Have you ever wonder to what extent has historical events impacted the film industry and film process? In fact, history has informed the ways in which black women’s sexuality was represented in films during and after the slavery era. Slavery and emancipation are all historical events that influenced the way films are developed. Early depictions of black women were confined to demeaning and stereotypical images where they had no explicit connection between their body and sexuality if portrayed. Anat Pick (2004) claims that the New Queer Cinema has failed to portray “gender-neutral queer” to “adequately acknowledge a lesbian presence” (p. 105). In Pick’s perspective, this failure is due to the fact that sexual desire is constructed around male
“Paris is Burning” is a film regarding ball culture and the struggle for stardom, though it is director Jennie Livingston’s choice of remaining behind the camera, unseen, that gives her film validity. In her scathing critique of Livingston’s work, bell hooks depicts Livingston as a horrible person for creating a film on black drag culture being that as the film editor, Livingston has the power to alter subject’s meanings, something hooks does not believe Livingston has the right to do as a white person. As the director and editor of “Paris is Burning,” Livingston indeed holds a great amount of power, however, her awareness of her place in society proven through her lack of presence throughout the documentary shows that she did not abuse her
Question One: According to some of the scholars we have read during the semester, one of the most important projects of black independent filmmaking is to create an “oppositional gaze” on screen. Through an in-depth discussion of Cheryl Dunye's's film The Watermelon Woman, write about how creation of such oppositional gaze on screen contributes to the creation of a black queer/lesbian memory. The Watermelon Woman film created an interacial lesbian gaze that will be unforgettable for me due to how attracted these two women were to each other and the events that the gaze lead to. How, as it were, could a film like The Watermelon Woman build up a lesbian, black female gaze.
Race and sexuality play possibly the biggest roles in American History X. Almost every character based action in the movie is racially
Coming Out, Sexual Ambiguity, and Rejection: A Queer Reading of the Velvet Underground’s “Lady Godiva’s Operation” In her 2002 essay on the increasingly normalized depictions of seemingly queer characters and symbols in popular media, Diane Raymond lays out the general characteristics of “queerness” as an abstract idea. She posits that the queer is non-binary, inclusive, and part of what could generally be called the political fringe (Raymond 2002). In another essay, this one written by Alexander Doty in 1993, gives even more permissive guidelines, describes queerness as “a flexible space for the expression of all aspects of non- (anti-, contra-) straight cultural production and reception” (Doty 1993/Creekmur Oct. 26).
According to the American Film Institute (1997 list) seven of the top ten films of all time were produced during the Hollywood studio era that took place between the 1920’s to the mid 1950’s. These are impressive numbers considering that America’s film history goes back more than one hundred years. Why do so many of America’s greatest films come from this era? Why is this time period called the golden age of Hollywood? The reason is the Hollywood studio system is the best method ever developed for making quality film and no other system has been able to produce as many quality films in such a short time.
Actors in Film rarely have control over what they were acting in many Hollywood movies, because actors have the least amount of creative input. Most actors play the role they are assigned, which the mostly white studio executives choose these assignments, and this makes it difficult to know whether or not actors have subverted their stereotypes. This is not just the case for Old Hollywood actor, since many actors today face the same obstacle. According to Latino Images in film, there is a “disappearing act” involved with the perception of actors. This “disappearing act” is how the actors’ decisions on their roles affect how they are seen, for example the actor disappears into the charter and the other way around.
In the Oppositional Gaze, Belle Hooks describes the process of identification as the subject (the woman) being replaced by another (someone in the film) that breaches the separation between the two, and in doing so, replicates the same structure of patriarchy (hooke, 124). Hooks describes that the existence of black women in a culture of white supremacy causes complexity and issues in regard to female identification. Due to poor representation of African American women in film, issues of identification can arise. One of this issues is explained in a scenario regarding a woman named Miss Pauline. Miss Pauline is a black woman who goes to the theater, watches a film (which is made for white people) and gets pleasure from it.
I chose this film because it showed how hard the union workers and families worked in fighting racial injustices, and because it inspired myself to move forward with strong ideologies and pride. 2. Stereotyping in mass media was an important concern of Chicana/o media activists because it imprinted a demeaning label by only casting Chicana/o actors with "minor roles: villains, sidekicks, temptresses, where their main function is to provide the protagonists, typically a handsome white
Cheryl Dunye, a screenwriter, film director and actress, has created many films that fit under the genre of new queer cinema. Most of her films explores the intersections of sexuality, race and class and how it shapes black women's sexual identity. Cheryl presents the intersectionality theory in her films to uncover the social inequality that black lesbian face in society. This is important because they are doubly discriminated against for being a minority of colour, a homosexual person and of the lower class (Kumashiro, 2001). In particular, Cheryl's the The Watermelon Woman (1997) and Black is Blue (2014) will be discussed.
Black women are treated less than because of their ascribed traits, their gender and race, and are often dehumanized and belittled throughout the movie. They are treated like slaves and are seen as easily disposable. There are several moments throughout the film that show the racial, gender, and class inequalities. These moments also show exploitation and opportunity hoarding. The Help also explains historical context of the inequality that occurred during that time period.
Representation 'LGBT' in the cinema. From 1970 until today. 1. Hollywood. The big industry, commercial cinema.
In a time when racists and homophobes have been empowered by the recent election of fellow racist Donald Trump, proper representation of marginalized experiences in art have gained increased importance in how we perceive and empathize with others. The sharing of experiences through art helps with consciousness-raising and the spreading of knowledge among those of different experiences. An example of this is the recently released film Moonlight, written and directed by Barry Jenkins and based on a story by Tarrell Alvin McCraney, which bitchmedia correspondent Nijla Mu’min covered in a recent article. In this article, Mu’min discusses the cultural and political influence of Moonlight in our current social and political climate. In regards to
While Disney cinema appears to constantly equate queerness with evil, at the same time, they are opening the door for diverse representations of queerness by blurring the binary oppositions of gender and presenting dynamic expressions that challenge everything that is considered
Since the 19th century, African Americans have often been subjected to racism and marginalization within the American society. Although they have been brought as slaves to America in the 17th century and thus, live probably since generations in the country, they are barely recognized as part of the American community and are forced to live on the fringe of society. As a consequence, African Americans have become the targets of cinematic and television comedy, delineating various stereotypical images of African American men and women. David O. Selznick’s film adaptation Gone With the Wind, published in 1939 and adapted from Margaret Mitchell’s eponymous novel, offers the first portrayal of an African American woman. Conspicuously, the African American woman in the film emphasizes stereotypical images being decisively devised by white American writers and
“The Black Suffragist: Trailblazers of Social Justice,” tells the story of early 19th Century women who against all odds pursued the right to vote. And it’s that same determined spirit embraced by independent filmmakers as they struggle to bring their visions to fruition. Thereby, it’s with heartfelt appreciation that we thank Dem Hands for their generous support of our film production. Without their kind support, our journey would be twice as difficult, and twice as lonely.