By Ebony Purks
Warning: This article contains spoilers for “The Queen’s Gambit.”
“The Queen’s Gambit” is one of Netflix’s newest hit series and the latest to have a diversity problem.
Based on the novel by Walter Tevis, the seven-episode show follows Elizabeth “Beth” Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy) navigating the intersections of being a chess wunderkind while dealing with loss, addiction, and burdening expectations — all while being a woman in the 1960s.
So far, “The Queen’s Gambit” has mostly been critically acclaimed, with many calling it “one of the best shows of 2020.”
But one can’t help but notice how the show drops the ball by turning one of its only Black characters, Jolene (Moses Ingram), into little more than a harmful trope.
During the first 2 episodes of the series, Jolene’s sole purpose is to cater to whatever Beth’s emotional needs are
Jolene is Beth’s childhood companion in the Methuen Home, the all-girls orphanage they live in as kids. Jolene makes it her responsibility to immediately take a shy, dour Beth under her wing.
During the first episode of the limited series, Jolene gives Beth advice on how to cope while living in the establishment.
For example, the orphanage staff gives each girl two pills a day in order to keep them docile. Jolene advises Beth to save one of the pills under her tongue and take it before bed because the tranquilizer will make sleeping easier and more interesting. Later, however, Jolene notices Beth becoming obsessed with the tranquilizing pills and cautions her against becoming addicted.
After Beth is adopted, Jolene disappears from the narrative.
Jolene is not seen again until the final 2 episodes when she cleans up Beth’s spiraling life as an adult
At this point in the show, Beth’s substance abuse has severely worsened, her feelings of self-worth are at an all-time low after losing to her challenging chess opponent, Vasily Borgov (Marcin Dorociński), and she feels utterly alone.
Luckily, Jolene appears at Beth’s house just in time to save Beth from herself.
Together, the two essentially embark on a swift healing journey that includes attending the funeral of William Shaibel (Bill Camp), the janitor from the orphanage who taught Beth how to play chess. They visit the basement where Mr. Shaibel taught Beth and they have meaningful discussions around Beth’s current mental state and what’s in store for her future.
All of the above give Beth the closure she needs to find herself and her confidence once more.
Using money from her law-school fund, Jolene pays for Beth’s trip to Russia so Beth can play Borgov again and defeat him now that she’s mentally in a better place (again, thanks to Jolene).
Jolene’s character falls in line with the ‘modern mammy’ trope, which can be mistaken by viewers for effective representation
A number of critics, including Gloria Oladipo for Bitch Media, have called out the series as using Jolene as a sidekick and stereotype.
Oladipo refers to the usage of Jolene’s character as the “Magical Negro,” a term popularized by Spike Lee in 2001 to describe “the insertion of a black character into a narrative who is bestowed upon the protagonist the wisdom he or she needs to move forward in some way,” as summarized by Roxanne Gay in her 2014 book of essays titled “Bad Feminist.”
But Jolene’s role seems to go beyond that and verge into “modern mammy” territory, a trope that specifically relies on a Black female character doing the bidding of a white character.
Historically, the mammy figure has been shown on screen as an older Black woman who is a dutiful caregiver to her white family. She’s docile, loyal, maternal, non-threatening, probably religious, and at times crosses over with the sassy Black woman trope, but overall doesn’t let much get in the way of her responsibilities to her white family.
The modern depictions of the mammy trope do not necessarily need to be a mother or nanny figure. This character often has motherly traits and unrelentingly supports the white people in her life, who usually don’t reciprocate her devoted effort to their goals or arc. She is usually conveniently written out of the plot when she no longer serves a purpose.
“The Queen’s Gambit” maintains some level of self-awareness. There’s an attempt to anticipate criticism of Jolene’s role in the show by having Jolene say she is not Beth’s “guardian angel.”
Instead, Jolene justifies — maybe even defends — her help for Beth by saying they’re “family.”
But for Jolene and Beth to supposedly have such a close familial bond, it doesn’t make sense that Jolene is only seen by viewers when Beth needs her help.
And aside from a few bits of dialogue, Jolene’s character and arc are never explored outside of her commitment to helping Beth.
This isn’t the first Netflix original to have a problem with diversity on- and off-screen
Notably, “The Queen’s Gambit” is not the first time Netflix has mishandled or neglected the Black characters in its original series.
One of Netflix’s earliest originals, “Orange Is the New Black,” also sidelines its Black characters and places a white woman in the foreground within the context of the prison system, which disproportionately impacts BIPOC women more than white women.
The award-winning show features a diverse cast, but as it progressed, many criticized it as “trauma porn written for white people,” calling it out as exploiting Black struggles for shock value. The first four seasons of the show were written primarily by white writers and not a single Black writer, as Splinter reported in 2016.
Netflix’s animated comedy “Big Mouth” had its main Black character, Missy, voiced by white actress Jenny Slate for the better part of four seasons. In 2020, amid the Black Lives Matter movement, Slate publicly gave up the role in June and the series later gave the role to Black actress Ayo Edebiri.
There’s also the streaming service’s newest comedy-drama “Emily in Paris,” which has been criticized for its lack of diversity in a diverse city. The series follows white protagonist Emily (Lily Collins), and its main source of inclusivity comes from her Black coworker, Julien (Samuel Arnold), and her Asian best friend, Mindy Chen (Ashley Park).
“Emily in Paris” provides very little background or substance to Julien’s character outside of his proximity to Emily and his tendency to fall into the sassy Black character trope. Mindy’s main purpose is to serve as Emily’s helpful sidekick.
Netflix has made efforts to diversify its shows and storylines, but there’s always room for improvement
In recent years, Netflix has made progressive attempts toward diversifying its staff and content to provide viewers with more representation.
Black creators are leading the charge. Filmmaker Ava Duvernay has worked with Netflix to create acclaimed projects that examine racism in America, like the documentary “13th” and the limited series “When They See Us.” Shonda Rhimes and Kenya Barris also signed on with the streaming platform, each to the tune of $100 million (still less than the reported $300 million “American Horror Story” creator Ryan Murphy received).
And there are Netflix original series telling diverse stories with diverse leads. Its animated series “The Dragon Prince” — featuring BIPOC characters, LGBTQ storylines, and characters with disabilities — got renewed for a fourth season earlier this year. Mindy Kaling’s comedy-drama “Never Have I Ever,” which features an Indian-American protagonist, is set to debut a second season in 2021.
Still, Netflix should keep in mind that any inclusive projects won’t erase harmful tropes and lack of representation in its other predominantly white original series. “The Queen’s Gambit” — and Jolene — deserved better.
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