*For the first time in Vogue magazine’s 107 year history, the publication tapped a Black photographer to shoot Viola Davis for its July/August cover.
Dario Calmese is a New York-based artist whose work has been instrumental in the Black fashion community for years. For Davis’ cover shoot, he replicated “The Scourged Back,” a 1863 photo of an enslaved man whose back is ravaged by whipping scars, per BET.com.
As you can see on the cover above, Viola displays the strength and courage that “The Scourged Back” image has come to represent.
“For me, this cover is my protest, but not a protest in ‘Look at how bad you’ve been to me, and I’m angry, and I’m upset.'” Rather, it’s: “I’m going to rewrite this narrative. I’m just going to take ownership of it,” Calmese said in an interview with the New York Times.
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Inside the issue, the actress speaks out once again about her 2011 movie “The Help,” saying it was “created in the filter and the cesspool of systemic racism.”
“Not a lot of narratives are also invested in our humanity,” Davis said. “They’re invested in the idea of what it means to be Black, but…it’s catering to the white audience. The white audience at the most can sit and get an academic lesson into how we are. Then they leave the movie theater and they talk about what it meant. They’re not moved by who we were.”
“There’s no one who’s not entertained by The Help. But there’s a part of me that feels like I betrayed myself, and my people, because I was in a movie that wasn’t ready to [tell the whole truth],” the Oscar winner added.
Thrilled to share this cover and interview with @VanityFair. Available now! https://t.co/ne2fnWc5bW pic.twitter.com/UNPJcM6YsN
— Viola Davis (@violadavis) July 14, 2020
Directed and written by Tate Taylor and adapted from Kathryn Stockett’s 2009 novel of the same name, “The Help,” recounts the story of young a aspiring journalist and her relationship with two black maids, Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson, during the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi.
The acclaimed actress previously explained to the New York Times why she’s not satisfied with her role as Aibileen.
“Have I ever done roles that I’ve regretted? I have, and The Help is on that list,” she told the Times.
“The Help” was a critical and commercial success, grossing $216 million in worldwide box office.
Read her full Vanity Fair cover story here.
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