Orientalism & Popular Culture: Discussing the Repercussions of Female Discourse

1995’s “Losing Isaiah” starring Black actress Halle Berry showcased a crack and sex addicted Black mother fighting to regain custody of her son from a well established white social worker. The message behind Losing Isaiah is breaking racial barriers and social acceptance of racialized men and women, however the underlying message appears to support the stereotype of the incapable black mother; “just as white women in the 19^th century facilitated imperialism through the assumption of the whole savior role of less fortunate women, so do white women in the 20^th century”