MA: Hollywood’s Failed Attempt At Diversity
As excited as I was to see Octavia Spencer play the psychotic antagonist opposed to “The Help.” As excited as I was to see a black actor play such a complex leading character, Ma is still a BIG no for me.
*SPOILERS BELOW
This entire film was a huge hype machine that produced nothing but mediocracy and used diversity in film roles to hook people in. Can you name three horror/thriller movies with a black lead as the villain? Hell, can you name three movies with a black lead character who doesn’t die?
By far, this movie was Hollywood’s lazy attempt at inclusivity, and they failed miserably. To be honest, I don’t blame Octavia Spencer. She’s a brilliant actor who played her role. I blame the writer (Scotty Landes), director (Tate Taylor) and all those who patted them on the back as if they actually created a noteworthy piece of cinematic art.
Where to even start? I was so disappointed with this movie. None of the characters had substantial backstories for me to care about them. The black kid in the movie was literally Deon Richmond’s character in Not Another Teen Movie.
The forced Munchausen syndrome by proxy storyline at the end was unnecessary and added nothing to the story. Most importantly, it was hard to tell who the main character was. Was it Sue Ann (Ma) or Maggie? It’s almost impossible to tell.
Let’s Start with the Setting
The small town backdrop truly did the storyline a disservice making a lot of the scenarios presented hard to believe. For instance, no one noticed or cared about the company van full of teenagers parked right in front of (or next to) the front door of the liquor store and the teenager standing next to the door asking strangers to buy them alcohol? How about this woman (arguably the only black woman in town) who’s lived there her whole life is all of a sudden buying an abundance of alcohol multiple times a week? Ok…how bout when all the high schoolers in the town start having parties at this one person’s house all school year? In small towns, people notice things. In the age of social media and oversharing, people know things.
Ma is a Nickname
Octavia’s Spencer’s character Ma is a nickname that was bestowed upon her in the most inconspicuous way. After the group of teens arrived at her house for the first time, she lays down the house rules and begins to head upstairs to let them get into their teenaged, drunken shenanigans in private. The one black friend asked her, “Yo, you got any pizza bites, ma?” Although Sue Ann brushed off his horribly outdated 1990s slang, from that point on everyone started calling her Ma.
Ma’s Revenge
Ma’s vendetta was confusing or at the very least scattered. Her progression from socially awkward to crazy to fucking insane was nonexistent. Deeper into the movie it’s revealed that Ma was the victim of a sick and sadistic high school prank. Her main victimizers were the parents of two high schoolers she had befriended (Maggie and Andy). It’s unclear whether or not Ma had been plotting her revenge for the past 15–20 years or if she was triggered after the teens first approached her for alcohol. Her rampage was short and swift. Within the last 30 minutes of the movie Ma murdered four people:
- Her boss, although we have no idea how, we just see her dead in a dog kennel.
- Mercedes, one of her high school tormentors. Ma ran her over while she was jogging (in broad daylight).
- Ben, another one of Ma’s high school tormentors and the father of one of the teens hanging out with Ma. She basically kidnapped him, strapped him to a bed, gave him an IV full of dogs blood (not sure why), then slit is wrists.
- A police officer who showed up to her house asking questions.
It’s as if the writers took elements from classic horror movies and thrillers then filtered them into Ma. Every adult was insanely oblivious…to everything. Which is mind blowing because the whole backdrop of the movie is in a small town! The movie was uneventful because it had so many holes and a weak storyline.
In the age of Jordan Peele where we finally see black actors playing eerily complex characters in the horror/thriller genres, it seems like everyone is trying to get their hands on that secret sauce. But that’s the thing with diversity. You can’t force it. You can’t pay for it, and above all you can’t fake it. It’s something that should happen organically by including qualified people who don’t look like you. Ma was a horrible attempt at achieving this.
Tell me what you though of the movie in the comments below! Or continue the conversation on IG @ heroutlette.
