The token Black friend: the only representation I had in teen films
Everyone remembers those classic, trail-blazing and iconic coming-of-age films like ‘Clueless’ which followed Cher Horowitz the popular schoolgirl and her fight to remain the most popular in high school. Or how can you forget ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ the retelling of a classic Shakespeare piece, again taking place in a high school setting. If you watch both films and look really closely to the left of each main character you’ll see the trustworthy, honourable ethnic/Black friend. You know the one! The ever-present sidekick that lays the foundation for the protagonist to deliver their memorable punchlines and quotes, the shoulder to cry on, or cringingly the brunt of the joke.
The Black bestie is feisty and would almost certainly be described as sassy in the character description. She’s always available to listen to the main characters love life and woes, will help plan the elaborate scheme to get the hot jock to notice her best friend and you can guarantee she’ll look flawless in that prom scene, but every character will woo over her best friend.
Growing up I absorbed the plots, characters and outfits like many of white friends, but unlike them I did not see people like myself in these films — it was expected that the one Black female character was meant to represent all young Black girls. We never had the luxury of identifying with the geeky, sporty or artsy one. Did she have a love life, a big family, an apartment or big house? It’s impossible to tell from that scene where she just listens to how her best friend is plotting how to become the most popular again.
‘Bring It On’ was probably one of the first popular teen films I owned on DVD that tackled the issues of privilege and race, exposing me to the concept of cultural appropriation without me even knowing it yet. Gabrielle Union, who really seemed to be the go-to actress to play that black friend during this era, really embodied the essence of a head strong, opinionated and intelligent woman I aspired to be. Her cheer squad, The Clovers, were full of beautiful talented athletes fighting back to get their rightful credit for their original and iconic routines I still try to replicate to this day.
As I transitioned into my later teen years, it became more and more evident that Bring It On was not going to be the first of many coming-of-age movies that I would go to the cinema and see myself represented in a blockbuster, high budget film. Although I enjoyed, I grew tired of the Bella Swan’s and Katniss Everdeen’s a lot of these films not even bothering to even include the token Black friend at all.
Now in my early 20’s things are a lot better but there’s still a long way to go. I can’t help but imagine what it would have been like to see main black female characters tackling the everyday struggles of a teenager — crushes, school rivalries and house parties. I’d like to think that by the time I have daughter going into those confusing teenage years, she’ll be able to go to the cinema and have a range of coming-of-age films with characters that look just like her.
