It's About More Than Money By Sequoia Boone

"Younger students could possibly say that they wanted to 'be' Halle Berry because she gets paid to "act illiterate" (i.e look like a drug addict, struggle to read a children's book, and "make nice" with the White social worker who has won her young child's heart)."

I am sure that Halle Berry isn't the only envied actress. She has played many roles, most of which she plays a stereotypical role of a woman. In Loosing Isaiah, she plays a drug addicted mother who fights for her child. Although some people who watch movies feel that these characters are fictional and they should be ignored because no one takes them serious. I would like to believe that every movie character stems from an experience and that somewhere a person who has never interacted with a black woman might take this movie to represent the majority of black women. By aspiring to play roles in a society that degrades women and limits their literacy, we are adding to the problem. Many argue that "if it makes me money, who cares?" Because young children look up to these stars, they believe that these roles are acceptable. by aspiring to play these roles in the future, they are falling into a cycle that perpetuates the black woman as someone who is incapable of being able to fulfill another role in films.
     Money isn't everything, however it can persuade people to sell their dignity to people who probably make twice their salaries. Young people in particular think that money is the answer to everything. It is money that will make the very people who produced the movie convey you in a light that is not true. Young people don't realize the effect of their actions and might be wiling to do almost anything for money. We know that it isn't only children who are easily persuaded with money. There are countless amounts of women who dance in videos or chase men on television in hopes of becoming the next big star. They represent the black women who cannot see in any color other than green. They wish to show society that although they do things for money that are degrading, it doesn't matter because of the pay they are receiving. We, the next generation, must step up and say that there are certain roles that we are not willing to portray for money. These young people probably also don't understand the history of these roles. In the early days of the Black Actress, these were the only available roles. Now there are many possibilities for women in the industry. They may not be as plentiful as other degrading roles, but actresses must stand and say that they aren't willing to play these roles because they degrade black women as a whole.