Preconceived Notion of Racial Beauty in Hollywood: Lupita Nyongo

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Recommended: Depiction of blacks in Hollywood

Lupita Nyongo is up for an academy award for her debut performance in the blockbuster 12 Years a Slave (Butler 2). Despite not being known a year ago, these days Lupita commands an audience when she speaks (Butler, 3). She has recently joined a select list of actors having won an Oscar for their first performances in a feature film (Dyer Jr. 2). On February 28th, Lupita delivered an acceptance speech during the Essence Black Women in Hollywood awards. In her speech, Lupita addressed the preconceived notion of racial beauty in Hollywood. The following essay will seek to prove that Lupita Nyongo speech inadvertently breaks down the barrios of racial beauty by challenging the notion of that beauty is merely skin deep. I will do so by breaking down each portion of her speech and explain how the ethos of her argument helps to support the fight against racial marginalization within Hollywood.

Born in Mexico and raised in Kenya, Lupita Nyongo represents the polar opposite of traditional Hollywood starlets (Butler 3). For one, her hair is as short as a male, she’s black, and dark skinned to boot (Butler 3). While her debut in 12 Years a Slave put her on the map, her speech at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood awards show launched her into stardom (Dyer 2).

In the beginning of her speech, the actress explains that she was struck by a letter from a fan, who wrote about her contemplation on purchasing skin bleaching cream; until Nyongo “appeared on the world map” and saved her (Butler 3). In Maxine Leeds Craig’s book Aint I a Beauty Queen?: Black Women, Beauty, and the Politics of Race, she explains that depictions of strong willed women “usually presented in a sympathetic light” are limiting in the entertainment industr...

... middle of paper ...

... similar journey. That you will feel the validation of your external beauty, but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside.

Work Cited List

1. Butler, Bethone. "Lupita Nyongo's Speech on "Black Beauty" Underscores Her Significance in Hollywood." Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. .

2. Craig, Maxine Leeds. Ain't I a Beauty Queen?: Black Women, Beauty, and the Politics of Race. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2002. Print.

3. Dyer, Herbert, Jr. "Lupita Nyongo: A Star Is Born among a Family of Stars." Allvoices. Pulsepoint, 6 Mar. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.

4. Snead, James A., Colin MacCabe, and Cornel West. White Screens, Black Images: Hollywood from the Dark Side. New York: Routledge, 1994. Print.

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