film Q&As
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HartmanandGriffin.pptxS. V. Hartman and Farah Jasmine griffin
“Are You as Colored as That Negro?: The Politics of Being Seen in Julie Dash’s Illusions
Hartman and Griffin
S. V. Hartman and Farah Jasmine Griffin examine issues of spectatorship, specifically Black female spectatorship in Julie Dash’s film. They cite Frantz Fanon in their opening to demonstrate how Black subjects are often viewed by others and even themselves.
In the not so distant past, theories of spectatorship assumed that the viewer was white and male.
Hartman and Griffin view Mignon Dupree as a liminal figure; she is inbetween.
They also consider issues of realism and representation.
Hartman and Griffin
Ellison states that directly attacking Hollywood “confuses issues” because films reflect society. “Hollywood doesn’t create anti-Negro images; it only manipulates and replicates them. Hollywood reproduces existing social codes.” (364)
Hartman and Griffin posit that desiring “meaningful” and “realistic” images can be problematic because representation can be reductive.
Representation in some academic circles is dismissed
Hartman and Griffin
The authors closely analyze the projection room scene. They view this scene as foregrounding “the role of the gaze and the voice in producing subjects.” (365)
Esther Geeter, the singer who dubs Leila Grant, sings but her voice is appropriated violently. Hartman and Griffin view the appropriation as violent because she is removed or dismissed.
This harkens back to the start of the sound era. It was thought that because Black voices were rich and sonorous more opportunities would become available to Black artists.
Hartman and Griffin
Passing narratives were created for white audiences. Consider who passes.
Imitation of Life
Pinky
Narratives of Black men who pass are not common
In this film, Dash breaks with the ways light-skinned African American women are portrayed – tragic, not wanting to be Black or self hating.
Hartman and Griffin give Dash credit for moving away from the problems with the passing narrative but they are leery of Mignon.
Hartman and Griffin
Hartman and Griffin view Esther’s body as “the example of the cinema’s terror and racism.”
They will not try to identify with her as spectatorship demands. They do not view her relationship with Esther as helpful; it is a farce. And they feel the only way to deal with Mignon in a healthy manner is to reject her.
Hartman and Griffin interrogate whether Black women can “be represented as subjects within a visual economy organized by a hierarchical regime of difference? At what costs and to what ends?” (373)
