The Invisible (wo)Man: An Organized Analyzation of Black Woman Representation in Horror

Journey with me as I parallel the premise of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man to the experience of black women within the film industry.

The Invisible Man... A Synopsis

Despite being purely fictional, Invisible Man serves as a biographical narrative of the black experience in America, coupled with an assortment of metaphors throughout. Taking place in the mid-twentieth century, we are introduced to the Narrator, whose name remains unrevealed as a symbol of his invisibility. Throughout the novel, we experience life through the lens of a young man's feeble attempt to be seen. The narrator recounts memories of his experience as a man with immense talent who yearns to be recognized, not by the color of his skin, but by his abilities and craftsmanship as a speech writer and orator. Throughout the novel, he reveals the lengths that he is required to go in order to be seen, experiencing mounds of humiliation, dehumanization, stereotyping, and pigeonholing throughout the spanse of his career as a young and black creative. It is not long before the narrator establishes comfort in his invisibility and we are thus brought into the present. However, upon recounting, the narrator realizes the significance in his emergence from the shadows and decides to pursue his venture to be seen once again.

How It Relates

As a prototype of the black experience in America, The Invisible Man relates to the experience of many regardless of their career. I chose this narrative, however, because as a teenager I saw myself within the narrator. As one who has attempted to become visible in a world where black visibility is not recommended, I have been able to resonate even more with the narrator as time has gone on.

However, when entering Dr. Blackwell's Women In Horror class, I did not realize how many other black women in the film industry endured a similar experience. I noticed from the nearly-minuscule amount of black women mentioned in lectures, aside from the one centered around black women in film, that our invisibility in the horror film industry was extremely prominent. As one who has always been interested in horror, it was extremely disappointing to discover that black women were not only misrepresented, but were also hidden and unacknowledged for their efforts within the horror film industry. In other words, they were seemingly invisible, and many have spent years fighting for their visibility.

With that being said, I decided that the best way to approach my research project was to draw a parallel between major topics presented in Invisible Man and the overall experience of black women in the film industry. I did so by using key concepts as metaphors for the black experience, including Ellison's iteration of the black Battle Royale, his concept of tokenism and stereotyping, and his overall theme of invisibility.

The Battle Royale

I began this section by providing a brief synopsis of the Battle Royale, an extremely significant theme and attribute of Ellison's book. In the novel, "the narrator is forced to partake in a battle royale with a group of black classmates the night of his graduation speech. They are put on display in front of an all white crowd and are required to fight for money that is later revealed to be fake."

This concept practically highlighted the experience of black women throughout the film industry, hence why I utilized a quote from Viola Davis, in which she establishes that black women are required to minimize themselves due to the fact that they only fit into one category--that category being "black"--while white actresses were allowed flexibility and versatility in their roles. Because of the singular category that black actresses are required to fit in, there is very limited space for many to be given the opportunity. Thus creating a "battle royale" concept, in which they are required to "fight" for their spots. In my presentation, I state that "this is typically initiated through comparison and the categorization of black roles in television. The Battle Royale is representative of the fight that many black women endure among one another to obtain that desired role or creative position."

The Plague of Stereotypes in the presentation, I then go on to describe Ellison's approach to stereotypes and tokenism, presented through the narrator. This is "presented in his conjoinment with the Brotherhood and his attempt to combat what was deemed as the “correct” black man", where he is thus required to minimize himself by becoming what is deemed as "palatable" by the white gaze.

This concept actually presents itself numerously throughout the novel, one of the most profound examples being the narrator's description of a simple black dot of paint being swallowed and lost in a bucket of white paint, among several other factors indicating that one must give in and become less of themselves to be "seen". Even so, this is combatted through the reality that succumbing and falling victim to these stereotypes is an immense enactment of invisibility, since our authenticity as humans and creatives become swallowed beneath what is merely a mold of ourselves. I address this concept in steps, beginning by stating the following: "black women have fallen victim to immense stereotyping. They are typically presented as either comic relief, the mystic, or the best friend. This also affects black women writers and producers, especially following the release of films like “Get Out” and “Us”, in which they are either compared to these films or are expected to replicate them."

I then proceeded by giving examples of black women actresses who fit in the description of either the mystic or the best friend. For the mystic, I utilized Whoopi Goldberg, who plays a psychic in Ghost (1990) and Jezelle Gay Hartman, who additionally plays a psychic in Jeepers Creepers (2001). For the best friend, I utilized Brandy Norwood, who plays Jennifer Love Hewitt's best friend in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), and Kasi Lemmons, who plays Virginia Madsen's best friend in Candyman (1992). I observed that all of these women were the only black characters that held a primary role in the listed films. Not only that, I noticed that despite their primary roles, each character had been sidelined in their own way. For example, despite being one of the final girls, Brandy Norwood received very little recognition as such. In addition to that, in Candyman, the death of Kasi Lemmons character had only served as an after result of Helen Lyle (Madsen) saying Candyman's name in the mirror. Her death was quick and brief and went nearly unaddressed for the remainder of the film, exemplifying the fact that despite attempting to be seen through "tokenism" and succumbing to "stereotypes", black woman characters still suffered from invisibility--the most primary being "sidelining" and lack of acknowledgement.

I then went on to address how black woman producers and directors face the same as well, addressing Lena Waithe's Them, which was declared as a Jordan Peele rip-off. This example stuck out to me because of the fact that despite specific cinematic choices, this series had little-to-nothing in common with any of Jordan Peele's work. The coloring was unique since it maintained the warmth of the fifties aesthetic, but incorporated a chilling desaturation that created a blaring distinction between the black and white characters. Not only that, the story was completely authentic, addressing the plight and horror of the black experience, while also developing a premise and plot-line that could make people uncomfortable, but also make them engaged--which is the pure essence of horror noire. 

I believe that the comparison was made simply because Jordan Peele contributed to the normalization of black horror, and any projects following his releases have been pigeonholed into that archetype of horror film. I also noticed that in many articles making the comparison, Lena Waithe's name stood at the forefront of their reports, despite being an executive producer. She did not write the series, but instead received the bulk of the backlash for it. This allowed me to consider that maybe the only way that black women could receive visibility was through negativity, which is already extremely counterproductive to our efforts as creatives.

Invisibility

After these examples, I decided to pursue Ellison's overall concept of invisibility as representative of the black woman's experience within the horror film industry. In my synopsis I state that "the entire premise of the novel surrounds invisibility, in which the narrator, whose name remains unknown, is forced to accept his invisibility due to his failed attempts in being seen. At the moment of acceptance, the narrator has experienced being lumped together with other black men, tokenism and suppression, and the overall disregard for his craft, passions, and talents."

The concept of invisibility is arguably one of the greatest depictions of the black experience in the film industry in totality. It is established that based on the previous examples, our recognition is hindered by the overall conjoining of our capabilities and crafts. In this slide, I state that "invisibility is a primary hindrance regarding the success of black women in horror. Not only do they experience stereotyping, there are many moments where their efforts in horror go uncredited. If they cannot fit the mold, then they are deemed unseen."

Challenges

I then go on to address the challenges of invisibility and do so by formulating a list composed of the following points:

The talents of black women are minimized
The black woman character is deemed obsolete and trivial
There is a lack of diversity in film concepts and ideas surrounding black people
Black viewers are unable to see themselves in horror film

Each point recognizes that invisibility creates an overall hindrance in the representation of black women throughout horror on-screen and behind the cameras. These challenges enforce a decrease in black women within this industry and thus creates a disconnect between a percentage of the viewers and the filmmakers. Without the presence of black women behind the scenes, representation is ultimately diminished and the only lens that we are provided are those that belong to outsiders. 

For example, in Cate Young's article titled "Why So Many Black Horror Films are Horrors Themselves", she addresses the irony of Justin Simien's Bad Hair which she later deems as a mockery of the black woman's experience regarding their hair. Although Simien expressed that this piece was created in recognition of the "strength of black women", Young addresses the insincerity of his premise solely because of his outsider status. He created a narrative through the lens of a black woman, without applying or being capable of applying the real experience of a black woman, which is what limited the affect and success of the film in totality.

Milestones and Impact

When regarding milestones and impact, there have been several changes that have occurred since the concept of black woman invisibility in film has become a significant topic of conversation. However, since this has only recently become a new topic of conversation, I was only able to provide two milestones that we have overcome; the first being the amplification of black voices and stories as well as an increase in creative freedom among black creatives in the film industry. 

The milestone that reigned the most significance was the idea of black voices being amplified. In Invisible Man, the narrator made it his prerogative to ground his speeches in his experience as a black man, which is why it became a conflict-of-interest the moment he joined the Brotherhood. I believe that this example is the perfect depiction of the silencing of black woman directors and producers throughout history, especially considering the sameness that we encounter regarding black film. Young explains that the bulk of black woman horror is bound in our own unique experiences, which increases the effectiveness of the horror. It is bound in our fears as black women and thus serves as an amplification of our lives as oppressed intersectionalists (a term that I made up, but a fitting description of our experience as black women). With that being said, as the boundaries of film opens up, we are given a platform to speak on our experiences in a creative way.

To further that point, I chose to highlight a few black women who have combatted the norm:

Why I am the Best Person to Address a Black Woman's Experience in the Industry, Alongside Other Black Women...

As stated previously, the effectiveness of a story is grounded in truth and insight. As a black woman creative, I believe that only I can afford to speak on the experience and plight of black women, alongside others who fit the description. That is because our experience is not realized through the eyes and lens of the spectator. While it is important that we receive support in our efforts in being seen, it is equally as important that we are allowed the platform to speak on our own experiences whether it be creatively or politically. For us, the standards are unbelievably high, where in order to be seen we must work twice as hard as our counterparts and even so, we do not receive even a fraction of their recognition, neither are we allotted the same amount of flexibility or wiggle-room to fall short, even if it is slight. With that being said, it is important that we express this in our own way, whether it be through horror film or a class blog. We must be seen and considered for our efforts.

Sources:

https://flipscreened.com/2020/02/26/black-women-in-horror-breaking-down-stereotypes-for-an-empowering-diverse-future/

https://slate.com/culture/2015/01/jessica-williams-sundance-movie-people-places-things-interview-on-black-women-in-film-video.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/movies/film-forum-black-women.html

http://www.blackhorrormovies.com/scary-sistas-a-brief-history-of-black-women-in-horror-films/

https://www.essence.com/entertainment/14-black-women-horror-movie-roles/

https://prospect.org/culture/why-so-many-black-horror-films-are-horrors-themselves/

Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York :Vintage International, 1995.