talkingaboutfilms

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It was interesting to see a female director take this movie in the direction that she did. More often than not, people tend to think that female directors lack a certain viewpoint that allows for a conventional or successful action movie. I also like how you mentioned that Faith is truly the only damsel in distress in this movie and is in turn vilified. Even in her being a damsel in distress she is seen making a lot of her own decisions who holds her own opinions. 

Viewing Response 14: Cinematic Style II

Jane Gaines’ “White Privilege and Looking Relations: Race and Gender in Feminist Film Theory” describes the “heterosexual assumption” of the “binary oppositions of male/female.” Her argument is centered upon the idea that the construct of male/female has blinded society to other societal constructs such as class and race. Her focus is centered upon the erasure of black females by the whites within the film industry. The film Strange Days (1995) is an example of a film that challenges this lack of representation. First and foremost, it features a female director who is directing an action film – a genre seen as male-centered. Secondly, the film features a strong black female lead named Mace. Mace was created to be a tough character who often saves the male protagonist, Lenny from danger.  She is characterized by her ability to fight, but she is given more depth than this by allowing her to have feelings for Lenny. This sort of portrayal is a departure from the norm as it allows black women to see themselves on the screen in a manner that is not oppositional.  It also counters typical Hollywood tradition by vilifying the “damsel in distress.” Faith throughout the film earns the hatred of the audience especially when she turns on Lenny. This sort of vilification makes the viewer mad that Lenny saves her in the end. This film departs from traditional constraints and goes beyond the gender construct by showing class and race tensions, but it also challenges traditional gender thought on all levels from characters to director.

[talkingaboutfilms]

Mace is certainly a complex character and portrayed as such in the movie. The only thing I thought that might have seen out of character was the romantic conclusion with Lenny. Even though it is implied Mace might have feelings for him in the movie, Lenny is seen pining after another toxic girl the whole time up until they kiss. I thought it seemed off to have her engage mutually at the end with her knowing all this information. Perhaps it is because of the long-term Hollywood rule that if the two main characters are straight and men and women, they must end up together. 

Strange Days (1995)

In “White Privilege and Looking Relations: Race and Gender in Feminist Film Theory,” Jane Gaines examines black women at the intersection of many forms of oppression. She describes that for long women have been seen as an afterthought in terms of feminist analysis. When black women are included in this these analysis to showcase ‘different perspectives’, while maintaining woman as the common denominator, “still places the categories of race and sexual preference in theoretical limbo.” They are blind to the many implications of womanhood that is not white womanhood. The dominant female paradigm obscures the function of race, she writes, and they talk only about male dominance and female subordination. This, however, contrasts significantly with the black feminists who equally identify themselves in terms of race. They do not see the black male as a patriarchal antagonist, but rather black men share in the racial oppression with black women.

White film critics have universalized their theories of representations of women, while black women have been excluded from those very forms of representation.

In Strange Days (1995), Mace grounds Lenny in morality. Lenny and Mace never discuss their relationship in terms of their own racial identities nor is it implied in the story’s progression. The narrative of a de-racialized romantic love dominates. Though the film in some ways lends itself to the tropes to black women being seen as nurturers, Mace challenges them through her confidence and strength. Mace’s character was neither victimized or as a comedic device. She was sexy but not objectified. Her blackness was one aspect of her, not her sole defining trait. In a scene when the car catches on fire, Mace’s badass is on full display. Lenny is sitting in the passenger scene frantic while Mace is in the driver’s calm and strategic. Mace drives the car into a river and leads them to safety.  Katherine Bigelow doesn’t seem to use Mace simply as an insertion of a black female character in order to check “inclusiveness” off her moral check-list as Gaines suggested many white feminists do in their analyses. It is one of the more positive representations of black womanhood in cinema.

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Strange Days (1995)

In “White Privilege and Looking Relations”, Gaines criticizes an aspect of feminist theory in which they explain that white feminists talk about objectification, and fetishization, and so forth, but it is wholly from a white woman’s perspective. In other words, white feminists have given their experience as every women’s experience even though that is not the case. Being female, while also being black adds another dimension of analysis. The author also criticizes the idea a black female is usually, mostly woman or mostly black, but never both and mentions that often women of color will identify with race first, then gender second. In Strange Days, the topic of race is not avoided. Jeriko, an activist and rapper is murdered by the police for no reason other than being black. At the end of the movie Mace faces off these two police officers. She is framed here as a strong, female character both physically and mentally. She is fighting for justice as someone who is black. But, she retains attributes that are generally associated with womanhood. Her character is an example of the intersectional experience of being a woman of color as the audience sees instances where she is a fighter, but still allowed to show vulnerability and emotion.

#swampfilmanalysis #cinematicstyle

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22 most anticipated films by and about women in 2018

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50 Brilliant LGBTQ Women Behind The Television Camera

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Cathy Yan Is the First Asian-American Woman to Direct a Superhero Film

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The intersectional experience of being black, female, and gay gives us a unique narrative not usually able to be told. I think Dee gives a truthful look into the life of someone who is simply existing as such. The way the movie defines black female sexuality stems from the director herself behind the camera as someone who is actively part the the LGBT+ community as well as being a black woman herself. She is able to give insight in this way by drawing on her own experiences unlike movies made by the usual straight male director.

Pariah (2011)

In both writings, “She’s Gotta Have It” and “Gender is Burning: Questions of Appropriation and Subversion,” the authors discuss sexuality.  Specifically, in Judith Butler’s piece, she talks about how the sexuality of lesbianism’s framework is a mask and false, stating that heterosexuality is always true.  She also discusses how lesbianism is seen as the outcome when heterosexuality is derailed; lesbianism is caused specifically by the failure of heterosexuality instead of being observed as another form of valid love. In Pariah, this idea of lesbianism being seen as a failure was expressed by her mother, Audrey’s, reaction when Lee comes out to her parents as well as the last scene when Lee and her mother are talking, and her mother doesn’t say that she loves her.  Her mother simply says that she will pray for her, almost trying to ‘un-derail’ her daughter’s sexuality. In Felly Nkweto Simmonds analysis, she discusses how the film, She’s Gotta Have It, reclaims black women’s sexuality and reexamines the politics and the social conceptions behind it.  With that being said, the film, Pariah adds another layer on top of this reexamination- lesbianism.  Alike is a gay black woman who is trying to figure out her life with the negative perception of lesbians within the black community. By including the additional aspect of being gay, the film was able to extend on Simmonds analysis; it is another text that is trying to examine and redefine complete black female sexuality.  

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[talkingaboutfilms]

I especially like your analysis of her poem at the end of the film. It is really interesting to see the progress between her poems throughout the movie. The one she reads to her class when she is with Bina, and the one at the end of the film and how they relate with her situation. They almost connect as the butterfly at the end of the first poem sees an inkling of light from the outside and then in the second poem she is finally free. I think it shows how she is comfortable with herself from the beginning of the movie as a lesbian, but she was held back by those around her until she was finally able to break free from the oppressive forces in her life.

Viewing Response 13: Cinematic Style I 

Pariah (2011)

In “Gender is Burning: Questions of Appropriation and Subversion,” author Judith Butler asserts that lesbianism has a complex relationship with heterosexuality that varies from person-to-person.  She says that the common view of these concepts as a “repudiation of heterosexuality” (341) is not necessarily true, but neither is the idea that “that there is a lesbian desire radically different from a heterosexual one, with no relation to it” (340).  Instead, each lesbian woman may view her sexuality as one of these things or some combination of the two.  As such, there is no singular definition of the relationship between lesbianism and heterosexuality.

In the case of young Alike in Pariah (2011), lesbian love is not related in any way to heterosexual love.  While this is made clear throughout the film as a whole as she discovers herself and her sexuality, it is especially evident in this excerpt from a piece she wrote about her journey to self-discovery (narrated at the end of the film):

“Breaking is freeing, broken is freedom.  I am not broken.  I am free.”

Alike’s use of the word broken indicates the view of heterosexuality as the norm and the origin, and homosexuality as unacceptable and unnatural.  However, she uses the term as a synonym with freedom to take ownership of her sexuality and break free from heteronormativity entirely.  She uses the final statements to emphasize that she is not broken, but rather she has come to the terms with her homosexuality to finally accept herself as she is, becoming free.  On Butler’s spectrum of lesbianism, Alike falls on the complete opposite of heterosexual repudiation; while she is oppressed by heteronormativity, her lesbianism is not a product of this oppression, but rather an innate aspect of who she is as a human being, as shown in her final statements at the end of the film.

On another note, Pariah relates to “’She’s Gotta Have It’: The Representation of Black Female Sexuality on Film” in that it completely nullifies all the issues discussed in this article.  The writer/director Dee Rees is not only a black woman, but also a member of the LGBTQ+ community that is represented in Pariah.  The film’s exploration of black female homosexuality is filtered through the lens of a woman who falls under every category, and as such it completely avoids the idea of the black man controlling the sexuality of the black woman.  The repudiation of this idea is exuded even in the narrative itself, as the only significant black man in the film, Alike’s father, is not the one who retaliates at the discovery of her sexuality, but rather it is Alike’s mother.  So in this sense, Rees completely removes the black man’s influence on the sexuality of the black woman not only through her position in making the film, but in the construction of narrative as well.

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Pariah (2011)

In the text “Gender is Burning: Questions of Appropriation and Subversion”, Judith Butler discusses the intersectionality of gender and sexuality. Butler talks about the fluidity of activities that are coded a certain way. For example, she fights against the idea that drag is mysogynistic because to say so assumes that activities like crossdressing and being gay is rooted in heterosexuality when that is certainly not the case. She relates this to common statements heard about lesbianism when people say that it is due to a bad heterosexual experience or because a woman has not found the right man. This mindset holds heterosexuality at the center of all other orientations when instead, being queer does not relate to it at all. This is seen is Pariah as Alike is definitely lesbian from the start to the end of the movie. She rejects the idea that her mom suggests she is gay because of her dad, instead it clearly comes from within. In the scene where Alike has to change to go to church, Alike presents herself more masculine. Her mom does not like it so she orders her to change. Her mom talks to the father about why Alike is still in her tomboy phase. The phrase “tomboy” shows the binary way of thinking her mom engages in. Despite this, in the same scene Alike expresses that she dresses like she does simply because that’s who she is and what she’s comfortable in. It has nothing to do with being like a boy. This movie also gives an example against the article “‘She’s Gotta Have It’: The Representation of Black Female Sexuality on Film” written by Nkweto Simmonds as this movie accurately depicts a black, gay girl’s life’s through the lens of a director who is also part of the community she attempts to capture. I think a good scene to look back on is the second time Alike and Bina kiss and spend the night together. The scene is tender and captures Alike’s point of view in this being her first sexual experience, but also her first real experience with someone she has feelings for. Usually scenes with similar content have voyeuristic camera movement and excessive bodily sounds, but neither of these are present here. The scene feels genuine, but personal because of the lens the audience experiences the scene through. 

#cinematicstyle #swampfilmanalysis

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Alien (1979)

In “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess”, Willims explores the three “gross” genres, porn, horror, and melodrama. She defines them this way because of the way the excess in each of these genres make us feel. The excess would be what is over the “edge of respectable” which differs to each person because of their background. Something that is shared between all three due to their excess is the intense emotion or sensation shown on screen as well as gaining a big reaction from the spectator as a result of such. Looking at horror films, women usually are shown as the spectacle showing a “sexually saturated” female body. In Alien, there was certainly an excess of violence as well as violence associated with sex regarding the female character fitting itself nicely into the horror genre. In the scene where Ash attacks Ripley, Ash attacks Riley as the other members attempt to save her. When Parker finally defeats Ash, there is fluid everywhere in the place of blood. The scene has a lot of movement emphasizing the violence in the fight within the choreography as well as the camera work. As for the violence associated with sex, Ash sticks a phallic object down Ripley’s throat as a way to gain an edge and establish dominance within the fight. These larger components can be found throughout the movie relating it to others within the horror genre. 

#swampfilmanalysis #filmgenre

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High Noon (1952)

In “A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre,” Rick Altman proposes his theory of looking at films with a semantic and syntactic way as the current state of looking at genres is not sufficient. Both are necessary so that you can explain in detail as well as be able to apply the idea to many movies. He also states that it is important to note that not all films within a certain genre relate to the genre to the same extent. This is true for High Noon. There are elements here that dictate the movie as a western film, such as the setting and the time period in which it takes place. Classifying as such is looking at it with a semantic lens. However, the syntax is a little different from other western movies. For example, at the end of the movie the main character defeats the bad guy by killing him, however, he is not celebrated, nor does he desire it. Instead, he just leaves the town with his wife. The film does not follow what people might think is needed in the western genre as much as other movies do.

#swampfilmanalysis #filmgenre

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This is an excellent example of the filmmakers challenging the “anti-aesthetic” typically associated with documentaries. This scene made me feel for Lisa while helping me understand their true talent. They artistically showcased her talent and in doing so made something that is not only pleasant to watch, to serves as evidence for their point which is these singers are talented. 

Viewing Response 10: Documentary Film

20 Feet from Stardom (2013)

In “The Totalizing Quest of Meaning,” Trinh T. Minh-ha speaks about how documentary is often seen as “anti-aesthetic” (98) and can therefore be “reduced to a mere vehicle of facts” (99) by those making them.  The film 20 Feet from Stardom (2013) is an example of one that challenges this commonly accepted notion that documentaries should do nothing more than inform the people in an uninspired manner.

When the interviewees in the film begin to discuss the gradual disappearance of background singers in the modern era of music, an artistic series of shots is displayed while the voices of interviewees narrate the images.  These shots (see stills above) depic singer Lisa Fischer–in fact, four versions of herself all singing together in the same room.  But as the narration starts to reveal how background singers are becoming less and less prevalent, the Lisa’s begin to fade away until only one remains.  The film then cuts to a close-up of an interviewee concluding the idea being discussed before abruptly cutting back to the same room as before, now with nobody in it.  Through this short sequence, the filmmakers have challenged the notion that documentary, while still considered an art, cannot include “any explicit use of the magic, poetic, or irrational qualities specific to the film medium itself” (98).  By using this abstract series of images to tell a story, the filmmakers are returning to the roots of what defines cinema as an art form while still serving the ultimate purpose of documentary–informing the viewer.

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You are correct, as it certainly reminds the audience that a camera is present. While this technique might take the audience out of a story usually, but because it is a documentary it has the opposite effect and almost makes you more engaged. I also think it is interesting that during this scene the production team also reminds her that they can add in music later so while this shows a degree of realism, it also shows the editing aspect of the documentary. 

                        Twenty Feet from Stardom(2013) 

In “Totalizing the Quest of Meaning,” T. Minh-a argues that the cinematic techniques used in documentaries are based on their degree of invisibility in producing meaning in order to create the sense of ‘reality.’ Morgan Neville’s Twenty Feet from Stardom takes advantage of the techniques presented my T. Minh-a to make the film look more realistic. For instance, there is a scene where there is a small conversation between Marry Clayton and the cameraman after he asks her to turn off the radio. The fact that the audience is able to hear the conversation creates a more realistic atmosphere since it breaks the division between the camera which is the spectator’s direct connection with the film and the subject matter. The more realistic atmosphere created by this division makes the film seem more truthful or verisimilar. Additionally, in the scene, the audience perceives that a handheld camera is used because of its instability which according to T. Minh-a also creates the idea of authenticity; therefore further enhancing the verisimilar or realistic atmosphere.  

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20 Feet from Stardom (2013)

In “The Totaling Quest of Meaning”, Trinh T. Minh-ha discusses documentaries as past just a telling of the truth. A documentary’s value lies with how well it captures reality as it takes actual people’s situations with real people. Something that is given as true in a documentary, remains as evidence. Although documentaries try to present reality, they do not completely convey realism because of a couple factors: the filmmaker’s bias and the idea of a documentary having to be composed. Documentaries still exist within the world of the dominant ideology. Good documentaries are also those that are “correct” in their point and agree with the point of view of the spectators. 20 Feet of Stardom exemplifies this with Judith’s first intimate time with the camera. She tells her story and within this scene, there are clips of her past performances. With this, her story is composed visually so that the image is still interesting and it is also composed in the sense that the movie is organized. It has a sense of flow and does not feel like random clips put together. Also on the base level, the story is about perseverance which can connect with all spectators watching. Documentaries present facts, but do not completely present realism.

#swampfilmanalysis #documentaryfilm

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The idea of circular story telling as an actual form of oral narratives in a culture is really interesting. I did not know that at all, but now it makes sense as it adds on to telling the story from the point of view from people in the Gullah community. Details like that can form strong represention of people who are not usually depicted on screen. In doing so, it gives more variety in whose stories are being told so that spectators can have more exposure to different types of narratives and do not have to adapt to look at cinema a certain way.

Daughters of the Dust (1991)

While reading Bell Hooks’ “The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators”I learned about how black female spectators often are not given any examples of problems that they can relate to and how often black female directors are forced to either tell stories that arent real representations of the black female perspective or are forced to make a film that only panders to the black female demographic. In the Julie Dash film Daughters of the Dust (1991) there is a narrative technique used that makes the story to be told in a circular form rather than a linear and direct way. This is a representation of the actual African form of story telling. There are also times where the story is narrated by a young girl and the dialogue that is used is very similar to that of how a oral tradition would be told or passed down, words are chosen very carefully. This is a pure example of how a film can be narrated through a less direct and linear sense.

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It’s interesting how cinema has evolved since Hook’s essay. Certainly the opposition gaze is probably still used today since mainstream film remains prominently white and male, however there are films that exist now that resist the need to be as critical when viewing as a black, female spectator. Even so, I wonder how much longer until good representation is a normal occurrence on screen so that the idea of an oppositional gaze will not be needed at all to describe how an entire group of people watch a film.

Daughters of the Dust (1991)

“All attempts to repress our right to gaze has produced in us an overwhelming longing to look, a rebellious desire, an oppositional gaze.” - bell hooks

As a child, bell hooks was often punished for staring, as it was seen as a disruption to authority. bell hooks comments on the effects of systemic oppression of black females and how this translates to the arena of film. According to hooks, the misrepresentation or lack of representation of Blacks in film perpetuated the idea of white supremacy. Black women often have to transform themselves into the white woman on screen in order to better resonate with the story. This is a criticism of Mulvey’s view of the male gaze, as she focused on the white woman as a model for her theory.

In Daughters of the Dust (1991), the narration is set up as a parallel between two of the characters - Nana Peazant and the Unborn Child. This sets up a constant stream of narration that shows a different analysis and perspective than what the audience would gain from the film if the footage were just shown by themselves. The film shows the authentic hardships that Gullah islanders were enduring as a result of the long history of slavery that existed among their history. However, Gullah provided an example of the power of community. Despite the difficult circumstances they were placed under, the island manage to forma coalition and successfully develop a language and a culture that made them sustain and prosper.

The scene that stood out to me was when Nana Peazant was providing Eli with sage advice. She is a wise woman, who is honored as the matriarch of her family. As she is providing Eli her wisdom, her narration becomes audible over a scene with people dancing on the beach. This style of narration being used is helpful to the plot because although the story is focused on one particular family, the shots of the people of Gullah over the advice show that these words can be applicable to the masses.

This relates to bell hooks’ idea of the oppositional gaze - well, because it doesn’t. This film provides an accurate representation of both the struggles and the beauty that existed in the lives of the African Americans portrayed. One did not have to imagine or transform themselves to resonate with the identity being portrayed on screen, as the representations were sound.

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Daughters of the Dust

In “The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators”, Bell Hooks introduces how the idea of the oppositional gaze from black, female spectators due to the lack of representation on screen in history. A different type of gaze is needed so that they can engage. She mentions that often black, female spectators need to ignore the sexism and racism in a text to be able to watch for pleasure if not watching to analyze. This big idea deals with how spectators see and interpret the narrative because of how a narrative is told. In the movie Daughters of the Dust, the entire film comes from the memories of the unborn child from the oral narratives that her relatives told her. In the scene after Eli breaks all the bottles on the tree, the unborn child starts to narrate about how her Nana Peasant “prayed for help” and that is when she arrived. Nana Peasant’s voice plays right as she says “Come child.” This shows the influence of her point of view in the story because she is telling the story as the past as the film happens in the present. As an accurate and intimate representation of  one of the many black, female stories, spectators need not to develop an oppositional gaze to enjoy this film.

#swampfilmanalysis #narrativefilm