True Women: Tildy

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Tidly is a slave owned by the main character Euphemia Ashby. Her characterization is the worst out of all the   characters I'm considering.

Khadijah Karriem as Tildy

I say her characterization is the worse because WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HER!! All we know is that she's a slave. The Ashbys consider her family (but let's be serious I'm sure most slave owners felt that way). All of her actions are reactions to the actions of various white characters. Also she falls victim to the smiling slave syndrome. Tildy is smiling about 90% of the time she's on screen. Have a look:






Look really close. She's there towards the left. Smiling

There are however times when she doesn't smile.


Like when she gets terrorized by the Comanche Indians*



Or at funerals.

Or when Phoebe is in labor.

The relationship between Phoebe (Euphemia's nickname) is strong. Phoebe stands up for Tildy when her brother gets angry with her for letting Tildy sit at the table with them.




But instead of giving Tildy her freedom papers she has her sign a document declaring the two of them "unofficial sisters".


Tildy never gets her freedom on screen. Phoebe attempts to give Tildy her freedom (after she's called out on her hypocrisy) but decides against it as her husband will be seen as an abolitionist. I'm assuming Tildy receives her freedom after the Civil War.

The end of her story isn't tragic. She just stops appearing on screen.

*Please don't get me started on the one sided portray on the Native Americans in this film. 

Comments

  1. CHARLES WALKINGCROWMarch 3, 2015 at 12:40 PM

    Actually there is not much to be said why? Well the Comanche also killed whites and had the highest mortality count of all the indigenous tribes of America during the sixty years Indian wars , also the emancipated 10th volunteers Calvary soldier would also fight the Apache and Comanche Indians to name but two tribes in a land where they were brought to as a slave to work, now I don’t mean to be pedantic and I am no BPP man however isn’t that exactly what Huey Newton of the BPP refused to do during the American conflict of that era between two countries, further more the civil war had ended and the Indians had not for some time after the slave had been emancipated, a great chief once said even a dog can go where he wants but the Cheyenne cannot , see my point and last of all its a film

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  2. CHARLES WALKINGCROWMarch 3, 2015 at 1:08 PM

    Comanche killings? out of context the Comanche hated anyone in what was practically Indian America, which is what the sixty years Indian Wars were about , they also traded in white women, the only people willing to trade in whites with them where called the Comancheros who were also white , having the gaul for human trade , I am not saying string up every black woman or white women for that matter however the Comanche scene with the black woman is out of context , most of them did not want anybody in Americas

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dinah FreemanJune 3, 2015 at 10:22 AM

      Sorry for such a late reply. Thank you for reading my review and taking out the time to leave such a detailed comment.

      Delete

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