Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood

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Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood

Author(s):

Jill Watts

Binding: Hardcover
Format(s): Bargain Price
List Price: $27.95

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Hattie McDaniel is best known for her performance as Mammy, the sassy foil to Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. Though the role called for yet another wide?grinned, subservient black domestic, McDaniel transformed her character into one who was loyal yet subversive, devoted yet bossy. Her powerful performance would win her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and catapult the hopes of Black Hollywood that the entertainment industry ??after decades of stereotypical characters?? was finally ready to write more multidimensional, fully realized roles for blacks.

But racism was so entrenched in Hollywood that despite pleas by organizations such as the NAACP and SAG ??and the very examples that Black service men were setting as they fought against Hitler in WWII?? roles for blacks continued to denigrate the African American experience. So rather than see her stature increase in Hollywood, as did other Oscar?winning actresses, Hattie McDaniel, continued to play servants. And rather than see her popularity increase, her audience turned against her as an increasingly politicized black community criticized her and her peers for accepting degrading roles. "I'd rather play a maid then be a maid," Hattie McDaniel answered her critics but her flip response belied a woman who was herself emotionally conflicted about the roles she accepted but who tried to imbue each Mammy character with dignity and nuance.

Customer Reviews

I love Hattie

This has got to be one of the best books written about someone. The book is well written and an enjoyment to read. I hope all get a chance to read such a book. thank you.

Hattie McDaniel

A biography that was interesting in some spots, long and boring in others. I came away from this one with an "oh, well" kind of feeling. While I appreciated the author's fact based account, I was never able to really "get into" this story. McDaniel came from a life of extreme poverty to become the first Black person to win an Academy Award. The book goes into great detail about McDaniel's life story, her parentage, her work in vaudeville, her work on screen and on radio. We also read about her multiple marriages, her fight with the NAACP and her last days as she fought diabetes and breast cancer. The running theme of this book is courage and perserverance, of which Ms. McDaniel had a lot. I wouldn't recommend this for purchase, best to get it from the library. 2.5 stars.

A WONDERFUL READ

THIS IS NOT JUST A BIOGRAPHY OF A FASCINATING WOMAN, IT IS ALSO A FASCINATING ACCOUNT OF THE PREJUDICE MS MCDANIEL FACED WITHIN THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY, AND FROM THE NAACP. A FIRST CLASS ACCOUNT OF A WOMAN I FELT I KNEW PERSONALLY AFTER THE LAST PAGE, AND AN EQUALLY WONDERFUL SOURCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT PREJUDICE AND RACIAL PROBLEMS IN ALL ITS FORMS. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT

Her face is on the first class stamp 2006

Looking back at Hattie McDaniel's life, I had to question why now? Why recognize her life with a stamp now? I sought out the answers by reading this book. This is a well documented biography written by a historian who is also a very good storyteller. She captures the times that Hattie McDaniel came up in as well as the story of her parents and older siblings. Her accomplishments are meaningful when effectively presented in that context. as Jill Watts has done in this book. Miss McDaniel managed to participate in every form of show business from vaudeville, blues shows, theatre, radio, movies and television. I read this book from cover to cover. The information I read complimented the biography I just finished about Lincoln Perry (Stepin Fetchit).

The Elusive Miss McDaniel's Life

This book on one of the most memorable Black performers from the studio period catches some of her vivacity--her mother is said to have given her youngest child a nickel on occasion to just stop singing, dancing and carrying on. The reader can't be sure that Mrs. McDaniel wasn't just trying to find a moment's peace or if she was attempting to dissuade her daughter from setting off on what she regarded as the primrose path. This bio does a good job of detailing her family's path from slavery to her role as one of the most visible representatives of her people to the average American in the '30s and '40s.

Hattie McDaniel's ability to endure as well as her gift for imbuing her often subservient characters with much more edge than audiences were aware of at the time are delineated nicely in this biography. The author is remarkably thorough, mentioning Miss McDaniel's lifelong generosity to others, constant work to educate and make her industry more equitable, and even her participation in midget car races(Oh, where is the film of this?!)as well as her pioneering efforts to represent women, as well as Black Americans, as human beings. There is also some suggestion that Hattie McDaniel may have had to maneuver behind the scenes to maintain her preeminent position, though this is presented as indicative of the actress' savvy understanding of the inner workings of the Hollywood publicity machine.

It's a little dry in parts, since the author, a professor of history, ascribes some conscious social and political motivations to this artist's early work that may be a bit hard to believe. Hattie McDaniel deserves to be recognized for her contributions, but sometimes, I suspect that like most of us, she did what she did in order to keep the wolf from the door. A worthwhile read.

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