Black in Period Films

Because of how few black characters there were in the past 3 episodes of Outlander Season 4, I have decided to put my quick recaps for these episodes into one post.  I knew that this quick recap series would be short and sweet; as IMDb had the actors for Ulysses, Phaedre, and Gayle (Colin McFarlane, Natalie Simpson, and Simona Brown respectively)   listed in less than half of the thirteen episodes for season four.   It was expected and I’m not disappointed because I like what I’ve seen from the characters so far. Outlander S4E3: “The False Bride” In episode three we only get a glimpse of Ulysses telling Mistress Jocasta that Jaime was bidding her farewell. Besides that, we see a few well-dressed people of color in the airport back in the 1970s with Brianna and Roger. Source: Outlander Wikia Page Outlander S4E4: “Common Ground” The beautiful Simona Brown made her first Outlander appearance in this episode. Gayle is Brianna’s roommate and friend. We first see t...

Before watching the newest episode of Outlander, I had already read some Tweets about the second episode of this season. I knew that in this episode the storyline would revolve around black enslaved characters. While of course this series ultimately follows the story of time traveler Claire Fraser, I was not disappointed by the attention paid to the experience of enslaved black persons. While the episode was gruesome and upsetting, I appreciated ‘Do No Harm’ for showing what life was like for enslaved persons in 18 th century America. Source: @Blacklanderz on Twitter  The episode starts with an enslaved woman winding up the clock for the day. I liked this included detail as it shows just how many tasks slaves were responsible for. Oftentimes media covers the field work that slaves were used for, but not the numerous other tasks they fulfilled to enable their owners’ lives of ease. In this episode we meet both Ulysses (Colin McFarlane) and  Phaedre  (...