Film Analysis

Jane Gaines’s essay “White Privilege and Looking Relations: Race and Gender in Feminist Film Theory” examined the erasure of black women in cinema by white male filmmakers. To fully understand this point, Gaines relies on the history of this topic. Specifically, she states, “If, as feminists have argued, women’s sexuality evokes an unconscious terror in men, then black women’s sexuality represents a special threat to white patriarchy; the possibility of its eruption stands for the aspirations of the black race as a whole” (p. 303). In the film, Strange Days (1995),there is a strong representation of black female empowerment shown in the character of Mace. Initially playing the role of a bodyguard, Mace transforms into a powerful action hero who is constantly saving Lenny from dire situations. In one particular scene, Mace is shown cocking a gun in her holster between her thighs, held under her little black dress. The purpose of this shot is to give Mace a masculine role while still keeping her femininity intact. Tying back to Gaines’s argument, the role of a black female in this film is not to be overlooked, but rather, shown as an independent, kick-ass character. Between the love that Mace has for Lenny and her desire to keep him safe, she is represented in all different lights.  

In Jane Gaines’ “White Privilege and Looking Relations: Race and Gender in Feminist Film Theory”, she argues that women’s sexuality is focused in the experiences and form of the white woman and almost always in the context of man versus female in film. The view of spectators outside of the white heterosexual male gaze is overlooked and not considered. The subject/object conflict between white men and women in film also leaves out large portions of society. Women of other genders and sexualities like lesbians and individuals of other races, in specific black males and females are not considered for their viewing pleasures and relatability to the screen. This idea can be seen in Katheryn Bigelow’s film Strange Days (1995) which reinforces the white heterosexual gaze, even though it was directed by a woman. Though this film does include a strong black female lead, the only sexualized figures in the film were white women and they were present throughout the film.  This film also highlighted the subject/ object relationship between Faith and Philo which can be seen in the scene where Lenny approaches Faith and Philo in the club. Philo makes it a point to say that he ‘took’ Faith from Lenny which reinforces the idea that she is an object to be taken. This subject/ object relationship between the males and females is not a gaze that can be related to by groups like lesbians, but plague almost every movie.

In this week’s readings, “Gender is Burning: Questions of Appropriation and Subversion” by Judith Butler and “She’s Gotta Have It: The Representation of Black Female Sexuality On Film” by Felly Nkweto Simmonds, discuss the societal views on black female sexuality. In Butler’s text it states “vulnerable to homophobic violence” (Butler 342), meaning that gay people were more often than not, hurt when in conflicting views with straight people. While in Simmonds’ text states, “is the one who tells her whether or not she is a woman and what it is to be a woman” (Simmonds 1), in reference to a male. In this week’s viewing of Pariah (2011), Alike goes through many hardships such as coming out to her parents and finding love. In the last scene we see Butler’s text in how Alike’s mother starts to mentally and physically assault her for being lesbian and a dyke. Due to her mother not tolerating her daughter’s decision, the audience can see the homophobic violence that Butler describes. However, due to her father’s open views he sees her always as his daughter and his mind she will always be a woman. So even with Alike’s coming out, to her father she will always be his child.

In this week’s reading,  “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess” by Linda Williams we learn of a common thread in the pornographic, horror and melodramatic films of women being portrayed on screen as  embodiments of pleasure, fear, and pain. She also touched on how the success of one of these films is measured by,  “the degree to which the audience sensation mimics what is seen on the screen”(Williams, 605). In the film “Alien (1979)”, a well renowned horror film, we see how this statement proves itself to be true. In the scene where the character, Ellen, tries to get to the shuttle before the ship self-destructs, but unfortunately runs into the Alien and is forced to stop in her tracks and seize up, is a reaction the audience experiences as well. The audience has been following this character and rooting for her survival, and so once the audience is faced with the possibility of her dying in this scene, the spectator holds their breathe and dares not to move just as the character does, because of the fear and anxiety of what may follow. The effect the film has on the spectator’s bodily response can be seen as somewhat of manipulation, however, it provides proof as to how well the genre was able immerse the spectator into the experience of the character.

In Linda Williams text, “Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess,” she discusses the confusion behind classifying different genres. Specifically, she talks about the “excess” found in porn, horror and melodramas. Even though they remain in separate genres, the need for excessiveness appears in all three. She argues, “in each of these genres the bodies of women figured on the screen have functioned traditionally as the primary embodiments of pleasure, fear, and pain” (p. 605). In the movie Alien (1979),there is a particular scene in which Ripley, the main female character, has finally escaped the main ship and is in the shuttle. While the spectator is still in suspense, Ripley is casually slipping out of her clothes to reveal a small white cropped top and underwear. The next couple of shots sexualize her in an uncomfortable way, because there is still a feeling of anxiety in the room. Williams says, “horror films are excessive in their displacement of sex onto violence” (p. 603). If the spectator was to see a woman undressing, they might become aroused. However, since the context of this was placed in a horror film with a murderous alien on the loose, it conveys stress due to the violent suspense.

In this week’s reading, “The Totalizing Quest of Meaning” by Trinh T. Minh-ha, the use of documentary or how documentary can be constructed can be described as a tool to evoke meaning, depending on what the filmmaker decides to extract and display from in. In the Netflix documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, there was a scene in which Claudia Lennear was speaking on how she was unable to be a successful solo artist and as she spoke, there was an image of a record with her face on it that slowly dissipated to then reveal a plain, blank record cover. This scene speaks to Minh-ha’s theory that in a documentary, “ though the filmmaker’s perception may readily be admitted as being unavoidably personal, the objectiveness of the reality of what is seen and represented remains unchallenged.” This means that although the narrative of the documentary may seem to be leaning toward a more persuasive sense, in that what the filmmaker wants to make apparent is displayed, it can still be taken as an objective informational fact. The image of her face on the record dissolving into nothingness was the filmmaker driving the idea of what she could have been home. This idea is supported by all of her experiences with famous artists, remarking her wonderful voice but just not taking off as a solo artist. Here, the evidence of her star potential is put forth, and the director themselves would have believed this to be true, but even though we as the audience can see that this is the obvious message the director has chosen to relay to us, this idea is irrefutable because of the evidence provided in advance. Documentaries have the power to, while presenting seemingly factual information, also present a meaning and ‘take-away’ that lies deeper within the real life testimonies displayed. 

Trinh T. Minh-ha’s article “The Totalizing Quest of Meaning” delves into documentary films and proposes that their themes are subjective in nature, causing each viewer to have a different perspective and interpretation of the film. Documentaries stand out from their fictional counterparts by offering stories and situations that happened to real people: “It takes real people and real problems from the real world and deals with them. It sets a value on intimate observation and assesses its worth according to how well it succeeds in capturing reality on the run…There are no retakes. The stage is thus no more no less than life itself”(Minh-ha 94).  Documentaries are non-fiction and recount true events from a point of view and are extremely diversified.  For example, They can deal with real issues and confront problems that are still afflicting the world today, to dealing with an event in a comedic light.  As well, this increases the interest of the audience by knowing what is transpiring in the film actually happened to real people. 20 Feet from Stardom, directed by Morgan Neville, is a documentary that followed African American background singers from their careers in the sixties to modern day.  One of the scenes that reflected the theme of the film was where Lisa Fischer is singing in her home studio.  As she is singing, multiple copies of Lisa begin to surround the microphone, and then slowly fade out one by one.  This represents the explosion of female background singers, to the near extinction of them. The documentary reflects how most of the background singers that were covered wanted to have a solo career, but they didn’t have very much financial success despite their talent.  The film reflects that life does not slow down or help you, but instead is harsh and difficult.  If you want something, you need to have perseverance and a good work ethic, and a bit of luck.

Director Julie Nash’s Daughters of the Dust features an all-black cast, resembling life on an island in the early 1900s. The struggle to remain to their homeland roots versus traveling up north to start their new life was the prevailing theme throughout this whole movie. bell hooks wrote “The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators” soon after this film came out. Her thesis includes how the film focused its views on the black female, contradicting the white male. She states, “The impact of racism and sexism so over-determine spectatorship - not only what we look at but who we identify with - that viewers who are not black females find it hard to empathize with the central characters in the movie.” With this phrase, the white presence in film then is left out, and those who identify as white do not understand as clearly. 

A scene where this statement that bell hooks described the black female gaze would be the the pregnancy scene. At the 1:11:30 mark, Eula Peazant – Eli’s wife, who was raped by a white man and is now pregnant, is alone in the woods and contemplating her pregnancy. Her husband feels like she has let her down, but she feels satisfied when the entity of her future child runs into her body. Eula feels accomplished, and therefore happy with her child. Because this experience does not happen to the white male, their gaze is not the same of someone who has been in the exact position of Eula. 

In this week’s reading of “The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators” Bell Hooks claims that the lack of African American representation in film eliminates the possibility that black females can have strong roles. It’s no shocker that Hollywood whitewashes films, however, directors historically aim to make the audience relate with the characters. The absence of black female directors contributes to the group having a lack of cinematic presence. Hooks mentions the idea of the “oppositional gaze” this relates to the idea that African American females cannot connect with certain films. The feminist belief of the over objectification of women applies only to white women because black women are never even given a chance to be objectified because of their underrepresentation. 

Daughters of the Dust (1991) directed by Julie Dash gives African American women an opportunity to relate to a film. The film features intense background stories for the lives of the women in this family. When Yellow Mary comes back to talk about her stillbirth the viewer feels her sadness and can resonate with her tragedy. This film formats itself with an unusual narrative structure that emphasizes the past present and future. This film relates to the black female spectator which is historically unusual for a film to do as Bell Hooks explains in this weeks reading. 

In “Some Points on the Semiotics of Cinema,” by Christian Metz, the author speaks about how film can work as language does, through connotation and denotation, and how each spectator can view the same thing differently based on their personal background and experiences which informs their knowledge and views on things. This can be shown in the film “Do the Right Thing,” directed by Spike Lee, in the scene in which the two white policemen slowly drive by three black men sitting on the side walk. The slow motion of the scene and the closeups of all the men’s faces show the disdain that each party felt towards one another. The way this scene was received by the spectator would depend upon who was watching it. Both the white cops and the black men, possessed similar hatred for each other and commented how the other was “a waste.” Depending on where one is from, how they feel personally about police, and other factors varying from person to person, a spectator could view this single scene from either the sides of the policemen or the black men, or simply resonate with one side over the other. The viewer can also see the deeper meaning of the racial tensions escalating in general in that time period, through the intensity of the slow motion shots and close ups in the scene. The viewer can overall sense the tension between both sides through the specific usage if close-up’s and cutting back and forth between each face, a concept  also discussed within the reading; the way in which a film is structured informs how it is perceived and a larger meaning.