Boys on the Side
When thinking about this particular road film in the context of racism and homophobia Whoppi Goldberg’s character’s position in the film is to consistently challenge these two elements simultaneously. Throughout the film the decisions that she continuously makes for herself reflect her focus on dealing with the two societal ills. In settling down in a community in Tucson where there are clearly no other African Americans in sight and presenting herself as a lesbian she is immediately repressed by other members in the community.
Racism is also created in that the film is presented in a stereotypically oppressive environment. Historically the African American female is commonly presented as the care taker in which Whoopi Goldberg’s character properly fits the role. She has moved to a place where she is singled out in terms of race and as a result is put into a position where she serves as caretaker which is historically represented through the Mammy character is many early films that represent African American women where she is there to tend to the needs of Jane, the middle class white women with AIDS.
Her character is not allowed to act in to the context of being a member of her own individualized culture and as a result the movie is shown to express a dominantly racist agenda in its her character portrayal. Through her interaction with Jane lesbian identity is questioned in which we as audience members are presented with an a story line that is uncommonly represented in film with the relationship that builds between two women one of African American dissent and one who is white. Often times when these two elements are present, race and homosexuality one is dominantly acknowledged while one is often misrepresented. In this particular case racism is overemphasized and the presence of lesbianism is presented with less of a priority. Why is it that these two elements cannot work hand in hand and have to be acknowledged in a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of significance.