You are here:

Althea

Name: Althea
Director: Rex Miller
Released: 2014
Duration: 84 min

Representation Score

4.4/10

Fair

2014

TV-PG

Director

Rex Miller

Runtime

84 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Althea is a powerful piece of historical reclamation that disrupts traditional sporting narratives. By centering a Black woman's journey from Harlem to the tennis circuit, the film effectively critiques the systemic segregation of the mid-century era. The documentary succeeds in its multi-layered approach, linking personal athletic merit to the broader American story of the Great Migration and the Civil Rights movement. It examines how institutional hierarchies functioned during Gibson's lifetime. However, the film's scope is narrow regarding other identity markers. While it excels in racial and gendered discourse, it lacks representation for LGBTQ+ identities or disability narratives.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Althea have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses solely on racial and socio-economic dimensions. There are no characters or narratives addressing LGBTQ+ identities.

How does Althea portray gender?

Good

The documentary centers a female protagonist navigating a male-dominated sporting environment. Gibson’s role is crucial as she overcomes the gendered expectations of the 1950s.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Althea?

Excellent

This work provides exceptional representation by centering a Black woman within a predominantly white institution. It explores the Black experience from sharecropping to urban migration in Harlem.

How does Althea represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative highlights the tension between individual achievement and institutionalized racism. It frames Gibson’s struggle within the broader context of the Civil Rights movement.

Does Althea include disability representation?

Minimal

The provided material contains no specific evidence regarding the depiction of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Present on Screen

Exceptional centering of a Black woman's experience within historically white-dominated institutions.
Strong multi-layered narrative linking athletic achievement to the Civil Rights movement.
Effective exploration of the socio-economic shifts during the Great Migration.

Limited or Absent

Lack of representation regarding LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight-centered narratives.
No visible focus on physical or neurodivergent disability representation.

Official Synopsis

Althea Gibson’s life and achievements transcend sports. A truant from the rough streets of Harlem, Althea emerged as a most unlikely queen of the highly segregated tennis world in the 1950s. Her roots as a sharecropper’s daughter, her family’s migration north to Harlem in the 1930s, mentoring from Sugar Ray Robinson, David Dinkins and others, and fame that thrust her unwillingly into the glare of the early Civil Rights movement, all bring her story into a much broader realm of the American story.

How are these scores produced? →