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Blog assignment 6

My last blog post focused more on my meditations on the final paper, so I thought I would write about an interesting assigned reading from last week. Last week we were asked to read Victor LaValle’s Destroyer, which is a Sci-fi/Horror novel in the form of a comic book. Typically I do not enjoy reading comic books. I don’t find anything inherently wrong with them, however I associate them mostly with stories of superheroes/villains, which has never been my cup of tea. I must admit that this book was an exception. I can’t say that I have ever seen horror, science fiction, and Black life intertwined in such a coherent and captivating way. LaValle was able to mesh the classic story of Frankenstein with a futuristic spin, while also incorporating themes of police brutality, horror, and retribution. I felt that the few words present on each page (compared to a classically formatted novel), still were able to convey a decent amount of the story- especially when considering that the time period, location, and characters switched every few pages. The illustrations were absolutely incredible as well. Something I didn’t like, however, was that the text was incredibly small and eventually became a pain to read. I assume I can attribute this to the fact that I was reading a pdf format, however that was the only version of this comic I had access to. I would love to see this novel adapted into a film. I feel as though it would have massive potential to rank highly among other movies in the sci-fi fantasy genre- even (or perhaps especially) if it remained within the comic style. 

In the first chapter of the book, one of the female characters is seen almost sympathizing with the “monster” character, despite all the male characters taking a position in opposition to her. She’s depicted sitting down with the monster and asking him questions. She maintains a curiosity about him, as well as a willingness to see him in a light much differently than he is typically regarded. I feel like this empathetic quality is often attributed to women in both real life, and in stories. Even though this spoken dynamic isn’t present in “The Rider”, it still reminds me of that story in the way that it depicts a character that would usually be deemed scary and entirely harmful, as one that possesses positive qualities worth acknowledging. 

[awilliams4]

Blog assignment 5

Since I have chosen to write an essay for my final project, I am considering many themes from the films and short stories I have engaged with to use. I like the idea of using Black horror as a lens which I can look through to analyze Black history, and to think critically about Black characters in film have evolved as the socioeconomic status of members of the Black community has evolved over time, too. I want all of what I write to be within the context of Black history in America, therefore films like Tales from the Hood, Candyman, The Blackening, Get Out, US, and short stories such as “The Rider” and “Wet Pain”, are relevant. I’d like to focus firstly on the theme of “Racism as the Monster”, which is exemplified in Wet Pain when Dean turns into a racist, hateful version of himself after being “infected” after uncovering his family’s racist memorabilia. This theme  is also clearly exemplified in Get Out, when we learn the reason behind Rose’s family’s insidious operation, as well as Tales from the Hood which specifically touches on the horrors of the Black experience in 1990s America. 

The next theme I want to highlight is how racism and early enslavement contributed to the cultivation of Black tropes/stereotypes in film. I want to use The Blackening as an example of modern-day stereotypes, and find a way to connect these concepts with their discriminatory origins. 

Finally, I want to draw attention to how Black horror can also be reflective of the ways in the Black community as a whole shows resiliency. This comes across in Get Out, when we see the effect of community in action, in The Blackening when the Black women in the movie save the day time and time again, and The Rider when the character Priscilla takes control of the bus and runs down a group of white supremacists, who sought to kill her and her sister.

I want all of these examples to come together to tell a thorough and complex story of the Black experience through the lens of Black horror. 

From this point forward, I will be working on solidifying my thesis so that it provides for the basis of a strong argumentative essay. I will also be trying to narrow my movie/story collection down to a smaller but equally impactful set of examples for my writing, so that my writing is concise and not discombobulating from the use of too many examples.

[awilliams4]

Blog assignment 4

This week contained some of the most interesting and enjoyable (in my opinion)  films and readings so far. 

The Blackening has hands down become one of my new favorite horror movies. I had never heard of a Juneteenth horror film before, and to my knowledge, this movie is the first of its kind. I don’t know that I have ever seen so many different Black tropes depicted so accurately in any movie. Dewayne Perkins was able to perfectly represent different stereotypes, while still achieving a movie that contained complex and multi-layered characters. As was mentioned in some of our lectures, the movie was just as much a comedy as it was a horror movie, and because of that, it was easy to forget at times what genre the movie was supposed to be. I also appreciate the fact that I learned a little more about Black history myself through the trivia in the Blackening game, which was equally as surprising as it was engaging. It was also nice to hear a bit about the process of creating the movie directly from the perspective of Dwayne Perkins, and how he was able to interact with so many different talents and personalities while on set.

I will admit that I found it hard at times to watch Tales of the Hood. Seeing white supremacists and overtly racist cops inflicting pain on innocent Black men is never something that I would consider easy to digest. I found myself disgusted and appalled throughout much of the movie despite how accurate and based in reality much of it was. Watching certain parts of Eve’s Bayou made me feel similarly but for different reasons-notably the scenes in which Louis is openly cheating on Roz, and when we see Cisely and her father engage in a completely inappropriate kiss with one another. I think this movie left me thinking about justice and retribution more than anything. I wonder still, if it is fitting that Louis was shot at the end of the movie- considering that he was a loving father and pillar of stability for his family despite his flaws. Not surprisingly, reading Wet Pain also forced me to sit in some discomfort from time to time as I had to come to terms with the jarring racism and cruelty that Dean is “infected” with partway through the story. To see someone regress back into the same discriminatory and disgusting ideals they fought hard to escape from is a kind of character development I haven’t seen before.

[awilliams4]

Blog assignment 3

For this week's blog post, I want to focus primarily on themes from Ouanga and the new adaptation of the original Candyman movie. Starting with Ouanga, it becomes glaringly obvious just how scared white movie-goers of the 1930s were of Black empowerment. I learned during lecture that Hollywood film directors and producers would capitalize on racially-fueled fears of the immediate community by exaggerating stereotypes and tropes commonly assigned to the Black community. It was interesting to hear how the outcome of the Haitian Revolution resulted in a heightened fear of “voodoo”- a demonized and skewed depiction of the African religion of “Vodou”, which included concepts such as witchcraft, spells, curses, and human sacrifices. I was surprised to learn that the original zombies in films were really symbols of African slaves whose only purpose was to terrorize the white community. 

I also noticed a major exaggeration of white desirability in this movie, which I was able to speak about during this week’s discussion section. In Ouanga, the biracial female lead expressed such an immense desire to marry the white man she was in love with, that she was even willing to “be his slave” if it meant they could be together. This, I found to be utterly ridiculous, and a completely inaccurate depiction of the relationship commonly held between Black women and white men during that period in time. 

The original Candyman movie was incredibly disappointing to watch. This was mostly because I found it to depict Black life and poverty through a strictly white lens. When we were able to view the behind the scenes footage of members talking about the filming process, they mentioned bringing extra garbage to scatter around the set and putting graffiti on previously bare walls to amplify the feeling of poverty in the neighborhood of Cabrini Green. The adaptation of Candyman seemed far more realistic from my perspective, and portrayed Black characters through a Black lens. It also eradicated the elements of white desirability and interracial relationships, which the first movie included. As seems to be the case with most horror films involving Black characters, (with the exception of the horror movies we’ve gotten to see which had Black directors), many of these movies seem to be purely racist at worst, and utterly unrealistic at best. I also think it goes without saying that any portrayal of Black life by non- Black directors should be cautioned against.

[awilliams4]

Blog assignment 2

This week, I thoroughly enjoyed talking about a few of Jordan Peele’s works including “Us” and “Get Out”. I’ve found that so many of Peele’s works are intricate and deeply complex to the point where they are understandable and enjoyable to view from  both surface-level and critical perspectives. As I mentioned in one of my weekly reflections, Peele has an outstanding ability to curate multi-dimensional and oftentimes “complicated” villains in his stories. Villains that maintain qualities that make them hard to view as completely and utterly evil. Some characters, like “Red” in Us, (who despite being portrayed as evil, turns out to be a once innocent, kidnapped young girl-turned vengeful woman) are surprisingly relatable to some viewers in terms of their life stories and personal choices. 

Peele also does a great job of showcasing racism on a spectrum. Some examples of subtle racism are sprinkled through numerous scenes in “Us”, which without investigation, may be dismissed as moments of harmless tension or friendly rivalry between the two Black and White families in the film. More egregious examples of racism are shown in “Get Out”-an obvious example being when it is revealed to the audience that Rose’s black partners were all being kidnapped in an effort to harvest their bodies.

It was also eye-opening to hear Peele talk about the difference between how Black and White people respectively experience a fear of being seen, and how for Black creatives new to the spotlight, they are fearful on a deeper level of being seen as spectacles under a White supremacist lens.

During lecture recently, Professor Due posed the question: What is the price we pay for the privilege we enjoy? 

This question came as we talked about the character Red in the movie “Us”, who knowingly switched places with her doppelganger, forcing her into a life of cruelty and oppression, so that she herself could benefit from a new, more privileged (and stolen) life. She did so, knowing that her actions would directly influence an innocent person in a life-changingly negative way. This made me think about our most recent election, and how mass deportation initiatives have been employed across various states as the result of Donald Trump taking office. Many people who voted for President Elect Donald Trump and his policies, had the privilege of knowing they would remain unaffected by these unlawful and unconstitutional deportations. It reminded me that despite knowing that a vote for him would contribute to loving families being ripped apart, many did so, in part, because they knew they’d be safe regardless.

[awilliams4]

Blog Assignment 1

This week, I particularly enjoyed watching Bree Newsome’s “Wake”. It has lent itself as one of the few “Black Horror” works I’ve seen that isn’t predicated on Black people being brutally killed and tortured in some way by a racist white person. My disdain for that particular storyline exists simply because, (as discussed in prior lectures), the brutalization of Black people at the hands of white people is a common occurrence in real life. With no monster, no fantastical aspect, or anything that could distinguish the plot of the movie from real life instances of hate crimes and prejudice, I find difficulty in enjoying much of what I’ve known as Black Horror. Bree Newsome’s “Wake” however maintains an all Black cast, and focuses the horror aspect of the film around the main character- who has conjured up her own monster in the form of her husband.

I didn’t have any expectations walking into this course, however I have found myself to be immediately infatuated with the use of distinct and specific historical moments, which give context to the development of stereotypical Black tropes. As a young person, it is very easy for me to become aware of stereotypes and to assume that they've existed since the beginning of time. I can appreciate that this course is asking me to question not just the legitimacy of these stereotypes, but also when they developed, who they were developed by, and why.

I am a huge horror movie fanatic. It has always been hard for me to articulate to non-horror fans how I am able to find comfort, excitement, and even joy watching creepy, scary, and sometimes downright terrifying movies in my spare time. I deeply resonated with Professor Due’s words when she explained that so long as there is at least one aspect of a horror movie that can serve as a means of separation between real life brutality, and fantasy- these kinds of movies end up being quite enjoyable and satisfying to watch.

Although there are many types of horror- I have always seemed to place psychological thrillers (think Shutter Island or Midsommar), and exorcism movies (think The Conjuring or Insidious), in my top three. I’m not certain that this course will touch on this topic, but I have always been curious to hear others’ perspective on religiousness within the Black community, (specifically with regard to Christianity), and how that might influence the willingness of Black people as a whole to participate in watching or acting in scary movies.