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Loqueesha and the Sassy Black Woman Stereotype

It's a minstrel show...

By Azaria BrownPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
Top Story - January 2021
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I first heard of the film Loqueesha when it was reviewed by MacDoesIt at the top of 2020 (clip). I watched it myself this past August and let’s just say...its bad girl.

Loqueesha is about Joe, a bartender, who gets a job at a radio station by pretending to be a sassy black woman. That alone is enough for you to understand why it's offensive (and just look at this ghastly marketing image, awful). But let's rewind a bit so you can really understand the damage being done here (it's gonna be a long one).

STEREOTYPES AND BLACK HISTORY

Most stereotypes of black women originated during slavery with a specific agenda in mind. These stereotypes depicted black women as sassy in order to demonize them, humiliate black men and absolve slave owners of guilt (Pilgrim: “acceptance of that sassiness implied that slavery and segregation were not overly oppressive.” and a social control mechanism…to punish black women who violate the societal norms that encourage them to be passive, servile, nonthreatening and unseen.” These stereotypes still persist in painting women as angry and therefore deserving of negative consequences (Noname v J. Cole and Megan Thee Stallion v. Tory Lanez).

We’re gonna discuss three stereotypes of black women, though there are many more in existence.

MAMMY

The Mammy caricature creates a portrait of older black women that care for white families. This portrayal romanticized women during segregation as “fictional Mammies were allowed to pretend-chastise whites, including men,” while real black people were beaten or killed for simply approaching a white person at all, let alone with vitriol. Stereotypical mammies were often portrayed as older women, even though teenagers and young adults were more often caretakers for white children. The Mammy portrayal was a large part of the criticism of The Help.

SAPPHIRE

The Sapphire, originated on “Amos ‘n’ Andy,” which was a minstrel radio show originating in the late 1920s. The show originated as a blackface stand up show called “Sam ‘n’ Henry,” but changed the name due to copyright restrictions. Sapphire Stevens was a dominant and aggressive character “perpetual complainer, but she does not criticize to improve things; rather, she criticizes because she is unendingly bitter and wishes that unhappiness on others.” and “passion and indignation…often misread as irrational anger.”

SHANAYNAY

In 1992, Martin Lawrence’s Martin hit the air. One of the characters, Pamela James, is a typical Sapphire. She constantly butts heads with Lawrence’s character, who chastises her appearance for being ugly and masculine despite the fact that she is neither. However, Sheneneh Jenkins is a new stereotype, a ghetto girl. Sheneneh is flashy, wears revealing clothing, long nails and obnoxious wigs. This led to several similar portrayals like Joi in Friday, Yvette in Baby Boy, and Latanya in All That. Portrayals like that of Shenehneh, Joi and Yvette came directly from black writers and producers and therefore are more about creating honest, but comedic, portrayals of women that actually exist. Despite its origins, the Shenehneh stereotype is also used against black women. Now, let’s go back to Loqueesha.

LOQUEESHA

Joe works at a bar and people say that he gives great advice (clip). His ex-wife wants to put their son in private school and tells Joe to pay, but you saw the bar, he ain’t making no money. Since he gives such super fantastic advice, he sends in an audition tape to get his own radio show, but he doesn’t get it. He assumes it is because he is white and somehow, he’s right??? He pretends to be a black woman instead using a “monstrous pantomime of a black woman’s voice” and he gets the job. Eventually, Loqueesha is asked to do some in person appearances, so he commissions a black woman to pretend to be Loqueesha, though they sound nothing alike. After Oprah Winfry (another black person prop), offers Loqueesha a show and Joe turns it down, Fake Loqueesha gets mad and demands more money for her services, which is very understandable. If Oprah is interested in a talent that you’re only paying me a few bucks for, you better pay me more or I’ma go holla at Oprah. Joe says no and this somehow leads to this line “You’re a better black woman than me.” Fake Loqueesha tells everyone that Loqueesha is fake and there’s a moment when you think “Finally, he has to face the consequences of his actions.” But you’re wrong. Because at the end, he loses nothing. He keeps his show and keeps doing the blaccent.

The basic premise itself creates a problematic and unrealistic situation, but it gets worse. A black man aids Joe in creating his audio minstrel show and when they finally decide to involve a real black woman, she becomes incredibly greedy, threatening and actively tanks the radio show. At the end of the show, Joe confesses to pretending to be a black woman, but got to keep his radio show, his black girlfriend and continued to use his “black voice.” Considering this, what is the movie trying to say about black people? Every black person in this film is used for something, whether it is their talent, their bodies, or their blackness.

The movie itself is a replication of “Amos ‘n’ Andy.” It both romanticizes and makes fun of black women in the exact same ways. Loqueesha, is treasured because of her sass, but when a real black woman is “sassy” and knows and understands her worth, the script makes her into a Sapphire and she is effectively killed off. If Loqueesha’s advice were to come from a black woman, she would no doubt be chastised for her delivery. However, Joe’s fake “blaccent” breaks through to thousands of listeners and gives him an edge that his normal voice just didn’t offer. While his listeners love his depiction, they hate the real black woman that takes his place, which is just like mainstream culture. It embraces the things that black women create and tears down black women themselves.

These depictions create a false association between black women with big names and personalities and “ghetto” behavior. To exist as a black woman is to constantly strategize and become the most watered down version of yourself as not to push away too many people. While the black women involved in the film have cowered from the spotlight in fear, Saville has done countless interviews and seems to be boasting the film as his magnum opus.

And, let’s be honest, the film is bad without the racism. It’s incredibly transphobic, makes fun of Dissociative Identity Disorder and misogynistic. The script falls flat at every turn, but especially when the jokes are delivered, it’s edited worse than my Youtube videos and the actors give a less than redeeming performance. So no one should think that this is the peak of entertainment or a high value creative endeavor.

JOE IS A [WHITE] SAVIOR

Now, to be clear, I’m not necessarily calling the movie a white savior narrative, I don’t think it fits the narrative structure of such a trope. However, Joe is framed as a savior throughout the story. By gracing people with his advice, he becomes a savior to those that listen to his show and therefore saves his son from having to attend public school. If you think I’m exaggerating, watch this scene where he talks a woman off of the ledge, by telling her to jump (clip). It’s clear that Saville thinks so much of himself and of this character that he’s created. Though he’s not necessarily a white savior, he is contrasted by the black characters around him, especially the woman that acts as Loqueesha.

CONCLUSION

Loqueesha isn’t going anywhere, Saville thinks that it’s way too great of a movie to remove it and he can do whatever he wants, I’m not trying to censor him. However, he should realistically address his criticisms. His insistence that the film goes “beyond race and gender” only stresses his own self-importance and his disregard for the actors of color in the film, who have all but gone missing (Dwayne Perkins did give a statement on the trailer, but said nothing further after the film’s release). This film would have been different if he pretended to be a southern grandma giving advice or a conservative psychologist. But acting as a sassy black woman with a name like “Loqueesha” is clearly making fun of black people and using stereotypical black tropes that have existed since the 1800s and that we’re tired of seeing. No one is here for Loqueesha, no one.

pop culture
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About the Creator

Azaria Brown

25. I'm a writer and illustrator. I like films, television, books, music, politics and being black.

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