“The Harder They Fall” is a Black western directed by Jeymes Samuel, a Black Brit (the brother of singer Seal). Jeymes co-wrote the screenplay with Boaz Yakin.
Melanin is all over the screen. The ensemble cast includes Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield and Zazie Beetz.
Idris is playing gunslinging outlaw and rapist Rufus Buck, leader of the Rufus Buck Gang. Rufus died when he was about 18 or so. Idris is playing an amalgamation of what Rufus might have been had avoided capture and hanging by Judge Isaac Parker.
Lakeith is playing Crawford Goldsby, better known as Cherokee Bill. Cherokee Bill was a fair-skinned, mixed race Cherokee Indian.
Zazie is playing Mary Fields, better known as Stagecoach Mary. This casting decision has sparked some controversy about Hollywood’s colorism problem.
Hollywood has historically curated and harvested colorism and, unfortunately, Black Hollywood has adopted the practice. But is the criticism surrounding one particular character fair? After all, the film is chock-full of melanin.
This film is by no means a biopic of Stagecoach Mary. The entire story is fictionalized. Zazie’s playing an exaggerated, loosely based characterization of Stagecoach Mary. She’s also the love interest of Nat Love.
But specific characteristics of Black historical figures should be depicted accurately, regardless of how small or prominent the role is.
Historical data of Mary Fields is ambiguous. Her birthdate and who her father was is not publicly known. Many conclusions are drawn about her freedom and the years preceding it.
What we do know is that she was enslaved for more than 30 years in Tennessee. According to the few images of her online, she was dark-skinned, towering at 6-feet tall, statuesque and plus-sized.
Here’s an image of Stagecoach Mary.
After the Civil War ended, Mary was freed and eventually made her way to Ohio. There, she stayed at a convent caring for nuns. She worked as a laundress and a servant on a river boat.
After getting into a few dust-ups, Mary eventually moved to Montana and became the first African American woman to deliver mail for the U.S. postal service. She operated a horse wagon (not a stagecoach) and toted a rifle to protect the mail from bandits. Many reports suggest that Mary was around 60 years old when she became a Star Route courier.
Which brings me back to Zazie Beetz. She’s a light-skinned, biracial woman, 5’ 6” tall with a slender build who is 30 years old.
Did Zazie know she’d be playing against type? Of course she knew. Zazie’s a professional actress. I’m sure she did her due diligence along with an extensive character study on Mary so that she’d deliver a memorable performance.
Is the blame solely hers for accepting this role? Many critics say she should’ve turned it down. But her declining this role is no guarantee that an actor resembling Mary Fields would have been booked.
Is it solely the fault of execs at Netflix? Not likely. It’s well-known that Netflix surrenders full artistic control to directors and top billed actors.
Some on Twitter have blamed Jay Z and the other producers of the film. I disagree with the notion that the producers had a say in who should or should not depict Mary Fields.
What about the casting director? Is she to blame? After all, Victoria Thomas is, herself, a dark-skinned Black woman (who, by the way, usually works with Tarantino). How much power did she have in casting? A lot more than producers, I’m sure.
Or is the director to blame? Maybe he should assume most, if not all of it. The buck certainly stops with him.
Jeymes Samuel wrote and directed a short Western that was released in 2013 called, “They Die at Dawn.” You know who portrayed Stagecoach Mary in that film?
Erykah Badu.
Colorism casting is not an arbitrary discrepancy in Hollywood. It’s deliberate and calculated. Hollywood execs have an injurious idea about what’s palatable to audiences.
But what’s just as duplicitous is Black filmmakers gatekeeping colorism on behalf of Hollywood execs, delivering an unscrupulous trope that dark-skinned women aren’t bankable or marketable.
Of course I don’t know the physical attributes the casting call solicited, if this role was written with Zazie in mind, if Zazie’s agency fought for her to be in this film, or which actresses were even interested in the role.
Nonetheless, I’ve taken it upon myself to compile a list of actresses I believe could’ve authentically captured Stagecoach Mary’s essence more purposefully:
Gabourey Sidibe
Raven Goodwin
Michaela Cole
Rutina Wesley
Uzo Aduba
Aisha Hines
Danielle Brooks
Aunjanue Ellis
Yaya Dacosta
Jill Scott
Jennifer Hudson
Danai Gurira
Mo’Nique
Leslie Jones
Viola Davis
Other depictions of Stagecoach Mary over the years have been:
Esther Rolle in 1974’s docu-series, “South by Northwest”
Kimberly Stephens in 2016’s “First True Documentary: Stagecoach Mary”
Cammie Middleton in the series “Wild West Chronicles” that premiered earlier this year
Monique Moses in the 2021 series “High Herstory”
As stated earlier, Erykah Badu in the 2013 short film “They Die at Dawn”
The “Hell on Wheels” series on AMC that aired from 2011–2016. Amber Chardae Robinson portrayed Mary.
Currently, in pre-production is “Stagecoach Mary and Mother Amadeus.” The screenwriter for that project is rogerebert.com editor, Wendy Wolverton. In this stage of development is when we must voice our demands for representation.
We have many stories to tell. The audience is owed our stories. But our stories must be inclusive, well-cultivated and all-encompassing.
That’s why it’s imperative that audiences call Hollywood execs and Black filmmakers to the mat about casting failures, tropes, light-washing, euro fetishizing, ethos-casting, cultural appropriation, colorism, texturism, ageism, featurism, sizeism, erasure and performative inclusion.
“The Harder They Fall” will be in limited release in select cities beginning October 22nd and will be available on Netflix on November 3rd.
I’m still going to support this film as I support all Black films. Not supporting Black films, in my view, caves to the false narrative that we don’t support each other and that Black movies don’t profit.
I’m planning to watch as soon as it drops. Will you?
