassy attitude who’s always looking pissed off!
• In the movie “Stranger than Fiction” with Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson. Who’s the person that is hired to help get Emma’s character out of her writing slump? Surprise - it’s Queen Latifah, playing an editor who’s sassy and always looking pissed off!
• On the TV show “Sex and the City” - there’s an episode in season 6 where Mr. Big gets heart surgery. When he wakes up in the hospital, who’s the nurse that’s taking care of him? Oh my gosh - it’s a slightly overweight black chick with a sassy attitude who’s snapping one-liners back and forth with Mr. Big!

I could go on and on with a list of instances where the Sassy Black Chick shows up, but I’d end up getting carpel tunnel syndrome!

But what does this say about how black people are viewed by the rest of America?

For one, it says that, given the option, white people would rather deal with a black woman than a black man - again, the majority of these programs/movies with only one or two black roles are, more often than not, going to women.

The black man in America - and yes, this is the part where I get to sound like a guy on a soapbox - has been demoralized so much, society makes it seem that it would be better were we not existant in the first place. When was the last time you could go a whole week without hearing about a black man being:

1. Arrested
2. A Deadbeat Dad
3. Smoking/Selling Illegal Narcotics
4. Abusive
5. Gay (note: this last one technically regulates a black man to the “female” category in terms of other races feeling safe around him - but he can still get a mug shot for doing the wrong thing in the wrong place)

Because of this, casting directors would much rather put a black woman in the role that a black man could just as easily play - minus the makeup and dress, of course.

Secondly, it sends a message that all of our people are overweight. I don’t have a problem with overweight people being on TV; what I DO have a problem with, though, is when that’s the ONLY type of woman I’m seeing. (Well, that, and the skinny-but-big-butted constantly needing sex vixens on BET - but we’re talking about what girls are being cast in predominately WHITE shows, people!)

And why does she always have to be the smart-aleck in the group? I know lots of sexy size-6  to size-16 women who are smart, intelligent, funny, and very nice to people, and don’t go around with this “why the hell is everyone so messed up but me” look on their face - yet that’s all I tend to see when I’m watching these white shows!

Is this how White America really views us? Could it possibly be that the only black people white people come into contact with are ones that are always acting like they have a chip on their shoulder?

And most importantly - do they EVER run into a positive example of a black MALE, one that could be used more often in TV shows and movies??

I don’t really have an answer to any of these questions - it’s just my own curiosity, and some food for thought. All I can say for sure is, I’d like to be able to turn on a TV program with a mixed-race cast of people, and not have to see the same stereotypes played out over and over: the smart Asian, the jock white athlete, the sexed-crazed Mexican, the Jew who always talks like the stereotypical Jewish person…

…and that mother-friggin’ sassy black chick!!

-Aaron P. Taylor