Black female spectators traces the history of the black female experience as viewers in cinema from the slave fields of the south toward a modern representation of what it means for a black woman to look. Black female spectators, in thornham, s 1999 feminist film theory. When thinking about black female spectators, i remember being punished as a child for staring, for those hard intense direct looks children would give grownups, looks that were seen as confrontational, as gestures of resistance, challenges to authority. Feminism and postcolonialism are allies, and the impressive selection of writings brought together in this volume demonstrate how fruitful that alliance can be. According to hooks it produced in them an overwhelming longing to look, a rebellious desire, an oppositional gaze. This theory is in contrast to the filmic theory of the white male gaze, which aggressively penetrates the image of the passive white female upon the screen. Black female spectators, in brand, peggy zeglin and carolyn korsmeyer, eds. Oppositional summarize the the oppositional gaze by bell. Oppositional gaze hooks idea that black women must have the desire to critique the stereotypical representations of black women in film. This is the first major collection of criticism on black american cinema. She believes this traumatic relationship to the gaze effected black spectatorship. Her focus is on spectatorshipin particular, the way blackness and black people are experienced in literature, music, television, and especially filmand her aim is to create a radical intervention.
Black female spectators by bell hooks in which the spectatorship of black women is the centre subject. That being said, while i did challenge what i was seeing, i was able to find pleasure in the film by appreciating the moments in which agent harts smarts or strength were depicted. An oppositional gaze is therefore one that also requires a critical imaginative practice, to orient ones self towards new ways of looking and seeing that dont perpetuate the same violence that the classical gaze historically has. As a child, she was punished for staring, because certain looks were seen as confrontational or challenges to authority. Black female spectators, hooks gives the rubric that. The black gaze forced to me to consider the regime of white truth that has been developed and deployed in positioning black people in convenient opposition to white people. Nov 17, 2012 the oppositional gaze by bell hooks is the rejection of laura mulveys paper. Remote work advice from the largest allremote company. The male gaze may be seen by a feminist either as a manifestation of unequal power between gazer and gazed, or as a conscious or subconscious attempt to develop that inequality. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search.
Bell hooks article talks about the black female gaze. White slaveowners denied slaves their right to gaze, and slaves were punished for looking. Looking implores a sense of power that is removed from the black female body, to play the role of object in direct relation to white female existence. The oppositional gaze black female spectators hen thinking about black female spectators, 1 remember being punished as a child for staring, for those hard intense direct looks children would gi ve grownups, looks that were seen as confrontational, as gestures of resistance, challenges authority. It explores how issues of race, class, nationality and sexuality, enter into debates about feminism, and includes work by feminist critics, artists. Black female spectators 1992, bell hooks discusses the stakes of looking in a racially. Since publication of the first edition in 1974, leo braudy and marshall cohens film theory and criticism has been the most widely used and cited anthology of critical writings about film. Black female spectators in the article, bell hooks takes a historical look at black females as media spectators. She proposes that restrictions and prohibitions on the black gaze that were established during slavery and reinforced in the. Type chapter authors bell hooks date 1992 page start 115 page end 1 is part.
Like bell hooks mentioned in her article the oppositional gaze. It is not just about the male gaze, but there are many different gazes from many different points of view. Black female spectators 1992, bell hooks discusses the stakes of looking in a racially segregated united states. Create your citations, reference lists and bibliographies automatically using the apa, mla, chicago, or harvard referencing styles. In daughters of the dustthe character nana represents the black matriarch that emphasizes to her family to never forget where they came from. Oppositional gaze so african american females can avoid being hurt by the absence of a black female presence in cinema look past race and gender for aspects of content, form, language white womanhood, occupies the place of stardom in reading mulvey, african american females are outside the power dynamic the pleasure in looking. She argues that in order for black female spectators to find pleasure in films that lack representations of black females, they must look at the film for the pleasure of deconstruction. From the pioneering work of oscar micheaux and wallace thurman to the hollywood success of spike lee, black american filmmakers have played a remarkable role in the development of the american film, both independent and mainstream. In the critical essays collected in black looks, bell hooks interrogates old narratives and argues for alternative ways to look at blackness, black subjectivity, and whiteness. Feminist film theory wikifema, the female encyclopedia. So african american females can avoid being hurt by the absence of a black female presence in cinema look past race and gender for aspects of content, form, language white womanhood, occupies the place of stardom in reading mulvey, african american females are outside the power dynamicthe pleasure in looking.
There is power in looking, as bell hooks proposes in her 1992 essay, the oppositional gaze. These citations may not conform precisely to your selected citation style. Oct 10, 2014 in the critical essays collected in black looks, bell hooks interrogates old narratives and argues for alternative ways to look at blackness, black subjectivity, and whiteness. Bell hooks is a black feminist who calls attention to the negative aspects of white supremacy and capitalist patriarchy. Black female spectators bell hooks hooks influential essay on a critical, oppositional gaze employed by black female spectators when viewing oppressive images and narratives of themselves. This paper is specifically about black female spectators. They had to face a representation of themselves where black women were objectified and desired, thus seen as white. Through the black gaze a reappropriation of not only what it means to be black but also of what it means to be white can be achieved. The oppositional gaze by bell hooks by prezi user on prezi. Feb 24, 2014 in the oppositional gaze, bell hooks brings up a very interesting point about the black female as spectator. She has done her best to keep her family from the effects of colonialization and its contagious influences. For the black male spectator, it was easier to be interpellated into the white male gaze scenario provided by the cinematic apparatus context.
Semantic scholar extracted view of the oppositional gaze. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. Bottom line, griers popularity is probably best evaluated in view of what bell hooks has termed an oppositional gaze. The oppositional gaze black female spectators when thinking about black female spectators, i remember being punished as a child for staring, for those hard intense direct looks children would give grownups, looks that were seen as confrontational, as gestures of resistance, challenges to authority.
Please use this display as a guideline and modify as needed. Ruby rich argues that womens relationships with film is instead dialectical, consciously filtering the images and messages they receive through cinema, and reprocessing them to elicit their own. Black womens relationship with cinema and other medias has always been highly vexed. Her focus is on spectatorshipin particular, the way blackness and black people are experienced in literature, music, television, and especially filmand her aim is. Hooks primarily aims at critical discussion of the black female spectator and her relation to black and white representation on film. All men are created equal unless youre white smoke signals and sound waves. The oppositional gaze the oppositional gaze black female. For hooks, this gaze is practiced by black female spectators exercising their power in looking through the contestation and. Also discover topics, titles, outlines, thesis statements, and conclusions for your bell hooks essay. Black american cinema eagle valley library district. As i began reading hooks piece i initially thought of the power that must come with the position of spectator. Black female spectators, hooks gives the rubric that black woman are not only underrepresented in film, but they are also not allowed to look either. Black female spectators, hooks says, there was something scary in this image of young sexual sensual black beauty betrayed the daughter who did not want to be confined by blackness, that tragic mulatto who did not want to be negated hooks 112.
Type book authors bell hooks date 2014 publisher taylor and francis pub place hoboken, nj edition 2 isbn 97817588498 ebook. Addressing sarah jane in her essay, the oppositional gaze. Black female spectators bell hooks all attempts to repress ourblack peoples right to gaze had produced in us an overwhelming longing to look this is oppositional gaze pg. Black female spectators, she argues that black women are empowered by adopting an oppositional. Readingnotes 2200 final readings the oppositional gaze.
Bracha ettinger criticized the male gaze with the matrixial gaze, which is inoperative when the male gaze is opposite to the female gaze, wherein both perspectives constitute each other from a lack, which is the lacanian definition of the gaze. This experience was different for the black female spectators. Type chapter authors bell hooks page start 197 page end 2 is part of book title reel to real. Now in its eighth edition, this landmark text continues to offer outstanding coverage of more than a century of thought and writing about the movies. Black female spectators, the intent to challenge reality is key in this process 116. Our next session in the gaze was a focus on the text the oppositional gaze. Oppositional gaze so african american females can avoid being hurt by the absence of a black female presence in cinema look past race and gender for aspects of content, form, language white womanhood, occupies the place of stardom in reading mulvey, african american females are outside the power dynamicthe pleasure in looking. Jordan liebrecht, cinthia alvarez, danisha lee, and emily eastlack discussion questions 1 how does bell hooks describe how black spectatorship participates in the oppression of black people. The resources below suggest different ways to think about images whether physical or digital, reminding us that the context beyond the image is important for interpretation and understanding. The oppositional gaze and black female spectatorship in 12 years a slave, kino. Mulveys essay also states that the female gaze is the same as the male gaze. Type chapter authors bell hooks date 1992 page start 115 page end 1 is part of book title black looks. The inference is that she includes female spectators in that, identifying with the male observer rather than the female object of the gaze.
Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. Bringing together key writings on art, film, architecture, popular culture, new media and other visual fields, this key reader combines classic texts by leading feminist thinkers with six previously unpublished polemical new pieces. This means that women look at themselves through the eyes of men. Type chapter authors bell hooks is part of book title black looks. Diawara, manthia diawara date 1988 volume 29 issue 4 page start 66 page end 79 doi 10.
Black female spectators by bell hooks bell hooks essay, the oppositional gaze. Diversity and inclusivity in video game advertisements. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Apr 28, 2010 bell hooks article talks about the black female gaze. According to hooks, the oppositional gaze exists as a mechanism for black female spectators to interrogate film without identifying with either the male gaze, permeated with notions of possession and patriarchal order, or white womanhood. The absence and presence of whiteness in the face of the black manifesto. Black female spectators, hooks gives the rubric that black woman are not only. By lyndsey maloney, andrew miller, shay nix and ben osborn main argument and thesis.
Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Bell hooks article summary essaysthe oppositional gaze. In feminist theory, the male gaze is the act of depicting the world and women in the visual arts and literature from a masculine and heterosexual point of view, presenting women as objects of male pleasure. Black female spectators bell hooks posits the existence of an oppositional gaze possessed by black women in the realm of film theory. Black female spectators, she argues that black women are empowered by adopting an oppositional gaze, specifically in relation to cinema.
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