Am I a hater because I don't think Halle Berry is all that? I don't really care what people think and I don't think the woman is all that.
I give her props for her Oscar. Whatever. Why the Oscar is a measure of success is beyond me. I don't agree with the role she took to get it. Heather Hunter could have played that role, if you ask me. I don't think she's an exceptional actress. Her acting has NEVER made me believe in her character. I'm like... that's Halle Berry acting like a slave. Did y'all see QUEEN? Or that's Halle Berry acting like a single mom. Monsters Ball. And oh my, she overdid it in BAPS. Though I love the movie, I was not feeling her performance. And I didn't think she was convincing, at all, in Losing Isaiah. Funny thing though, I thought she was good in Boomerang. That's the extent of my admiration for her, if that! I kind of like her in X-Men but how does she go from being Storm to being Cat Woman? I'm sorry but Eartha Kitt CANNOT be replaced!
So why all the hate for Halle Berry? Because I just don't think she's all that. And it's not her fault, it's the media's pushing a particular narrative about beauty standards.
Is she the standard of beauty? Men swoon over her. Women too. Vanessa Williams was once the standard of beauty according to the media back in her Miss America days. There was a scandal surrounding her crowning because she had posed nude for Playboy Magazine. So the standard of beauty calls for COMPLETELY undressing for the camera? Is that how it goes? Or maybe you have to be half Caucasian to crossover into the general audience, read - Caucasian audience?
Women who are more talented, more skilled at owning a character get very little recognition by the "general audience." I happen to think Angela Bassett is an EXCELLENT, CONVINCING actress in every role she has take on. I'm a big Angela fan, obviously. I love her performance in Waiting to Exhale. Maybe it's not the best narrative but her performance felt authentic. She smoked the hell out of that cigarette in the car fire scene. And she IS Betty Shabazz in Malcolm X.
I am also a big Sanaa Lathan fan. That scar on her face is a slight imperfection but it makes her original, believable. Also, I just happen to think she is pure to her craft. She was outstanding in Blade and could have skipped Alien vs. Predator. Did you see her in Catfish in Blackbean sauce? That was a diverse role.
When I was little, I seen Chaka Khan in her music video, "I Feel For You." I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. She was round and curvy, had hair EVERYWHERE, a beautiful smile and cheeks for days. What's weird is that's how I would probably describe myself. The media still skips a voluptuous woman in hopes of landing the next Halle. Either way, I'm sick of the media influencing the masses on what they think the standard of beauty should be. Give me Chaka over Halle all day, everyday!
I am glad for Queen Latifah. She's making the magazine covers, hosting award shows, making movies, etc. etc. She is putting a different spin on the media's ideal of beauty. I don't think she's a great actress at all. She overacted in EVERY episode of Living Single. I'm glad it got airtime. However, I thought she was fire as Cleo in Set It Off. She counters the ideal that ONLY petite women can be beautiful.
Maybe I'm not hating on Halle. I'm hating on the media and pop culture and how they impose their standard of beauty on the masses. I still don't think Halle is all that but I may have been a little hard on her in this post.
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