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Chloe Burns
11/21/17
Individual Research Paper
Annalise Keating: Assimilated

The television show How to Get Away With Murder, also known as HTGAWM by its fan

base, has been widely referenced and revered for its portrayal of black characters, the most

notable one being the character portrayed by Viola Davis; Annalise Keating. Keating makes for

a fascinating study in the representation of black women in the media, as she is a new

representation of black women that is difficult to find elsewhere. She is multi-dimensional,

showing her strengths and her weaknesses over the four current seasons of the show, and she has

a troubled past that colors her daily actions. Although she had a distinctly African-American

upbringing, a close examination of her character reveals that she has fully assimilated into white

Euro-American culture. This is apparent not only in her appearances, which include westernized

hair and clothes, her profession as a highly successful defense attorney, and her marriage to a

white man, but in her deeper values and relationships which contradict those of her previous,

more traditional life.

Where this paper is unique is in the fact that when analyzing any character in the media,

one must take into account two aspects: the first being the character herself, and the second being

the viewing of that character through the camera’s lens. In any cinematic work, the camera

should be considered a character of its own, with special attention given to what it chooses to

show. What this means for the study of a character is that nothing the character does can be

considered accidental or coincidental. For example, while most if not all African-American

women deal with unique hair struggles that white women don’t, the choice to show this struggle
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on the screen is an important aspect of studying the character. Therefore, everything relating to

African-American culture that Annalise demonstrates should be referred to as distinctly African-

American, as opposed to entertaining the possibility that some feature or behavior could simply

be a coincidence. The implications of this are that while a character may fall into one category

(it has already been stated that Annalise is assimilated), the portrayal of that character may fall

into another, due to representation norms of the time. Because of this, there will be two

classifications of Annalise: the main one being her character, with the secondary classification

belonging to her on-screen representation. Annalise remains assimilated, but her screen presence

identifies her as acculturated.

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Family Structures and Practices

Little is known about Annalise’s family when the show begins in season one. She lives with her

white husband, Sam Keating, in an otherwise empty house. She has no children, though we later

learn she once became pregnant and lost her son in a car crash. She doesn’t host family or

friends in her home, both of which are African-American practices that have been discussed in

class. However, as the season goes on, the audience is introduced to Annalise’s mother, Ophelia

Harkness, who gives insight to Annalise’s upbringing. Ophelia enters the show in the thirteenth

episode of the first season, after the death of Sam. When Ophelia arrives to the Keating house,

she is unannounced to the other characters, walking into the house as if she belongs. She orders

Annalise’s employees around, and demands that they treat her with a “VIP” status, due to her

role as their boss’s mother. This immediately notes her status as the family matriarch, which she

maintains in nearly every scene she is present in. Later on in the episode, she sits with Annalise
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between her knees and combs her hair, a tradition many African-American women know well.

Ophelia also calls Annalise by her childhood name, “Anna Mae,” throughout the series.

The roles of men and women are later explained to Annalise through Ophelia’s eyes,

when she states: “Men were put on this planet to take things. They take your money, they take

your land, they take a woman and any other thing they can get their grabby hands on. That’s

men. Women? We’re made to give love. To nurture, to protect, to care for. That’s

women” (Nowalk, P., 2015 “Mama’s Here Now”). Annalise then argues back that she has never

cared for, protected, or nurtured anyone, and in doing so, she feels that she does not meet the

traditional gender views that she was raised with. They then argue and reveal to the audience

another key moment from Annalise’s upbringing: she was sexually assaulted by her uncle Clyde

as a child. When Ophelia later combs Annalise’s hair, she tells her the story of how he truly

died: while he was passed out from drinking, Ophelia used one of his lit cigarettes to light her

house on fire with him inside. Indeed, in this family, women are the protectors, and are meant to

be resilient in the face of men’s wrongdoings. This is a common African-American attitude; in

an article by Patricia Hill Collins, she notes that when asked what they learned from their

mothers, African-American girls state that, on men, they were told “Don’t trust them, want more

for yourself than just a man.” Later, Hill Collins says that “Above all, they stress their mothers’

insistence on being self-reliant and resourceful” (Hill Collins 3). Although Annalise has rejected

some of the feminine qualities her mother lists, she has fulfilled the unspoken qualities —

throughout the series, there is never a situation she cannot find control over. She is always

resourceful, she is always self-reliant, and she is always a protector of those around her.

However, she is always insecure in her role as a woman.

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In the finale of season two, Annalise has left for her childhood home in Memphis,

Tennessee. She wakes up in a shared bed with her sister, Celestine, and their following

conversation indicates that they always shared a bedroom growing up: “I felt like I was ten years

old again” (Nowalk, P., 2016 “Anna Mae”). This bedroom-sharing is a noted African-American

characteristic discussed in class.

The relationship between men and women in the Harkness family is then further

demonstrated by a surprise appearance by Annalise’s father, Mac. As the episode goes on, the

audience learns that Mac left Ophelia soon after she had her children, leaving Annalise fatherless

in childhood. It is possible that her father’s absence influenced her perceived role as a woman;

in a study conducted in 2005, scientists found that “father-absent girls had lower levels of ideal

femininity [than father-present girls]” (Mandara et. al. 207). This initial loss of Annalise’s

femininity, paired with her insecurities about her ability to have a child, would double-down on

her resentment of her father, as he has metaphorically taken her femininity away from her.

Ophelia, however, has forgiven him for his absence, and Annalise’s sister Celestine defends

Mac’s presence because, as she puts it, “At least this way she [Ophelia] won’t be

alone” (Nowalk, P., 2016 “Anna Mae”). There is then sizable tension between Celestine and

Annalise, as Celestine has returned home to take care of their mother in her old age, while

Annalise has not. This distance from her mother makes Annalise the outcast of the family, and

further challenges her role as a woman. While she may have been raised to believe that women

fill certain roles, she has been unable to fill these roles in adult life. Whether this was intentional

or a factor of circumstance, it encourages her status as fully-assimilated, as she has left the

expectations of her childhood culture behind in favor of the expectations of the dominant culture.
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Preference for Things African-American

There does not appear to be much outward preference for things African-American by Annalise.

The most notable obsession of hers that speaks to her African-American roots is her vice for

soul/junk food, however since there is a section of this paper dedicated to that, there is no reason

to fill this space with the subject.

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Choice of Friends

Annalise has few friends in the show, one of the noted flaws of her personality. Her two closest

confidents are Frank (Italian) and Bonnie (white), both of whom Annalise “saved” in some way

or another, either in career or in personal life. Annalise associates with people of all races

equally, and although her relationship with Sam became strained in season one when he cheated

on her with one of his students, there is no indication that she ever thought any different of him

due to his race. She, herself, begins a relationship with a black man, Nate, and once again there

is little to no discussion of race having anything to do with it. She also re-visits a past

relationship with a white woman, Eve, who she left in order to be with Sam. This ambivalence

towards race points to Annalise’s status as assimilated.

One friendship that could argue against an assimilated status, instead indicating one of

acculturation, would be Annalise’s friendship with Rose Edmund, an African-American cleaning

lady for the Mahoney family, one of Annalise’s clients. Annalise reaches out to Rose initially in

order to secure an alibi for her client, Charles Mahoney, who has been accused of murder. As

she learns more about Rose, however, she finds that Rose was a victim of sexual assault by
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Charles, who is the biological father of Rose’s son, Christophe. Charles threatens Rose by telling

her that he will have Christophe killed if she testifies, and she commits suicide in order to save

her son. Annalise then loses her own child in a car crash, and drops all contact with the

Mahoney family or anything pertaining to their case, including Christophe. Later, with the new

name Wes, Christophe finds himself in Annalise’s class in law school, and as the show goes on,

she protects him more than any of her other students, as if he has become a surrogate son.

Annalise’s dedication to Rose, as well as her continued servitude to Christophe, can

possibly be attributed to two things: guilt, for the fact that she pushed Rose to testify, leading to

the threats by the Mahoney family, but also understanding. A fellow victim of sexual assault,

who has lost her own child to an accident, Annalise likely feels a good amount of kinship to

Rose, leading her to adopt Christophe (Wes) as her own son not only for her own good, but as a

tribute to Rose. As previously mentioned, this relationship could indicate that Annalise has more

of an acculturated status than one of assimilation. However, as no one category can change the

entire verdict, the rest of this paper must be taken into account in the final conclusion.

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Food

Annalise Keating, both in her world at home and in her everyday life, proves herself to be a soul

food junkie. When she visits her family, they are seen eating all manner of traditional soul food,

including fried chicken, mac and cheese, biscuits and gravy, mashed potatoes, greens, and peach

pie. Later on, when Annalise and Nate move in together, Bonnie hides Annalise’s junk food

because Nate threatens to throw it out. Annalise doesn’t learn this until she says, “I hate him…

Nate, he threw out all my junk food,” to which Bonnie replies, “I just hid it, actually.” Annalise
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then tells her, “I love you, you know that” (Nowalk, P., 2016 “Always Bet Black”)? Annalise’s

love for salty, fatty foods draws a clear line from her childhood to adulthood, which is not

uncommon among African-Americans. As noted in the 2012 film, Soul Food Junkies, this love

for soul food is a difficult thing to kick, even if it poses health risks. In the film, the director and

writer Byron Hurt has a conversation with family members about his father’s addiction to soul

food. They call it an addiction, and comedian and activist Dick Gregory notes, “All addictions is

about pleasure. Something so awful in your life that you need pleasure” (Hurt, B., 2012 “Soul

Food Junkies”). Hurt then notes his father’s traumatic childhood, and how he was raised with

foods that would’ve provided him instant comfort during hard times. Annalise’s life could draw

an easy parallel: between her father’s absence, the sexual assault, and her tragedies later in life

such as child loss and later the loss of her husband, it’s not at all a reach to suspect her cravings

for junk food were introduced in childhood and then sustained due to trauma later on. This is a

common African-American pattern, and may be the only truly African-American thing she has

retained.

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Music

It doesn’t appear that Annalise has any taste for distinctly African-American music, as this is

never explicitly shown nor discussed in the show.

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Art

Similarly to music, nothing of Annalise’s household art stands out as African-American. She

maintains a contemporary upper-middle to upper-class style, which does not include any

traditional items.

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Symbols

Once again, an investigation into the symbols shown within Annalise’s life turns up empty.

There is nothing that specifically points to anything African-American.

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Dress

As previously mentioned, when analyzing any character from a television show, the camera’s eye

must be interpreted as an intentional decision, not as coincidence. There are two specific scenes

in which Annalise’s dress, specifically her hair and makeup, are made to be outwardly and

unapologetically African-American.

The first of these scenes comes in season one, and it’s a scene which has since become

iconic. The moment takes place in Annalise’s bedroom, where she is the sole occupant. Slowly,

meticulously, she takes off her jewelry, her makeup, and her wig, to reveal the natural black

woman underneath. This scene has been applauded by viewers and critics, because such a

demonstration of the “unmasking” of a black woman in Euro-American society has never before

been televised in such a manner. As Annalise peels off her wig and runs her hands over her

natural hair, she sheds all westernized expectations and is made free. Although this is a routine
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that she clearly repeats every night, this does not mean that the audience always bears witness.

The camera’s decision to show this moment in time is critical in viewing Annalise as a whole.

The second scene takes place later on in the series, when Annalise visits a hair salon in

season three. Mary J. Blige, who has been called the “queen of hip hop soul,” guest stars as the

hair stylist who does Annalise’s hair, sewing in a weave — unfinished at the time the audience

sees it. This styling decision, leaving part of Annalise’s natural, braided hair open for viewing, is

deliberate, and significant in viewing her as a black woman, as the stylist could’ve just as easily

left only a small section out of view, so that the audience could see Annalise as a black woman

with “white hair”.

Both of these scenes emphasize Annalise’s blackness, and the moments in her daily life

that separate her from her white colleagues. When analyzing representations of black women in

the media, one must spend a good deal of time and energy to find moments like these. As noted

in the article “Gender, Race, and Media Representation” by authors Dwight E. Brooks and Lisa

P. Hebert, “[M]any of the black women featured depict a Westernized beauty ideal of lighter

skin, long hair, and blue or green eyes” (Brooks, D. E., et. al. 301). Even in media that is meant

to represent African-American ways of life, such as the CBS workplace show Frank’s Place,

African-American women lose out. “[F]eminine beauty was related to light skin, straight hair,

thinness, relative youthfulness, and middle-class status” (Brooks, D. E., et. al. 300). Annalise

Keating, in some way or another, sheds all of these ideals, except perhaps the middle-class status,

in her revealing scenes. Therefore, while her character may still remain assimilated due to the

fact that she adheres by the straight hair/youthful appearance in the rest of her life, her on-screen
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status is one of acculturation, in which the audience sees her as a woman who retains her

blackness.

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Language

No explicit usage of African-American language customs, as expressed by Annalise, can be

found.

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Religion

Annalise’s religious views are never discussed, but the lack of reference to any sort of church,

god, or practice, indicates that she does not belong to any traditional or non-traditional African-

American religious denomination.

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Superstitions

Similar to the above topic, Annalise does not demonstrate any superstitions within the show.

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Health Beliefs and Practices

The best case for study in this area as it pertains to Annalise is in season two, when she endures a

gunshot wound. She is rushed to the hospital, stitched up, and while at home, she rests and

upholds the doctor’s orders. At no point is any sort of traditional medicine called into use, and

she never questions that of the doctor. Annalise relies on western medicine, and never waivers.

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Social Activities

As previously mentioned with her friendships, Annalise maintains few social activities outside of

work. On occasion, she goes out and parties with her students, and her relationship with a

woman indicates that she lays somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, which could present her as

more of an assimilated individual. A study published in 2010 recorded the attitudes of African-

American and white college students towards lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. The study

found that while African Americans initially had modestly higher homophobia scores, controlling

for variables such as church attendance, religious commitment, and socioeconomic status

eliminated these differences (Negy, C. & Eisenman, R. 291). With this in mind, a more

traditional African American family that attended church regularly and upheld Christian values

would therefore statistically hold more homophobic attitudes, which would mean that Annalise’s

openness to a same-sex relationship would point to her status as assimilated. However, the

audience never learns for sure what religious background she holds, and the subject is never

discussed with her family. Therefore, her status as a member of the LGBTQ+ community does

not definitively point to any one status.

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Interracial Attitudes

This section relates back to Annalise’s choice of friendships and relationships, in that there is

little to be clearly outlined. Her marriage to Sam and relationship with Eve indicates that she

does not have any issues being intimate with white people, while her relationship with Nate

shows that she has not rejected relationships with black people. If anything, her ambivalence to

race indicates an assimilated status.

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Conclusion

Annalise Keating, though raised in a seemingly traditional African-American household, has

rejected most if not all norms in favor of the dominant culture. This is made apparent in her

name, her status as a woman, her choice of clothes and hair, and her relationships. Her

secondary classification, one that the author included due to the character’s fictitious nature, is

one of acculturation. This is because when viewed through the camera in the context of the show,

emphasis is placed on Annalise’s status as an African-American woman. However, this

secondary classification, it should be noted, will likely change in future years. When more

representations of African-American woman are accepted into the mainstream media, and these

elements that make their experiences unique are more widely seen, such portrayals of these

characters will also be considered assimilated, as the larger society will have adapted to include

them.

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Works Cited

Nowalk, P. (Writer), & Listo, M. (Director). (2015). Mama’s Here Now [Television series

episode]. In Rhimes, S. (Executive Producer), How To Get Away With Murder. Los

Angeles, California, USA: Sunset Gower Studios.

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Collins, Patricial Hill. (1987) The Meaning of Motherhood in Black Culture and Black Mother-

Daughter Relationships. Sage Women’s Educational Press, Inc., 4, Iss. 2, 3.

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Nowalk, P. (Writer), & D’Elia, B. (Director). (2016). Anna Mae [Television series episode]. In

Rhimes, S. (Executive Producer), How To Get Away With Murder. Los Angeles, California,

USA: Sunset Gower Studios.

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Mandara, J., Murray, C. B., Joyner, T. N. (2005). The Impact of Fathers’ Absence on African

American Adolescents’ Gender Role Development. Sex Roles, 65, 207-220.

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Nowalk, P. (Writer), & Cragg, S. (Director). (2016). Always Bet Black [Television series

episode]. In Rhimes, S. (Executive Producer), How To Get Away With Murder. Los

Angeles, California, USA: Sunset Gower Studios.

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Durden, L. (Producer), & Hurt, B. (Director). (2012). Soul Food Junkies [Documentary]. United

States: ITVS.

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Brooks, D. E., Hébert, L. P. (2006). Gender, Race, and Media Representation. The SAGE

Handbook of Gender and Communication, 297-317.

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Negy, C., Eisenman, R (2005). A comparison of African American and white college students’

affective and attitudinal reactions to lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals: An exploratory

study. The Journal of Sex Research, 42, 4, 291-298.