Actress Tasha Smith arrives at the premiere of TriStar Pictures' 'Jumping The Broom' at the Cinerama Dome Theater on May 4, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

From Madame Noire: I was excited to see the movie Alex Cross not too long ago.  The idea of one of my favorite celebrities, Tyler Perry, appearing in a role that was quite different from all of his others was enough to make me buy a ticket and go support him.  I was impressed with the movie, but what I was not impressed with was their selection of characters.

I must say, I was disappointment to discover that one of the few women in the movie who was of a darker complexion was once again playing something extremely negative. Another female stereotype for dark-skinned women.  Come on Hollywood, enough is enough!

This movie was not the first time females of a darker complexion have been featured in stereotypical, negative roles.  This unfortunate typecasting that is happening so frequently that the list of ghetto and criminal roles is becoming exhaustive.

The dark-skinned female in Alex Cross was not only a criminal, but she was inarticulate as well. And this depiction made me think back on many other beautiful black women who looked like this woman and played a similar character on-screen. Angela’s character from the Why Did I Get Married movies and series is extremely loud and uncouth.

The sole hood character in the beloved The Proud Family series, Dijonay, was a dark-skinned little girl.  The drugged out prostitute, Candy, in Madea Goes to Jail was dark-skinned.   The list goes on and on and on.  It’s a good thing I have enough sense to know that criminals and those with no level of tact come in all complexions, or else I may have been inclined to think the only women capable of living sub-standard lives are dark-skinned.

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