The Netflix original movie “Nappily Ever After”, which is based on Trisha R. Thomas’s book, was released in September of 2018 causing a huge wave of discourse surrounding intersectionality and blackness because of how authentic the movie portrayed a black woman’s experience. Groundbreaking actress Sanaa Lathan, who plays main character Violet Jones, has also starred in a number of black cult classics such as Love & Basketball and Brown Sugar. In this case, she stayed true to the character by going on her own personal journey that was connected to that of Violet’s.
Nappily Ever After is a story about black love and black joy that subsequently addresses underlying issues of identity in relation to race and gender, while simultaneously exploring their interconnectivity through an intersectional lens. Lathan who plays Violet, a business professional who works at a large advertising firm has an identity crisis related to her blackness, specifically her “black” hair. Subsequently, she meets a man who leads her in reexamining what defines her as a black woman, how she sees herself, and how she wants the world to view her. Thus, Violet shaves her head and is met with the realities of hegemonic beauty standards that ascribe blackness as being subordinate to the Eurocentric beauty of whiteness and white women. This is an example of how black women’s identities are rendered invisible by racialized othering.
Throughout the movie gender dynamics are examined by depicting Violet’s experience as a black woman in a predominantly white and male space, at a firm who has afforded her little to no upward mobility because of aspects of her identity, especially race and gender. While tokenism is the first thing that may come to mind, this also highlighted systemic injustices black women experience in the workplace because of racialization, gendering, and the interconnectivity of the two in spaces that reinforce existing patriarchal power structures within institutions.
Nonetheless, it is important to understand that the intersection of identities create a multifaceted experience that often employs a multitude of oppressions that impede upon one’s ability to navigate spaces, and forces the “other” to negotiate their existence. This is essential when addressing systemic injustices, and must be part of the solution.
Hey Kennedy! Thanks for sharing your ideas on “Nappily Ever After.” It’s incredible how the movie explains the complexities of intersectionality in terms of race and gender. I liked your analysis of Violet’s life as I know all these challenges black women face when it comes to their identity and beauty standards. I was so inspired by your context presentation that decided to write paper on the similar topic and searched for online service that can help. I have accidentaly discovered a review of such one at https://www.aresearchguide.com/mysupergeek-review and I am gonna keep up the great work with my review.