By now, we've had a few discussions regarding the origins and
perceptions of film and African American film. We should also have a
belief of what black film is. Accordingly, I'd like you to respond to
an aspect that resonates with you the most. In your blog, explain why
you're sharing what you've chosen. I highly encourage you to include an
element of multimedia to enhance your position. Please refer to my
blogging rubric found on your syllabus. I look forward to reading your comments!
Enjoy!
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ReplyDeleteEver since I decided to become a filmmaker two questions has always burned inside me. What is a black film? What is the difference between a black film and a Hollywood film? I actually took this class in an effort to find out. Lo and behold! The first few weeks of class we talk about this very thing. In class we talked about how early Hollywood films, like D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation contributed to the concept of whiteness. How they created stereotypes like black people being only servants, criminals, and performers. How Hollywood films have a lack of diversity. How black films or “race films” were the opposite, resembling the French New Wave in film. Which is an era in film where French filmmakers started making movies that sort of rebelled against Hollywood’s way of making a movie. This part of class resonated with me.
ReplyDeleteThe aspect that has resonated the most with me is the characters that are chosen to represent black culture in movies. Diawara states that black people are portrayed as a "problem" or a "thorn in America's heel." Black people are often given supporting roles and commonly cast as criminals. Hollywood not only generates these characters such as the angry black woman to entertain white audiences, but to also entertain black audiences. As a regular film viewer, I feel as though popular black movies typically provide a narrow perspective of the black community. Oscar Micheaux was the first black filmmaker, but he was also the first director to create an alternate perception of black people. Bell Hooks states that even though Micheaux alittle often chose lighter skinned actresses, he allowed his characters to go beyond the boundaries that society expected them to inhabit. For instance, in his film Ten Minutes to Live Micheaux makes the male characters clueless while the women have the power. The master narrative confines our black characters to the "once upon a time" storyline that forces them to be the welfare mother or the pimp. The counter narrative is the radical shift that is necessary in order to decolonize movie viewers and hopefully inspire new thoughts about what it means to be black.
ReplyDeleteview Image: https://theamericanblackgirl.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/i-am-african-america.jpg
LOVE this pic!
DeleteIn this day and age people don’t show who they really are. They have several masks that they can pick and choose to put on because sometimes that’s easier than being who they truly are. Which makes it hard to know what you are getting into when dealing with people and that is an excellent example of the saying what you see isn’t always what it seems. This saying isn’t only visible in interactions with people but it is clearly evident in the film industry but more specifically how black people are portrayed in the film industry. We are shown as being coons who participate in ongoing buffoonery such as being drug dealers, prostitutes, crackheads, sexually free and uncaring, and just being plain stupid. This method of revolving around the white supremacy idea has been a tactic since the 1915 release of Birth of a Nation, but in that time period that way of thinking was expected especially coming from a director of the Caucasian race. So what if we have a director of our own race then surely he will portray us in the way we should be seen right? A thought I’m sure everyone had when Oscar Micheaux released his film Within Our Gates in 1920. While he did make strides to achieve that he merely scratched the surface. He still showed as thugs, and gamblers, and liars and that depiction merely reinforced how they saw us. How they see us do to the black film is a topic we have debated over in class several times and the topic is something that hits home for me. It hits me so hard because I know that we are so much more. We are a strong group of people so why are we acting so afraid? We finally found our voices now we just have to use them to be heard. If we wish to be seen for who we truly and to be able to walk around without our bag of masks
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ReplyDeleteWhat really resonates with the most in films with black people are the stereotypes and the perception of beauty. The way it has influenced our culture is amazing. It is so ingrained in us that most people are not even bothered by it they just see at as the norm. When it comes to the stereotypes one that always gets to me is the fatherless black home. This preconceived notion of black men making these babies with black woman and as soon as the baby is born he skips out on his family. This way of thinking has spilled over in the real world to the point where young black men see it as ok to be like this. Also when a young black man goes to court for his rights to see his child the system is so against that they believe he is an unfit father before he even steps foot in the courtroom. I remember the first time I noticed that a lot of black children didn’t have the traditional father in their household. It was 6th grade and the teacher asked for a show of hands for everyone whose father lives with them, it was only about three kids who raised their hands and I was one of them. This was very shocking but also the way the other kids reacted was astonishing they couldn’t believe my father lived with me and I thought everybody’s dad lived them. Another issue is this perception of beauty where you can only be considered pretty if you have light skin and long straight hair. Now me being a guy I never knew this was a huge issue until I seen this documentary on Netflix called Dark Girls and the way these woman explained how they grew feeling ugly due to this perception in media and movies was really eye opening. Since becoming aware of it I can see how a young dark skin girl can have such a low self-esteem when it comes to her beauty. Also when it comes to this spilling over in real life other children will tease a little girl for being darker, even her own family will make her feel less beautiful due to her skin color with comments like “your black self” when she may get into trouble. Not realizing how much damage they are doing with calling them black when they get into trouble and helping associate black with bad. Now I’m not saying all the blame comes from media and film but they do play a huge role in these stereotypes.
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ReplyDeleteSo far the information that resonated with me the most is the information from "Black American Cinema". More often than none, we watch movies and we don't take a second thought as to the information we are feeding our brains. We don't take into consideration the reasons for why African Americans are heavily stereotyped and why those images are portrayed without so much as a rebellion. We have a responsibility to the present and future generation to put positive images out there. Letting them know that African Americans can be more than maids, criminals, or slaves. We can be doctors, lawyers, have a functional family, and that black women aren't always angry. These portrayals are hurtful. Especially, when the media only shows us that our history started from slavery and that we as a people did not contribute anything to society other than being a problem. It is interesting to know that coonery still exist, but it is just in a different form. A lot of producers and directors who are African American have been successful in their changing the art of film, and incorporating the methods from other countries as a tool. The next step, would be to take a stand and not produce movies that are only made for the spectatorship of white people. It's time that our children see some positive images and learn that the status quo can always change. We should do the most to make sure that we are not contributing to a hollywood that makes us look as though we are nothing more as objects, and more so as humans.
ReplyDeleteThe aspect of films and African-American films that resonates with me the most is the amount of diversity when it comes to presenting the African-American character. Since film is like a telltale of what’s going on in society during the time of the production, it doesn’t come to a surprise that black characters were looked at as degenerates in the earlier silent films. These perceptions came from old slavery ideologies and continued to be a factor when creating black characters. The scenes from The Birth of a Nation when the black soldiers, and black legislatures are abusing their power with the former tormenting the white residents on the streets, and the latter drinking at their desk and misbehaving at their job are two example of the smeared black imagery. The stereotypes of black lives has been repeated in films throughout time with no prevail. Even in the year 2015 the movie Get Hard, played by Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell, shows how America still views black people as degenerates, with the punch-line of the movie being a rich white man asking a black man to prepare him for prison. If a black character is seen on film, and it’s not a role that plays into the degenerate stereotype, then they would have been seen as hopeless, needing a white savior. Another example of this would be The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock, or Matt Damon in Elysium. The list of white savior movies goes on.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of representation is detrimental to the development of self worth in the African American community, and this is why diversity resonates with me the most. Having African-American filmmakers giving an alternative view on black characters has been refreshing to see. It has been enlightening to see other possibilities for black characters since not all black people have the same upbringing and lifestyle. Oscar Micheaux breaks the cultural barrier by being the first African-American film maker, and also by shedding a positive light on black characters. He shows them as educated and well-mannered people which was something that wasn’t common at the time. Even to this day watching an all black cast is refreshing because the representation of black characters are limited to small roles, or played off of the stereotypes that has been around since slavery. Movies like Dope, and Love & Basketball shows that there is more depth in black characters than what is constantly presented in the media. These stories are important because they give respect to black lives.
Unit 1 of this class has been very enlightening already, and there are numerous different teaching points that have resonated with me so far. However, what resonates with me most so far from this course is how race films were manifested originally. D.W Griffith produced BOAN which devilishly misrepresented the black race, and did so in such a trivial manner to demean us to nothing more than servers, entertainers, and mentally incompetent workers. This resonated with me because like we discussed in class, this film took place right after the civil war had ended and integration was prominent in the U.S. Griffith's BOAN was so ionfluential becuase it was the only portraytal of black people that a lot of white people had ever encountered, and to be misrepresented so poorly and beligerently to the most powerful race on earth at the time was completely detrimental to race relations post civil war. I truly admire the briliance and resiliance of Oscar Michaeux to be calculated enought to retaliate in a way that would be receptive to the public without necessarily conforming to the stereotypes posed in the 1st film. Just by producing a feature length film as a black man in itself disproved white supremacist ideology because it showed that a black man was capable of thinking and creating for himself. It also gave black people as a race a voice against the unjust misrepresentation that Griffith put together. Attatched is a 9 minute clip of a critic having a compare and contrast discussion about Within our Gates versus BOAN:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSP12A-zk0Y
Intriguing information shared in this video!
DeleteSo far what has resonated with me are the paradigms covered in "Black American Cinema" and the realizations I was made to see after reading chapter 8 about Micheaux's films. I never knew how "black films" began and to know that even back then, when speaking out against injustice was still taboo that film makers were brave enough to stand up and create counter narratives for our people. Though not all were completely successful as expressed about Micheaux perpetuating stereotypes regarding colorism, the fact is that he still tried. The Birth of a Nation has caused stereotypes that black people are still fighting today. Knowing that the stereotypes from that film are so hard to overcome that even in some creating counter narratives (like Tyler Perry) they are still solidifying those stereotypes.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1-aSIUP4wM
For myself, black film is a subset of conventional films. The closest comparison I could give black films is “folk history”. The reason why I bought up folk history, is due to the significance of its exposure. The romanticism of history is typically what we’ve been exposed to. But the commoner, poor, ethnic minority is one that’s rarely discussed. This is what I see with black films. What makes this so imperative is the thought processes it provokes. Images are a powerful source of control. Because visuals lead to this innate sense of conformity found in all human beings. That’s why nationalistic countries like China are sensitive to showing images, which project themselves in a negative manner. Because they understand the importance of creating a patriotic sense of pride in their people. This is something rarely seen in black films. Because the American capitalistic mindset is based upon profit, and showing black film in positive fashion is nonexistent. Black themed reality television illustrates this point. Rarely do you see anyone with careers of actual substance. But you’re saturated heavily with characters defining themselves by what they wear (advertising, brand marketing 101), drive etc. This might seem harmless, but it reinforces what we give value to. It helps to inflame the conspicuous consumption is rampant in our community. I know in class we’ve discussed the stereotypes associated with black film. I understand film creates a cultural paradigm that the world sees us by. What scares me more is shows like; Empire, Power, etc. Yes, they create a sense of romanticism, but once again lack in careers of substances. We’re also once again shown in stereotypical roles. Not to mention Music Industry, Night Club owner, and Drug kingpins lack power moves in the overall scheme of society. So these paths can create wealth, but none of these careers challenge the dominant elitist of society. Again, this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but representation inspires immolation. As a community we’ve failed to realize the part we play. The truth is the viewing audience dictates the programming. Because as long as we continue to watch such shows, the film industry will continue to create such nonsense. So it’s important to understand the role we play in our poor representation.
ReplyDeleteAs an inspiring actress I’ve really enjoyed taking this class so far. Learning about prominent black filmmakers such as Oscar Micheaux, and watching the film “Within Our Gates” has really given me a different type of perspective on Hollywood and its films. It’s something like an eye opener. For example, the way D.W Griffith portrayed blacks in his film “Birth of A Nation’. The worst thing about that film was how good it was orchestrated. Being one of the first films many whites have seen, it forces them to believe that the stereotypes of how blacks were portrayed are true. And that it is okay to treat us (African Americans) as if we aren’t anything more than entertainers or servants for them. What I love about Micheaux’s films is the realness. He shows a complex of many things like, love, murder, rape, lynching, white bigotry and migration of blacks from the south to the north. But he gives it from the real perspective of how it is to be black in America. This film is one of the earliest examples of black appropriation of technology to show African Americans in Mass Culture. The back and forth of these films in Hollywood from the 1900’s reminds of how it relates to blacks in Hollywood in 2016. To this day we don’t feel like we get the recognition we deserve..Hints, black actors & actresses threatening to boycott the Oscars!
ReplyDeleteWhat resonated with me the most is how as black people we don't embrace and love our blackness.It's like were ashamed to be who we are. For a long time our world has been centered around "Whiteness". For example our women go out and get their hair straightened and permed because society says, "Oh, you should have long straight beautiful hair and not nappy hair." Instead of embracing our natural hair we find ways to change it. It seems as Black people that we are hiding behind a mask. We're portrayed in movies as something we're not. I find it interesting that we're always made out as drug dealers or people with bad attitudes. I don't speak for everyone on this part, but i feel like every time i watch a scary movie the black person always dies first! This world is centered primarily around white culture and in America it's crazy how this is just considered normal. Today there's a lot of talk about the whole Light skinned, dark skinned issue and how the lighter you are the better. I think it has a lot to do with the times during slavery. If you were light skinned you worked in the house if you were dark skinned you worked the field. As black people in America we must love who we are. We must not be afraid.
ReplyDeleteIn Unit 1 we have reviewed multiple stereotypes of black culture and films .We discussed the origin of these stereotypes such as the mammy and mulatto, and how they have affected black film today. Some films such as Tyler Perry’s reproduces some of the stereotypical images of black people we discussed in class . Black filmmakers such as Tyler Perry and Micheaux try to create films from a black person point of view but often times still involve the innocent light skin female, the black male criminal, or the flirty jezebel women. In class we discussed multiple times the problem with this idea of thinking and how it affects viewers. Bell hooks believed that in the movie Withn Our Gates Micheaux should have responded more to white representations of black people and should portray blacks in a positive light. Although he did portray black women as educated and polite in this movie; Sylvia was a light skin women. So a lot of our conversations about these stereotypes have sparked interest to me to look at film with a different perspective of how the counter narrative and dominant culture in the film is portrayed.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I believe that the stereotype of black people being wild and endangered is absurd. Not all black people are alike and that is something other cultures and even our own must understand. Not only are we judged by other cultures but there is a lot of internalized racism in the black culture. I feel passionate about this stereotype because the in film Rosewood (link below), a white women was raped in a prominently white area that has blacks on the other side of town, and she blamed a black man for raping her when it was her abusive white boyfriend. She upset many of the white men in town with this news so they went looking for a black suspect that didn’t even exist, the goal was to kill whoever the black man was because it was a sign of disrespect. This film shows how easily people believe that black people are savages that attack white people.
Rosewood link (watch at 2:47): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlfKvZPCmys
In response to what is Black film?
I believe black film is a visual representation of black culture. Black film is how we as a culture express ourselves through art. Black film has tradition, culture; negro stories, and is politically and socially aware and involved. Black films usually are relatable to everyone because they include human experience and can change people perspectives on how they view black culture.
What strongly resonated in me is the open discussion on Oscar Micheaux's films. After reading hook's critical point of view of his works were enlightened. My perception has changed and it's profound. According to hook, Micheaux was involved in a romantic liason with a white woman in South Dakota. In our class discussion as well as text, we've realized all of his leading actresses in his films were fair tone. Stating that this is possibly a form of self-hate, made me consider the constant condition of African Americans (especially darker complexion) feeling unworthy and unacceptable in society; unfortunately, this still occurs today.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to what we have covered so far in class, the aspect that resonates the most with me is the “Introduction to Black Looks” by Bell Hooks. Growing up, I did not perceive the black race to be what I admire so much about it now. In my mind, it was fulfilled of white supremacy, due to the fact that seemed like the world I was living in. Attending the elementary, middle, and high school in Dallas, North Carolina allowed me to be constantly around pre-dominate white crowds. In that case, it took a huge impact on the way I perceived not only the things in the world, but my identity as well. Bell Hooks emphasizes how self-destructing African-Americans are to themselves, race, and even culture because we are not attempting to try and make any transformations of our representations. This all applied to me in a phase of my life, because I was so focused on making sure I was seen in a substantial manner by the whites rather than the blacks- it seemed to me that what the blacks thought of me was not as significant. Do not get me wrong, I am a very diverse person and was back then, it is just that I perceived things completely different back then. After being in this class for just only a few weeks, it has allowed me to appreciate more of being the young African-American female that I am because even though my color is different from whites, I can keep up with them just the same and stand as a proud symbol of the African-American race. Bell Hooks has really made a significant shift in the way I see things now because comparing to who I was before coming to a historical black college, there is a complete difference and appreciation. For now, I have no shame at all being the woman that I am as an African-American that embraces her skin and form of character.
ReplyDeleteThis link shows my relation to how I use to feel when I allowed the eyes of others be the beholder of who I THOUGHT I was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPCkfARH2eE
What really resonates with me the most is over the years African Americans are being in far less roles in Hollywood films than the 1900s. It’s the 21st century and you would think that we would have more roles than we actually do. If we do have any roles we have the stereotypical characters with crime/violence because that’s what our society has a fascination to. Perception is a powerful thing! Unfortunately there are some African American film makers feeding into some of the stereotypes like for example John Singleton, Baby boy and Hustle and flow. In my mind “hood” films create a stereotype of an African American man being brutal, aggressive, and is known to be very sexual at times and because of a black man “being” overly sexual it reflects on how he is seen, which is a threat because of the reputation of raping white women as seen in Birth Of a Nation. Then if it’s not a hood film African American women are portrayed as weak but that’s another issue because women as a whole have been portrayed as weak in our society for a very long time. Bell hooks states in black looks that blackness is represented negatively in contrast to whiteness and it has greatly affected black people. Bell hooks looks at the way our white supremacist society misrepresents blackness as well as abusing it and marginalizing black people.
ReplyDeleteSo far in unit one we have discussed what constitutes as African American film and the elements that go into labeling it as such. We have analyzed and critiqued films from Oscar Micheaux and even touched based with filmmakers such as Spike Lee. We have discussed Blackness in Hollywood, from segregation to the present, and these discussions have really expanded my knowledge of being Black in Hollywood. What resonates with me the most is the stereotypical black elements, white Hollywood gives black characters in their films. We are made out to be loud, obnoxious, criminals and overly sexualized. Not only does white America paint a bad picture of us in films, but also if we are not acting like we have no sense of self-dignity, we are made out to seem as though we desire to be accepted by our white counterparts. As bell hooks has mentioned in her work, “Black Looks, Race and Representation,” why film is crucial to society, in saying, “The emphasis on film is so central because it, more than any other media experience, determines how blackness and black people are seen and how other groups will respond to us based on their relation to these constructed and consumed images.” (5) This statement is pointing out that the images of Black culture televised are extremely important, that they represent the Black community in a good light.
ReplyDeleteAn example of how Hollywood tries mocks the Black community, would be VH1’s reality tv show “Sorority Sisters.”
K.Michelle, speaks on the topic in a radio show interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdLOSztolZQ
In the interview she talks of how things should be kept sacred and how the show was a violation of privacy, because how much people value certain things. The show represented the Black community in a negative light, like many other reality tv shows on VH1 all together.
Johnelle Revell
What really resonates with me is the underlying identity crisis within the Black film community. It was introduced to the industry by Oscar Micheaux and ultimately revealed by bell hooks. Today, the African-American community struggles with it's collective public image and has gone to great lengths to suppress anything that may allow the White Majority to substantiate their beliefs. One example is the theory that all black women are angry. In today's reality television we see prominent representatives of African-American pop culture portrayed in a negative light. On one end of the culture spectrum we have the African Americans who pride themselves on distinction pushing separate values in an assimilated nation that has previously rejected it by way of Black Entertainment Television, HBCUs, and the Black Film genre. On the other end we have the African Americans who try and fight the majority by attempting to win at their game by blindly adopting and living closely to the "White is right" stigma.
ReplyDeleteThe identity crisis that is revealed in Black Film has stuck out the most to me and I often question whether or not we have the capacity to one day level the playing field in a Hollywood not made for us, or if we're better off making Black Film it's own epicenter.
Were portrayed in the film and media in many ways, but which way is the true "Black" way.
Juwan Johnson
I have always been that friend that hasn't seen the movies like "boys in the hood" or "belly, paid in full, etc." I always labeled these movies as the "black Classic movies" and felt as if I should have seen them; almost like it was my responsibility to but in reality after watching the movies and analyzing the readings in Unit I my mindset change. The one thing that resonates with me the most happens to be "Black American Cinema". Specifically because this reading breaks it down to me as to what black film really is, what it started from, and what it's categorized to be. The reading opened my eyes to so many things such as black using their resources to do what they could to make their OWN category and establish what they want to be labeled as and not falling into the groups that Hollywood forced them into. This reading has also opened my eyes that blacks being in films aren't always made out to be the cooks, maids, or criminals , however this is only going to be in low budget or independent films which don't get much exposure. This isn't nearly as bad as the High Art vs Low Art that Micheaux also touches on and the significance in both which is still somewhat evolving in today's film methods. For example, as there is currently controversy going on due to some of Stacey Dash's comments regarding BET, when this network actually supports black film and brings out the positivity in it. I say all of this to conclude that the first Unit in this class has been an eye opener as well as a pressure push for me to be more open minded to the origins and seriousness of things such as Black Cinema and what it really is.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/01/29/lead-intv-tapper-kevin-costner-confronts-race-in-film.cnn/video/playlists/american-sniper/
From the discussions and lessons that we have gone over in class, the aspect that resonates the most with me is the introduction of "Black Looks" by bell hooks. The part that really stood out is when she talks about the little girl not loving her dark skin or kinky hair. I have always suffered from living to others expectations and living to the standard of society. Being an aspiring filmmaker and being in this class, I have a new love for independent black films. I want my films to show that dark skin is considered beautiful and that our hair is considered the hair of Kings and Queens, and I also want to show that black people can do good and have main roles in Hollywood. I want to break barriers when it comes to my films and the goal is to have people talk about the films and open their minds to be more than what the media and society perceives us to be. I can definitely say that this first unit has been an eye opener and has made me open u[p my mind to be more conscience of how I carry myself and how people see me. I just want people to stop being close minded and know that it is 2016, there has to be a change to people's perception of black people. We have greatness. We just have to speak up and demand respect.
ReplyDeleteWhat strongly resonated in me in unit 1 was the D.W. Griffith film "Birth of a nation", I was bothered by its contents within in the film and the praise held around it. This particular film shaped stereotypes in my own community, and man don't even know it. I knew nothing of this film two weeks ago, now that I do it breaks my heart. I watch the crime of colorism in our community play out everyday and I don't think that many see that's it only separates us. I have suffered from feeling inferior at times because of the tone of my skin. I want this subject specifically in our community to change, Spike Lee School Days can be remade as an eye opener. Independent films are more heart warming and eager to deliver messages when needed. I want people to understand that light and dark skin makes no difference to a white person if your black, even within the white race they stick together over shining us with their unity. The first unit was good, I enjoyed it. I love learning new things about my people that I don't know, I'm glad I took this class. I took both Hip Hop classes with Mr. Turman and I thought I wouldn't find any other class willing to tell us the truth about reality within America and something that could keep me so fascinated but here I am excited for the rest of the semester, waiting to know what I'll learn next.
ReplyDeleteBelow is a link to the documentary film Oprah put it called.... Dark Girls
I think it relates to the colorism issues we face due the hate thrown upon us during slavery from whites.
http://www.oprah.com/oprahdotcom/First-Look-Dark-Girls-Documentary-Film-Video
-IMANI HARRIS
For the past couple of years I’ve always thought of myself as a producer for the news. I’ve been learning the industry (for quite some time now) so that I can break and perfect the idea of what news looks like as an African-American. Most do not know how the news industry is ran on a producer’s level. Let’s talk on a local level because the demographics for national news shows are greater and their anchors have more power within their contracts. A news producer is the visionary for the show. So he or she literally molds the show and it’s ‘characters’ to how they see fit for their demographics. Demographics are really just the reality of what the people the people who live in that area see on a day-to-day basis. Have you ever noticed that the anchors on the news rarely change? Or their hair never changes colors? How their styles remain the same? Notice how their body frames remain the same, unless they’re pregnant? Naturally their outfits change but nothing else does, that’s how you remember them. They never break the status quo just like the film industry. Producers base their overall theme of a show on the demographics of the viewers. White and black filmmakers make films based off of their own demographics and cultural backgrounds. A white man would never write a movie about how a black love because it’s not his reality. Hate on Tyler Perry if you want to but all of his movies were based on his reality growing up in New Orleans around women. Naturally black churchgoers go to see his movies, they have always been his demographic. They way bell hooks wrote about Oscar Micheaux’s films I could honestly defend him. That film was his reality, that film was simply a reflection of what Micheaux thought was beautiful, how he valued most of Hollywood’s narratives, and “…his work explores passions aroused in response to acts of betrayal” (bell hooks). That was Micheaux’s reality. I believe that black films are a reflection of the black community in a white world through the eyes of the filmmaker. Through the filmmakers eye lies his reality, his or her paradigm that may have been broken but remains dormant in their films.
ReplyDelete- Taylor Young (not sure why my pic won't show up)
DeleteDuring class we discussed what roles and images bothered us today in the media. I strongly dislike the recognition black women get for being power black women in lead roles, but they have to be married to a white male. For example, in "Scandal" Olivia is focused, brilliant black woman,but instead of her either being great on her own or happily married to a black husband, Olivia is the mistress of the White president. I think it bothers me more that these are the roles we as black women are acknowledged by Hollywood for. It says to me that we can be leaders and powerful but still under the control of a man, usually white, and Hollywood accepts that image of us. After reading chapter 8 in "Black Looks", I related this to Micheaux using a light skinned woman to play his leading roles in films. I also related it to the affair that he had with the White woman he was in love with. Micheaux did not want to "betray his race" by marrying the white woman so he subconsciously used this light skinned woman in his films to reflect what he wanted for himself. I still feel that this was a betrayal for two reasons. The first being that he betrayed his black wife, and the second that he betrayed all the fair or dark skinned women that he did not want to play the leading roles in his films. It is important for children and women to see all shades of black in leading roles in the media, to avoid the same self hate that Micheaux himself had. It was disheartening that the creator of shows like "Scandal" and "How to get Away with Murder" is Shonda Rhimes, a black woman. Like Micheaux, Shonda's work is great. The downfall is that instead of striding forward as actors in these great films we still hold ourselves back due to the role in which we play.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/EWljVOix2wo
- Jameilah smith
DeleteUpon registering for this class, I was interested in learning the origins of black film. I figured it was more to black film than what meets the eye. So far, we have reviewed the films Birth of a Nation and Within Our Gates. Birth of a Nation is the prime example of how White's dominate the film industry. The way black people are depicted as inferior and disgraceful is offensive. In the film Within Our Gates, the image of blacks (mainly the leading character) is more relative and accurate but it still relates to the master narrative: whiteness. For example, the women are light-skinned and the melodramatic setting between good and bad relates back to white film. Hooks discuss this issue in the reading Black looks which I took as a guide for really understanding how to critique and become more aware of the black image in media. The subjects that resonates with me the most are the stereotypes blacks face in film and how most films seem to revolve around caucasian standards. All black people are not criminals, poor, ill-mannered, etc. I have come to realize almost a hundred years later the stereotypes still remain in films even with black directors. What can we do as a whole to reverse the image?
ReplyDeleteYasmeen Owens
Aarin Jackson
ReplyDeleteThe aspect of films and Black films that resonates with me is the lack of diversity when it comes to representation of Black people. Instead producing the stereotypical images of blacks lives in America, we need to show the issues that are relevant to the black community instead. What stood out to me the most was in my readings of Black Looks, because hooks took a look at the change of how the black image is representative in the mass media. Hooks states that “If we compare the relative progress African Americans have made in education and employment to the struggle to gain control over how we are represented, particularly in the mass media, we see that there has been little change in the area of representation.” I agree with that statement, because all my life the images that were depicted seemed like an over exaggeration and mockery of our reality. I’m not going to lie growing up I witnessed all the coonery and stereotypes. The black people that I was raised around praise all the negative images and imitate them as if they were worth something. It took me coming to HBCU to finally get around black people that were at least somewhat conscious. For example, the Single mother stereotype. I grew up in a single mother home. I watched my money struggle and work two jobs all by herself and the reality of it was a man wasn’t going to save us from the struggle. When I see movies like Meet the Browns and its main character is a single mother who winds up getting saved in the end by a man. Just because she finds a good man doesn’t mean all her problems are solved. Reality of it was is a man wasn’t the one doing the saving, it was momma that came through every time. I don’t believe anything is wrong with a single mother finding a good man, but finding a good man isn’t the only solution to her happiness because she can make it on her own and sometimes you don’t have no choice. Most people I know with single mothers, they make its own their own with no help from any man or government. What’s wrong with a women saving herself and taking care of her family. Which also aligns with how they represent successful independent black women. They never show black women with a stable household and stable career. It’s like they are telling us we can’t have it all. Being Mary Jane and Scandal are prime examples of a lead being some successful black women. Instead of the shows representing women who holds it down at home and in her career; she has to be lonely, homewrecker, lost, unhappy. Growing up I loved seeing successful black women on the screen, because I knew I was destined for greatness, but these films and shows didn’t do nothing but bring the questions of doubt like I can’t have it all. Black films are supposed to be a representation of our culture. Since Black films are a representation of black people, it has the power to influence other people’s perceptions of us. Our situation in America will never change until the images depicted do. We wonder why race relations haven’t got better, but they will never will if we keep letting non blacks represent us as inferior beings.
One of the most impactful parts of the being part of this semester is how the beginning of racial stereotypes and characters of African Americans in film. The phrase “their isn’t nothing new under the sun” comes to mind during the first 3 weeks. Today’s film and movies have the racial issue of character roles for black actors. Black man is a criminal. Black woman is a single mom trying to get by. Young black child is trying to find the way to get through the world. In actuality, these roles have changed over time but the concept is the same. In some way or form, many of the films in Hollywood show blacks in somewhat unrealistic roles. Filmmakers like Micheaux have tried to show the alternative of what mainstream film during his time by giving the others side of black like in America. However, he intentionally or un-intentionally created a color dived of black characters. A formula of light skin equals safe, revered, and black skin equaling confrontation and edgy was created, but the character is not too dark. These images over generations alga mated a divide within black culture of “team dark skin vs team light skin” (dumbest sh*t ever). This narrative is furthered is some way by Tyler Perry. Perry put many of black actor in work and in to the lime light of mainstream filmmaking but his plotlines continues the color roles for black actors. A good example of this comes from the boondocks were describe his plotlines.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRfDgnapUAw
One thing that resonated with me the most is, is how much of an impact imagery had in films back then, and how it really shaped American and society as a whole. Birth of a Nation was an excellent film to watch, being that it was a silent film, you had to pay close attention to the imagery, movement, and setting. Since this was the first Hollywood blockbuster film, many many many people seen this, and those images were ingrained in their mind. The black people in this movie were portrayed as incompetent, wild, overly sexual beings. This movie instilled those stereotypes into people's lives because that movie was probably all they had seen or heard of an african american, and it was full of negativity. Not all black people in those times acted as such. They were a lot of black people who had common sense and acted as such. Also, another issue that stood out to me was Tyler Perry films. Our discussion in class really intrigued me because I never looked that deep into it, but Tyler Perry's films seem very contreversial. He seems to follow very stereotypical acting roles for african american actors, such as a mammy, loud black women, weak black women, broke single black mother, and etc. Tyler Perry is a genius in the movie industry, but he does not seem to be interested in innovating a newer sense of films in his work. He also tends to use certain actors that fit the role 100% percent such as Angela Bassett, Tasha Smith, and etc.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OXfGR4dgiY
one thing that resonates with me is the false representation of character roles in certain historical films. I understand lighter and whiter skin would attract more people to make the film more money but having the right people for the right roles would give people a better understanding of what really goes on instead of white washing every film.
ReplyDeletePrior to taking this African American Film class I had never even heard of Birth of A Nation nor did I know the impact a film could have on racism for generations to come. I knew that there were films that depicted blacks in a negative way but never to the extent that we are portrayed in BOAN. Making a mockery of black people and villainizing them I see why the film had the outcome that it did. And after watching the entire film I personally believe that it still plays a role in the race problem that we have today. I have always believed racism was taught and with that film being some of the first encounters whites had with colored people it really instilled this racist, unfit look at blacks. And I still see this today especially when President Obama was elected people said he was unfit still believe he is till this day even after all he has accomplished because he is black. He has the education, knowledge in politics, and he was reelected but you still have those people that no matter how good he does they will find the bad in it. Another thing I took from this class so far is how we were seen as entertainers and that kind of bothered me because I still see it today. No black candidates at the Oscars but they want Chris Rock to entertain them the whole night you have to see the problem.
ReplyDeleteFrom even the early 1900's the stereotypical version of black people have been portrayed in the film industry. Beginning with A Birth of a Nation, black people were depicted as being the 'bad" guy or the villain in the story. The black faces who represented black people were white people acting like blacks. The fact that the writer didn't even choose black actors to actually portray these roles resonates with me. White people actually believed that black people didn't have the mental capacity to even memorize a role. This movie truly opens the door to the stereotypical black movies. Oscar Michaeux's Within our Gates was the comeback to that movie. Michaeux chose fair skinned people to portray certain roles. This particular instance may be self hate or internalized racism on Michaeux's part. Black people in this particular movie are more so depicted as the educated, well mannered, honest version of the black community. On the other hand, vamps and criminals are still portrayed by certain black characters.
ReplyDeletesierra simmons
DeletePrior to registering for this class I knew a little from helping out a friend last semester for the class video project. I was very excited to register for this class. I will say this class was different from what I expect, in a good way. I thought we were only going to watch African American films, discuss and write an essay about each, but it has been more than that. We do watch films but we go so in depth in why this may have happened or not it was even more intriguing. From the past few class discussions, I've learned that some black films cater to white supremacy and stereotypes portrayed in the black community. By this statement, I mean in films like Birth of a Nation you have the black people in the movie portrayed as ignorant people. With Birth of a Nation being the first blockbuster film, the portrayal of blacks were the only impression some white people had and made them feel like all behaved in such ways. Tyler Perry movies are a prime example of black movies portraying stereotypes. In all his movies there is either a single mother struggling to make ends meet, a very loud older family member, Madea, and many other scenarios. Perry's movies have a good meaning but I feel it puts on a box on how black people behave, usually the women. There's always the same ending, the woman is struggling then find a man at the end to rescue her. His movies have a very predictable ending and for people that do not interact with black people too often view them and think everyone has the same situations happening in their life. Everyone will not think outside the box and that is why some watch films because they like to see through others eyes. If one cannot think that there may be something different it makes it difficult for them not to categorize an entire race. Being in this class has helped me expand my thinking process when it comes to evaluating possible reasons why black films often keep black people in a stereotypical bubble or not.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have learned from the discussions on black films and the themes that origins around it is internalized racism, everything being center around whiteness, and how we are still dealing with those issues today. As we know if isn’t “white” then it isn’t right. As white people portray black people in a bad light or black people fighting to be portrayed in a positive image. White people tries to erase black images from history. As I was doing my research I came across an article saying how a director casted a white man to play in his The Mountain Top Martin Luther King play. The director didn’t see anything wrong since black people are playing white roles. But to black people that is offensive especially since we have rare moments of history recognized. That shows the mental construction of racism and how white people think it is ok to reconstruct history.
ReplyDeleteThe aspect of English 318 that resonates with me the most is the negative portrayal of African Americans in early films such as, Birth of a Nation. Watching this film allowed me to see the perception of African Americans through the eyes of the racist Hollywood industry. This negative perception displayed by the filmmaker D.W. Griffith goes to show that the internalized racism programmed in the minds of whites continues to be a generational curse that will forever cause a dispute between blacks and whites. D.W. Griffith's racist film BOAN also forces whites to only accept blacks in the roles of domestic-maids, criminals, entertainers and slaves. With these very limited roles, blacks will continue to be perceived as a sub-par race that isn't viewed as equals in a predominately white society/industry.
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