atallahallen

[atallahallen]

Blog Assignment #6

Since we have not been covering new material in class these past couple of weeks, I will discuss my takeaways from the course, my final project, as well as my classmates’ final projects. To start off, I really enjoyed watching all of the movies, short films, videos, as well as reading the short stories professor Due assigned. Coming into the class I had zero expectations, and I am glad I did because leaving the class I will greatly miss it. I knew a moderate amount of the films that were either shown in class or assigned. But this class also exposed me to movies and films I had never seen or heard of before. This also goes for the assigned readings as well, but I would argue that I did not have any prior knowledge of any of the readings coming into the class. 

Professor Due did an excellent job making the class feel like a safe environment for everyone. Since I am black, I will say I felt at home in her class since the course is centered around black horror. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone. It doesn't matter if it is satisfying a requirement or not. 

Regarding my final project, I enjoyed creating it since I did a short story. I enjoy final projects that allow us to be creative and expressive. Initially, I somewhat thought the page limit to be easy and intimidating coincidentally, but once I began tying out the assignment, I thought it was going to be difficult to stretch a story across seven pages. I ran into a lot of moments where I would type something, and then take a break for double the amount of time I spent working. But once I got into the groove of things and forced myself to focus, the assignment flowed like water and I found myself changing minor and major details in the plot as I wrote. I had outlined my short story initially, but once I got into the swing of things I almost completely changed what I wanted it to be about/consist of. 

Lastly, I loved watching and listening to my classmates’ final projects. Everyone did great on their short films as well as their essays and short stories. I found myself claiming one was my favorite, then watching the next and claiming it to be my new favorite. I could tell people enjoyed themselves and really put thought into their projects. 

[atallahallen]

Blog Post 5

For this week’s topics, we covered vampires in black horror, ghosts and haunting, as well as other horror aspects along those lines. To start off, the topic of vampires was discussed more vividly in my opinion. Growing up I was always enamored with vampires. I even went through a heavy vampire phase. Seeing black representation in vampires always felt great because when I would hear about vampires I would imagine a white dracula since he is the face of vampires. The description of vampires I always heard was that they have pale skin, their fangs contract and release in their mouth, they are cursed with the capacity of eternal life as long as they are not killed from exposure to sunlight or a wooden stake through their heart. Additionally, garlic is often portrayed as being harmful or deadly for vampires, on top of holy water since they are portrayed as demonic unholy creatures. The movie “Blacula,” plays into this role with blacula still having the typical wardrobe of a vampire, the presence of bats, as well as the pale skin and contracting fangs. I thought the movie embodied black excellence. The portrayal of a vampire by a black person is a significant achievement for the black community, especially during its time. Even though he did not hesitate to kill black people, I would definitely argue that the black community felt backed by the character blacula because there is not a lot of black representation in Hollywood. The scene where he killed the officer for shooting his wife is a clear example of the black community feeling represented, heard, and understood. Overall I thought the movie was humorous and great. But towards the very beginning of the movie, there was a scene that I did not feel too fond of. The clip when Dracula turns blacula into a vampire simply because he was not fond of him trying to make a move on his wife, I felt like it was a bit racist to say the least. The white guy punishing the black guy through torture or violence because he did not get his way? That’s how I interpreted that scene. It’s as if the white guy was upset the black guy was not willing to submit to him at any given request, even if the request was disrespectful and questionable. 

[atallahallen]

Blog Assignment #4

In the movie Tales From the Hood there was a series of four stories being narrated within the movie that contributed to the overall plot and messaging of the movie. Each story represented a different oppressor the black community faces. In the first story, corrupt police officers were the oppressors. Purposefully targeting people advocating for the advancement of black people, and calling out corrupt police officers looking to look any and everyone up who exposes their lies.

In the second story, abusive, manipulative, and narcissistic black men who are insecure about themselves were depicted as monsters through the eyes of the innocent. In this case it was a little boy. The third story, which has always been my favorite, depicted white men, and more specifically, politicians, who choose to be ignorant to the traumatic historical experiences enslaved Africans experienced, and rather solicit their pain to gain a position in office. The fourth and final story characterized black gang members as being detrimental to the advancement of black communities. Upon viewing this movie again, I grew to appreciate the last story even more than I anticipated. As a child I always thought it to be boring because I grew up in a neighborhood like the one depicted. But also crazy because the black woman performing the government experiment(s) on him scared me as a child. But when I viewed this story again, I really enjoyed the messaging and the way it was executed. For one, the gang member going to prison and being transported to the experimental facility was either a mere foreshadowing of what would become of him from there on out, or it was a psychological episode that took place in his head. 

With that being said, each story held a deep meaning, but I can personally relate to the last story on a deeper level than the others. That mentality that the gang member had towards his homicides, is the same mentality that got him killed in a homicide. Rather than reflecting on his actions and acknowledging the damage he has caused, he preferred to be a coward and double down in his ignorance. I feel like this is an accurate depiction of every gang member there is, black or not, because they know what they are doing is wrong, yet do not care about the casualties they are causing. 

[atallahallen]

Blog Assignment #3

In the short story “Wet Pain,” by Terence Taylor, I enjoyed how the story was a slow burn kind of style. The length of the text was intimidating to say the least, when I noticed the page count, but once I began reading, reading three pages felt like one. Looking back on the text, I would argue that there was a significant amount of foreshadowing throughout the story. Obviously the opening paragraph when Greg discusses the “WET PAIN” sign, that was the first instance. 

Even though the story’s vocal point was not on this dynamic, I noticed the use of the white and black interracial couple combo was incorporated. We have touched base on this dynamic several times in our class, and how Jordan Peele did a great job portraying the fears and hidden feelings we as black people often hold towards those kinds of dynamics with a white woman and a black man. But this time, the roles were reversed. In African American culture, a white man and black woman dynamic is portrayed in a loving manner because it is often said that the white men in these dynamics know how to love black women. So I did find it interesting how Dean completely debunked that saying and rather ruined it completely. 

With that being said, I enjoyed how the protagonist was a mix of the narrator, Greg, as well as Dean, the person being documented through the narrator’s perspective. Though I will say Dean was more so in the background of Greg, the story’s subject matter was focused on Dean’s racist transformation, or rather infection, and it documented the process of it all. I thought the foreshadowing of Dean trying to kill his wife and their kids was executed in a notable way. When Greg mentioned how Dean was having problems with his wife upon them moving into his mother’s house, and especially when he called her a bitch for the first time, I immediately imagined Dean having already killed his wife and not wanting to put her on the phone because she was already dead. 

I will say that when Dean began to “act up” randomly towards his wife and Greg, I noticed I was overly involved in the text. When he would refer to her as a female dog, when he called Greg “boy,” and especially when he called him the racial slur for Africans and African Americasn, I would react to the text as if I were the one on the phone with Dean, being insulted. Of course this makes sense though because I am an African American woman, so, of his insults, those were applicable to me. 

[atallahallen]

Atallah Allen’s Blog Assignment #2

In Jordan Peele’s novel “Out There Screaming,” The Rider was one of the short stories featured in it, which demonstrated themes of racism, prejudice, as well as unification. My initial thoughts going into the novel were that it was going to be related to the freedom riders and what they stood for, to which it was. Though you could say the freedom riders were directly inserted into the plot of the story, I would argue that they were rather incorporated in a more indirect manner. I thought the mention of them here and there was a great way of keeping the story on theme, but I also interpreted that as being a way for the story to have its own theme of civil rights and how black people didn’t have to be officially a part of the freedom riders to be treated like them. Just a simple showing of support was enough to invoke acts of violence taken out upon them. With that being said, I enjoyed how the story was a slow build into something great and unexpected. I enjoyed the significant plot twist, as well as the script of the story itself. I felt the Birmingham sisters were portrayed in an accurate fashion for African Americans. They were characterized in a confident, sophisticated, and passionate manner, while maintaining the family oriented aspect throughout the story. Oftentimes we as black women are held to the standard of being strong and independent. We are expected to be nurturing and gentle while being unbreakable. I enjoyed how the sisters were written as independent women who were not reliable on anyone but themselves, especially no man. 

To carry on, when the swamp creature was initially described, the way he was characterized as looking nasty and worn down and wreaking of dirt and grime, I imagined him representing Jesus in a way. Jesus was unattractive and looked homeless, to gain the trust of those who followed him. His physical appearance was not appealing, because his followers were meant to follow him by faith, not by sight. I thought the swamp monster indirectly represented Jesus, in the sense that he was not physically appealing and was rather frightening, yet he was an ally to the Birmingham sisters and sought justice for them and all other black folks he came across that were being unjustly wronged by white people. In a way, he was their savior as Jesus was in Jerusalem. I truly enjoyed this short story. 

[atallahallen]

Afam: Sunken Place, Atallah Allen’s Blog Assignment #1

In the graphic novel “The Keeper,” by Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes, I think the authors did a great job highlighting the importance of family while conveying the message that family doesn’t stop at one’s bloodline, but rather is made up of those you trust and can rely on with your best interests at heart. I think the authors purposefully characterized Aisha and her grandmother’s living circumstances in a turbulent and sympathetic light to provide the reader with an insight to how a lot of people view America’s foster care system as being neglectful and underfunded. I formed this impression with respect to the apartment complex Aisha and her friend lived in, as well as the lack of personal care and attention the foster children were shown by their foster parents. In addition, this also gave insight into how black people view the foster care system, with respect to how black people have relentlessly been mistreated in the foster care system. 

I enjoyed reading this story, especially since it was accompanied by illustrations that motivated the tone. The illustrations depicted the story in a sympathetic yet powerful way. Doing so made the reader feel motivated to value people like they are family whether they are or are not blood related, while also teaching a powerful lesson about what it actually means to be family. I felt the ending of the story did a great job pointing out that what is portrayed on the surface, is not always what lies within. This is in relation to the keeper being a parasite in Aisha’s grandmother’s body. Though it was her grandmother on the outside, it was not her grandmother on the inside. She was there physically, but not spiritually. I like to view this as a representation of blood not always being thicker than water. In other words, just because someone shares the same blood as you, that does not always make them your “family.” 

In Jordan Peele’s movie “Get Out,” the recurring theme of black oppression at the hands of white supremacy was evident. The opening scene of the movie demonstrated a black man being kidnapped and asphyxiated by an unidentifiable individual, yet that act alone symbolized black people, but especially black men, being victims of a system purposefully meant to suppress and suffocate them. With that being said, this film brought attention to white people’s deep rooted insecurities toward black people, which is masked by their hatred and racist ignorance towards black people. White people are fascinated with the thought of having the talent, physique, intellect, beauty, of black people, yet do not want to understand the struggles, prejudice, and experiences of black people. This movie shines light on the pattern of black man white woman relationships that are predominant in America, between African American men and white American women. This relationship dynamic is often reflected as a “red flag” in terms of the African American men having a deep rooted hatred towards their skin color and not viewing women who, for example, look like their mother(s), in a positive light.