The Queen's Gambit: Checking Race

“How is race/racism operating here?” The further we walk the path of anti-racism, the more natural it becomes to ask this question. Watching The Queen’s Gambit, I became curious as viewers are introduced to Moses Ingram’s character, Jolene, a Black teenager who had been at the orphanage for some time before Anya Taylor-Joy’s Beth arrives. In an early interaction, before any relationship is apparent between the two, Jolene warns Beth about the tranquilizers the orphanage requires the children to take. Beth develops an addiction and we see her suffering from withdrawal as she is approaching her challenge against a local high school chess team, an opportunity that could provide her a way out of her circumstances. Jolene saves the day, providing Beth with enough of her own stash to settle her nerves and emerge victorious.

In her disappearance for the next several episodes, it occurred to me that Ingram was cast as an Angel. Described in F.W. Gooding’s book “You Mean There’s Race in my Movie?, the Angel is one of several archetypes that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) actors are typically limited to. The Angel’s exclusive function is to serve the White protagonist. The relationship tends to be unidirectional, and we often learn little of the Angel’s backstory. Pat Morita’s and Laurence Fishburne’s roles in Karate Kid and The Matrix respectively, are classic examples.

In the final episode of The Queen’s Gambit, Jolene and Beth are reunited. We learn that Jolene is a successful paralegal with aspirations to attend law school. She reappears as Beth, taking a moral stance, turns down money from a religious sponsor, and now has no way to get to the World Championship in Moscow. “You’re my guardian angel” Beth exclaims after Jolene offers a loan to finance her trip.

As in film, we often see BIPOC talent limited to certain roles in organizations. Where do you see this occurring in your organization? Where are BIPOC under/over-represented? This siloing tends to be an unspoken if not unnoticed aspect of dominant culture. Learning to see these patterns is crucial to undoing them and creating a culture of equity and belonging.