The Knowledgeable World of (Black) Films

          Films by Black Filmmakers have a special place in my heart because they teach through their physically diverse casts and uniqueness of their characters both lead and minor. The films that we have watched in class and films similar to them force you to examine each part of the character, the spectators are obligated to expand their minds past the stereotypes associated with the characters physical appearance.
          In general I believe that films teach people how they can affect the world or to be more comfortable in their skin. Films that teach people, are always relatable, whether characters that relate to the person themselves or someone they know. Black filmmakers have also taught me the importance of showcasing Black actors in non-stereotypical roles. This thought lead me to an article about Viola Davis calling Hollywood out about not casting dark skinned women.

Viola Davis Just Called Out Hollywood For Ignoring Dark-Skinned Women by Zeba Blay

I was also led to an interview with Ava DuVernay about the lack of diversity in Hollywood. She had a profound position when it came to the word diversity. DuVernay believes the word has now a soothing mechanism instead something for society and Hollywood to work towards.

SELMA DIRECTOR AVA DUVERNAY SPEAKS ABOUT LACK OF DIVERSITY IN HOLLYWOOD

Filmmakers like all other artists are needed to help guide and inspire people's ignorance and turn it into applicable knowledge.

 Spike Lee on set of She's Gotta Have It

 F. Gary Gray

Tajamika Praxton Tina Mabry, Ava DuVernay, and Victoria Mahoney

Black Bodies

       It is not a secret that due to the African diaspora the victims of it and their generations after them were stripped of their cultures, traditions, and ways of life. These enslaved people of African descent were forced to accept and adapt to their capturers lifestyles. In America those of European descent were and still are idolized for their pale skin, fine hair, and body types. African American men and women are continuously compared to Europeans physically and even spiritually seeing how there were so many differences between westernized Christianity and West African polytheistic religions. 

       In the D'angelo video "Untitled" from his album Voodoo viewers are able to experience a visual for the Pentecostal message they receive in every song by this musician. 

      D'Angelo is the archetype for the power and beauty of African oral tradition specifically musically.

      Unfortunately, due to the triviality and shallowness of society, the most sexual song on D'Angelo's album was ostracized and the inspiration and beginning of his body being taken away from him. In his video for his single "Untitled" he is stripped naked and with the lyrics D'Angelo's video is taken as a sexual advance. In recent years he went on the Tavis Smiley Show and discussed his religious background, as well as how his "Untitled" video effected his career, personal life, and his opinions on the disrespect of bodies (i.e. women).

D'Angelo & Tavis Smiley PART I on PBS

 D'Angelo & Tavis Smiley PART I on PBS

          

             

      

      However, with the music not playing the viewer is given a chilling visual that shows D'Angelo's spirituality the same spirituality that was the backbone of his ancestors when their bodies were taken away just like his. 

The introduction of Bell Hook's Black Looks as a whole resonated with me the most in Unit 1. Black Looks brings up issues that are still current in the African American community. In terms of African identity being lost due to colonization, the results are within each generation of Black Americans. Specifically in America Blacks have become victims of being defined by those who benefit from white supremacy. Many films that have recently been released have casts that define racially diverse as maximally having one African American. The one African American in these casts play stereotypical roles that have been present for decades, such as the "Black Jezebel", "Mandigo", "The Angry Black Woman", "Mammy", and "Sambo".

Pitch Perfect has Esther Dean who is a famous songwriter and singer playing the part a lesbian "Black Jezebel" for the comical relief of others.

The position of African Americans has always been in relation to whites and their benefit whether it be comical or having the white major characters play messianic positions.

Sandra Bullock plays the character of Leigh Anne Tuohy who "saves" a homeless young African American boy, Michael Oher, who to her benefit is a star at football.

African Americans careers as actors are constantly being compared to the status quo or how close they are physically, mentally, and emotionally to European standards. Thus came the "Token Black Guy (Girl)"
http://crustula.com/2012/02/07/the-10-best-token-black-guys-in-movie-history/

bell hooks ironically is not the physically stereotypical political figure for the voice of Blacks. She has a lighter complexion, with curly hair, and a soothing voice of an older woman. Yet her words are prevalent to Black experiences in 2015. She is the perfect example that African Americans are not stereotypical and can be knowledgeable about the culture and vital study of the children of the African diaspora.

-Neah Hubbard