African-American Women And Film Analysis

Nana, as well as the unborn child, narrate the decisions and journey of the Peazant family; their narration project more realistic and accurate representation of African-American woman than previously seen in cinema. One of the mechanisms of this representation was through Nana and the unborn child’s unconventional narration, which did not depend on Hollywood’s usual clichés. Such clichés which typically inaccurately represented or underrepresented not only African American women, but also all women. African-American women in films are frequently characterized by clichés. For example, African-American women rarely take precedent in the maintenance of the narrative, instead often being pigeonholed as a secondary character. Typically African-American women play cliché-supporting

” Ultimately, sexual clichés reinforce the patriarchal structures that have been attached to the portrayal of black women in Hollywood films and in the narratives that they are allowed to be a part of and has led to subpar and overall hurtful representations of black women in mainstream media. Therefore, Daughters of the Dust, with their female-dominated narration, which focuses mainly on the family instead of the black women’s sexuality, has positively impacted how black women are seen in cinema. As Jennifer Machiorlatti notes, Daughters of the Dust ‘s “…spiritual belief and the continuation of family is centralized through black woman’s voices… ” For once in a wide-reaching film, black women are favored, not overtly sexualized, and are conceptualized as a source of meaning and worth. This can be seen in Nana’s opening