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Blog Post #6

AF AMER 112A

Professor Due

March 17, 2024

Blog 6

I am happy to share that throughout taking this course in the past quarter, I have learned a large amount of new information on the significance and understanding of Black Horror. Various themes, messages, and historical values are all components that are seen throughout the genre of African American Horror, and I have found it all very intriguing and powerful to learn about. I particularly enjoyed how this course ended off by reviewing all of the student showcases. I appreciated this because I feel as though it was a great way to show off and demonstrate all of the new factors and elements that go into creating a horror story, especially one fitting into the Black Horror genre, while also allowing us students to utilize our creativity and turn it into a fun experience. I personally enjoyed the homemade horror films that we viewed in class more than the short stories because I found it very delightful to see how each person went about the filming of their film as well as the dialogue. When we viewed these works in class, I definitely noticed that there were some similarities and inspirations taken from some of the other works that were a part of the class's coursework. For example, I saw themes of using dark magic be used in some of the student showcases and it made it very enjoyable to watch and draw connections between them. Even though I found the short films to be my personal favorites, the short stories that were written and shared were also very well written as well. I feel as though both mediums of storytelling have their own strengths. For example, I felt as though in the short stories that were shared, there was more capability to showcase the use of verbiage and utilizing a sophisticated vocabulary to depict the story. Whereas with the short films, the dialogue between characters had to be more practical with how people would talk to each other and instead rely on the use of camera work and visual cues to help show elements of the story. Overall, however, I felt as though all of the student showcases were very well thought out and put together. I really enjoyed seeing the creative process of each participant as well as also paying close attention to the similarities and inspirations drawn from each of the themes and works that we have been reviewing all throughout the quarter as a class.

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Blog Post #5

African American Studies 112A 

Professor Due

March 3, 2024 

Blog Post 5

Throughout this quarter so far, there have been a number of new topics, themes, and underlying messages that exist in the world of Black Horror in which I was previously unaware of. Oftentimes, I have found them to be related to many aspects of the movie which are very prevalent and noticeable, the only thing is that I had just been looking at them from a different perspective. One of the greatest examples of this, which I also very briefly mentioned in the past, was the topic of Zombies and the role in which they play within many films, specifically African American horror films. Before going over this topic in class, I had previously just assumed that the use and significance of zombies in horror films was to act as the fictional monstrous characters meant to scare the audience and add to the storyline. And while this is still the case, what I was previously unaware of was the fact that in many cases, these ‘fictional’ creatures are used in black horror to not only add to the storyline but also to represent the many real-life horrors that are experienced throughout the african american community. Thus, while the zombies themselves are fictional in the movies, the horrors and traumas that they represent are most definitely real. One very clear example of this that really made sense to me was the example of police brutality and the comparison that it draws to how police brutality has haunted the black community so horribly. I then paid very close attention while watching “Ouanga” to examine the way in which the zombies were portrayed in this film. However, I then began to think that while in the present day while zombies fill the role of representing the real-life struggles that are faced within the Black community, it seems as though they played a different role back during the time that “Ouanga” was made. I say this because in this film, the zombies were all cast with Black actors. Of course, this was due to the severe racism at the time, where Black people were made out to be seen as animalistic and barbaric, hence why the monstrous zombies were all made black. These castings and storylines did nothing but further instill these disgusting racist beliefs into the audience of the time. However, this then made it even more interesting when it came time to watch the film “Night of the Living Dead” because of course in this film, the roles were actually reversed wherein the zombies were cast with white actors and the main hero of the film was cast with a Black man.

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Blog Post #4

AF AMER 112A

Professor Due

February 11, 2024 

Blog 4

The lectures and discussions from Tuesday and Thursday, I feel, helped give more examples and a deeper understanding of many of the themes that we have gone over so far throughout the quarter. I feel as though with each week, my understanding and knowledge of the underlying messages and themes in black horror films are strengthened because of the many excellent films and stories we go over, which exposes me to these themes firsthand. In this week’s discussions, Thursday’s lecture in particular, I was very intrigued to learn more about the theme of how magic and spirits are used in many black horror films where in this case, it was seen throughout “Eve’s Bayou”. Many aspects revolving around magic, rituals, and even curses were brought up in the film and discussed during the lecture, which caught my attention. This theme in particular stood out to me because I recall first discussing this at the beginning of the course a few weeks ago. Back then, I remember being very curious about this due to the fact that I had not previously been made aware of its significance. However, on Thursday when we went over “Eve’s Bayou”, we were given a very good example of these magical themes taking place. Typically, I find that being provided with visual examples always helps me learn better and grasp concepts more, as well as develop a better visual idea too – which is what I feel has been accomplished after discussing this film. I have since been able to think back to a number of other movies where this theme is seen as well, making connections to this class. Another topic that was brought up this week which I actually do not recall ever being exposed to was the theme of Black Complicity in Racism, which was seen in “Tales from the Hood”. This theme touches on the concept in which when black communities experience racism, the racism that is experienced will actually be internalized and even participated in by the community being oppressed. For example, as a result of societal pressures and internalized racism, racist beliefs and stereotypes may actually be perpetuated by the community being affected. In terms of this theme, I had not been aware of this phenomenon being something that takes place, however, it now makes a lot of sense as to why this theme may actually occur in real life – even almost as a sort of survival strategy for whoever is impacted by the horrors of racism.

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Blog Post #3

AF AMER 112A

Professor Due 

February 4, 2024 

Blog Post 3

Throughout this past week’s discussions and lectures, we have gone over many more important factors of African American Horror. The points regarding this evident topic that we discussed in class so far have taught me many new things about this field which I previously had not been exposed to. This week in particular, however, the movie Candy Man and the many themes that are involved in it is what stood out to me the most. Specifically, the theme of black trauma through a white lens is one thing that we discussed which really intrigued me. As was mentioned in Thursday's lecture, this theme where the many horrors of black trauma are seen through the lens of a white person. For example, in the film Candy Man, we can see how the black characters are seemingly the background characters to Helen, the white woman. After discussing this in class I also began to think back to one of the previous lectures and started to draw connections between this theme and the one about how black characters are typically made to be seen as easily dispensable in film. I believe that this theme of making them easily dispensible is seen once again here in this film, especially in regard to their appearances compared to Helen’s story. Another theme of this film that I found to be engaging was the common theme that has been seen throughout movie history where a film will portray a black man sort of ‘on the hunt’ after a white woman. This was another type of common characteristic in African American Horror, and even just horror in general, that I had not really paid much attention to in the past. However, after discussing the history of Hollywood, it becomes clear that this theme has been seen time and time again. For example, in “Birth of a Nation”, this horribly racist film that was once praised by America demonstrates this exactly, depicting black men as monsters. Another example of this that we went over which I honestly never even thought of as matching this description was the example of the 1930s film “King Kong”. This has obviously been one of the most popular films in Hollywood’s history, however, I never thought to draw a connection between the plot of that film and this theme of making black men appear as evil toward white women. While this may be a more subtle application of the harmful stereotype, a connection can definitely still be made. 

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Blog Post #2

AF AMER 112A

Professor Due

January 28, 2024

Blog Post 2 I am happy to say that there have been a number of new aspects and factors in the background of African American Horror that has been discussed in class so far, which was previously unknown to me. Various underlying messages in the common themes that appear throughout the films and stories paint pictures of real-life issues and struggles that have been haunting the African American community for centuries. In this weeks discussions, we went over a few different Black Horror stories, placing a lot of emphasis on the exceptional work of Jordan Peele and his other film, US. Surprisingly, I had not watched this movie until now in this class. However, the themes that we have discussed in class thus far yet again are very prevalent in his work, making the message and impression truly stick with the audience. One of the themes that we had gone over in Tuesday's lecture was the ‘Intentional Blackness’ in choosing the cast to play the roles in US. This theme of ‘Intentional Blackness’ is actually a theme that is not commonly found in the entertainment industry, however, I was not fully aware of the reasoning as to why. It was not until we discussed it during lecture that I began thinking about it, and then that everything Professor Due was describing about the background of this theme started making sense. As she described, the theme of ‘Intentional Blackness’ was used by Peele in his film US as a way to shoot the movie with a cast of dark-skinned actors for the family, which in most cases is rarely something that happens at all. Throughout the vast majority of the film industry, it had been seen as ‘less appealing’ to cast actors and actresses with darker skin because the audience would rather see a cast with more white features. This unfortunate scenario caused for castings to be composed most of white-featured members. However, even when black actors do get cast, they oftentimes would be lighter skinned with less dominant features, in order to appeal to the crowd more. After discussing this in class, I began to think about it more and realized that this is absolutely the case in film and is something that we all have experienced when watching movies. I thought back to the movies that I enjoy watching and began to notice how the black characters were always made to be more white-like. Features like straightened hair and lighter complexion are some examples of this. However, while this definitely is a sad reality, I then began to think about some of the other films that do have many other dark-skinned actors in the cast, such as the Black Panther.

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Blog Post #1

AF AMER 112A

Due

January 21, 2024

Blog Post 1

In the past two weeks of class, I feel as though I have learned quite a lot about the history of black horror films as well as the various stigmas and stereotypes that have been so heavily associated with these films. Previously to this class, I was unaware of the oftentimes racist and/or disrespectful meanings toward the black characters involved in many horror films. The topic that we discussed that particularly caught my attention and shocked me was how oftentimes people, specifically African Americans, enjoy watching horror films so much because it actually relates to them and any possible past traumas in which they have experienced in their life. For example, as Professor Due shared during lecture, a comparison can be drawn between the interest that is seen in horror films containing monsters to the traumas that are associated with police brutality. As mentioned in her example, zombies are fictional monsters used in horror films. However, people are appealed to these zombie films because while the zombies are not actually real, they tend to represent and demonstrate the same type of horrors associated with police brutality. This connection between horror films and African American’s real-life traumas is something that I had not ever considered, however, after discussing this phenomenon in class, it very much opened my eyes to the intricacy that the background of these films contain. Something else that I found particularly interesting was the different roles that African American characters typically are given when they act in horror films. For example, the way in which the black characters are most times the first ones to die, how are seen as ‘magical’, and even seen as sacrificial. The topic of them usually being one of the first to die off in the film is one that I found to be very intriguing because this is something that I have actually heard about quite a lot. I remember especially while I was growing up, when I would go on the internet to watch funny videos, there would oftentimes be jokes about this exact phenomenon. For example, the popular app from quite a few years ago ‘Vine’. I recall always seeing Vines making jokes about how the black characters were always the first to die in horror movies. I never really thought anything of these jokes back then because I was so young, however, I still remember it very clearly. This stood out to me a lot in the lecture because I now see the much darker side of these ‘jokes’ and why the black characters die first. The film adds African American characters to make it seem more diverse, however, they portray these characters as the less important ones, making them easily dispensible and able to kill off early in the story.