This class has been very different from any previous course that I have taken. I enjoyed watching the films and all of the readings that we did. Each film and/or reading focused on a certain aspect of the culture of African Americans. I think that the future classes should involve more specific discussion and specific responses dedicated to each film and reading. I also think that other films should be shown so that the difference between those films and African American films can be displayed. The advice that I would give to incoming students is to really focus and analyze each film and how it relates to African American culture. Also with the readings to read between the lines and really understand the concept. Overall I enjoyed this class and it was a great learning experience.
African American women film makers often have a hard time getting their point across, and aren't very common in the film industry. No one thinks that African American women actually have something to say that is worth hearing. So when African American women film makers have a chance they include a valuable lesson in their films in hopes of spreading the message. I believe that films teach in a way that a person can relate to their own life. Seeing your own story on the big screen actually makes you step back and access the situation that you are in. When your going through the motions, you may not realize whats happening but once you see it happening to someone else you learn all of the mistakes and errors that you've made.
A perfect example of this is Ava DuVernays film Middle of Nowhere. Many women and men face the same challenges as Ruby and her husband. Watching these two on film may hit a nerve for some people and they may realize just how similar they are to this setting. Even if their experiences aren't exactly the same, the lessons still correlate. In this film a strong independent black woman has to carry her and her undeserving husband, and she does this because off the commitment that she made. Many people can relate because of the fact of sticking by someone that doesn't deserve it but they can learn that maybe it's best to let go before you hurt yourself.
“There’s something very important about films about black women and girls being made by black women. It’s a different perspective. It is a reflection as opposed to an interpretation, and I think we get a lot of interpretations about the lives of women that are not coming from women.” - Ava Duvernay
The black female body went from being mocked for it's enormous size and features, to being craved by almost every woman. The features of African American women where dictated as unacceptable by society or manly compared to European standards. The only way that a black woman's body was seen in a desirable way is if it was in a sexual manor. Now the features that where once seen as unappealing are being praised because they appear on lighter women or non African American women.
When Serena Williams released photos from her 2015 photo shoot, comments came pouring in that where all but pleasant. Manly was the main word that was used to describe her and some comments even accused her of being on steroids. African American women constantly have to prove their femininity. Now, when a non African Americans take physical features of black women they are praised and seen as beautiful. A perfect example is Kylie Jenner. Recently she has been all over social media for her facial and bodily changes. Most people responded by saying that Kylie looked good and that they where proud of her for following in her sisters footsteps.
How come society is able to tell us when we as African American women can flaunt our beauty? For years, other people have dictated when and how black beauty should be shown. Although the media has brain washed a lot of minds into thinking a certain way, just because a majority of people think that way, doesn't mean that it is right. Any shape or size is acceptable no matter the skin tone.
The topic that spoke out to me out of all of the material that we covered would have to be the idea of the African Americans image or how most people are perceived a certain way and are put into a certain category. In "The Danger of a Single Story" Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explains to us how she was depicted to act or be a certain way just because of where she came from. I found it amazing that people would be so narrow minded or oblivious to believe that a group of people had to act a certain way based off of history or the actions of others. Then I remembered that growing up I experienced something similar but on a lesser scale. I was always seen as ghetto and/or poor because of the color of my skin. Usually I wasn't even able to open my mouth before I was judged not only by individuals that weren't of color but by other African Americans as well. After hearing the way that I talked I was usually swamped by questions such as "Why do you talk so white?" or "You think that you better than us or sum?" As a child I didn't really realize what I had did wrong or why it was looked down upon but as I aged I began to understand. My peers had believed that I was suppose to behave a certain way because that was how the majority of people that raised us where and they believed that that's the way we where suppose to be. As I look back, I am glad that I grew out of the thought process that I could have been indulged in. Yes, I am black but that doesn't come with restraints.
Another topic that also grasped my attention was that individuals of a lighter skin tone are what society accepts as beautiful. Society and our ancestors have brain washed people today to believe that the lighter the better. People with darker skin tones have been pushed to the background and are only acknowledge when their beauty is undeniable or they are needed in certain positions in movies and commercials. For someone with a darker skin tone to be perceived as beautiful they have to be flawless or almost immaculate. The reasoning behind this is because "light" is the closest thing to being Caucasian as possible. In history African Americans where separated by the color of their skin so that they could be controlled. Now, even today individuals of color separate themselves as light skin, brown skin, and dark skin when we should all be seen as one uniformed race.
The only way that individuals of color can be broken from this mindset is to actually believe that they are deserving and just as important as any race. African Americans shouldn't just accept what they are given or conform to fit into society. Black people where once seen as 3/5's of a person under the same laws that they still live under today.
