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Get Out - Untraditional Racism

On February 24, 2017, the popular horror movie, Get Out, directed by Jordan Peele, hits the big screen. The synopsis is as follows:

“Now that Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams), have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined.”

A stylistic trait of this movie, is how the main character, Chris, shows us what he sees through his eyes alone. As we see through his work (photographs), they are raw images that capture honest truths which essential to the storyline. As he is a black man, he is skeptical about going to his white girlfriend (Rose’s) house to meet her family, as she is from a predominately white suburb. On the way to this suburb, Chris and Rose hit a deer, leading them to calling the police, where Chris was racially profiled. Throughout the movie, we see pieces of what African American’s struggle in todays day and age.

Significance lies with his camera which can be translated into how we commonly see police violence geared towards African Americans, through the lens of cameras, which holds revealing powers. His camera is an extension of his sight, which later helps him in his escape.

On another note dealing with modern day life, during a party, in which most guests are white, comments are made, such as, “It is such a privilege to experience another person’s culture”, and Chris’s facial expression of disagreement when hypnotized Logan says, “I find the African American experience to be treating me quite well.” As an audience our first thought is why might Chris scoff at this? When looking at how African Americans are racially profiled based on skin color, or “framework, and genetic makeup” as Rose’s brother mentions, we see that the African American experience is not all good or all bad. Logan’s comment hints that this strange suburb isn’t what one would view as “traditional” racists, but that the family and the guests at the party admire black culture and see it as “fashionable.” This leads me to believe that they’re so progressively in love with “Blackness” that they’d like nothing better than to be Black themselves. The family and guests simply don’t see actual, individual Black people as “human,” and therefore don’t have any remorse about enslaving their minds and hijacking their bodies in order to increase their beliefs of them not being racist. 

Chris mentions that too many white people make him nervous, and that shows the subconscious awareness of being “other.”“Other” in this context meaning that the people around you don’t equate you with themselves.

Sources: https://screenrant.com/get-out-ending-explained-spoiler/3/ https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/03/in-get-out-the-eyes-have-it/518370/ 

and Movie itself

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#BlackGirlMagic

When characterizing Feminism, there always has been and always will be categories or sub sections. There is always talk of diversity and advocacy for minorities who suffer from racism, however what about specifically black women? Women who have been shamed or looked down upon for their dark skin tone, natural hair, and overall appearance. These women are losing touch with their African roots and are trying to discover their identity, which can be stifled by todays media, social standards and racist undertones for not having light skin.

#BlackGirlMagic has become an important movement in this generations history. Now, what is Black Girl Magic? A little background is this: “it was created by CaShawn Thompson to celebrate the beauty, power and resilience of black women” (Why everyone's saying 'Black Girls are Magic’, para 1). CaShawn Thompson wanted to take black women into a new light by describing them as magical. Looking at what magic directly means is ‘the power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces; captivating, glamorous... Thompson uses the word magical because its not clear cut, it is something that people may not understand. Black Girl Magic has gone viral and has taken many new shapes

Pierre Jean-Louis, a visual artist from US, creates mesmerizing portraits of black women by transforming their hair into flowery galaxies. By turning their Afros into works of art in his series, “Black Girl Magic”, Pierre wants to let black women know how much he appreciates them for embracing their African heritage.

This photo highlights the beauty in this woman’s afro, the mesmerizing shine on her skin, and how captivating her natural features are through a simple photograph. The garden symbolizes nature will take its course in shaping us into who we are. Don’t tame it, slay! So why is this Black Girl Magic? There is power and fierceness captured in this photo, beauty, character and advocacy for African American Women. This fights against the beauty standards our society has molded into what most see as fact.  

Black is beautiful, and photographers have been using a lot of natural elements to capture that. Another example would be work done by Mooshodat, a makeup artist from Brooklyn. She creates a stunning gallery that mixes the richest melanin complexions with bright, bold colors.  The self-titled series, Moshoodat, is beyond magical (Fashion Bomb, para 1).

Gold, and sunflowers has been a consistent symbol throughout this movement. Sunflowers symbolize adoration, loyalty and longevity. “Much of the meaning of sunflowers stems from its namesake, the sun itself. These flowers are unique in that they have the ability to provide energy in the form of nourishment and vibrancy—attributes which mirror the sun and the energy provided by its heat and light” (Pro Flowers, para 2). When looking at what Gold could represent, you think of it as precious metal that is associated with wealth, grandeur, and prosperity, as well as sparkle, and glamour. Even in Pierre’s image above, there are gold undertones within the picture.

These forms of media and content tell a story; black women are empowered, won’t be shot down by stereotyping, and will leave their imprint on society and the coming generations.

I believe Black Girl Magic has a strong emphasis on embracing African culture, as well as self-discovery. This relates to how multiculturalism promotes equality no matter what class, age, race, sexual orientation etc. Being human is beautiful, no matter what skin tone you are, and #BlackGirlMagic puts that in perspective for our society as whole, while celebrating feminism; it denies society’s negative stereotypes about black women by making a declaration of power and how black women are magical, and will change the world.

Resources:

Fashion Bomb. (2017, April 07). Black Girl Magic Continues: The Moshoodat Beauty Series Will Leave You Speechless. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from http://fashionbombdaily.com/black-girl-magic-continues-the-moshoodat-beauty-series-will-leave-you-speechless/

P. (2015, June 10). History and Meaning of Sunflowers. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.proflowers.com/blog/history-and-meaning-of-sunflowers

Televičiūtė , J. (n.d.). Afros Turned Into Flowery Galaxies To Make Black Women Proud Of Their African Heritage. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.boredpanda.com/flowers-galaxy-afro-hairstyle-black-girl-magic-pierre-jean-louis/

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Dear White People: Racial Undertones in Comedy

In Netflix’s original series, “Dear White People”, this satirical comedy-drama examines the impact of racism and social injustice in a predominantly white college campus. Although this is taking shape in form of satire, there is in fact depth to this show that shouldn’t go unnoticed. As the story follows in sequence of chapters, we can see the story of individual characters and their experiences pertaining to a “Dear Black People” party“ where white students put on black face, weave, makeshift braids etc. which is insulting to the African American Culture. The mere premise of this act can relate to our American culture in terms of what use to be a source of entertainment which put emphasis on black music, and dance and speaking in a ‘plantation’ dialect” (Blackface, para 4). This is obviously offensive, and as Dear White People is set up as recent, meaning in the 2017-time frame, you would think people would learn by now that blackface, and disrespectful portrayals of African Americans, or any other non-white race, is done in bad taste. This is why the characters who are advocates for equality, especially the members in the Black Student Union, specifically Logan Browning, playing Samantha White. Samantha White holds a satirical radio show called Dear White People, which brings up white privilege, racist behavior and racial undertones in a comedic fashion, while she really wants to advocate for the black lives matter movement by exposing white people who went to this black party. She also struggles with scrutiny of dating a white man and embracing the fact that she if half white.

DeRon Hortons, playing Lionel Higgins, young journalist, records events and gives the scoop on everything that happened in regards to the party, while trying to embrace the label of being gay. This gives his story a lot of dialogue and context within the big picture, as he doesn’t necessarily want to prescribe to labels. Holding a conversation with a young red head, who says “We are all just f***ing human beings. Our skin, our eyes...it’s all a mask, you know?” (Ep. 2). This stood out to me in the sense that, interpreting this could take many turns. Down to the core, we are all the same beings with no genetic component separating us by intelligence, superiority etc. We can just cover up with our skin color, the physical features, and pride in reflection of how we treat others. The concepts and story line of this entire series can generate conversation for our class, as there is analysis of race, identity, and cultural difference. With Samantha trying to find her place in terms of her own race, being half black/white, Lionel trying to figure out who he identifies with, and Troy trying to live up to his father’s principles by going above and beyond; to be a revolutionary at Winchester College.

Troy Fairbanks, played by Brandon Bell, is under constant pressure to be the greatest, and do the greatest in the eyes of his father, while also competing against three white candidates for Student Body President. This can also look deeper into current American Politics as every single President we have had up until Barack Obama was white. Troy wants to help change the school dynamic and cater to all. Leaving us to pick apart our own social media, examining skin color, political bias and racial ideology. Troy is a symbol of those who wants to make a difference, strives for greatness, but needs to go the distance, while being under constant pressure, knowing he could be rejected, as well as tiptoeing over glass, while taking his skin color into account. Racial bias can be exploited in politics, therefore leaving a divide in race as well as community. This again relates to class, as we are looking at how people of color get treated differently, and holding that with them everywhere they go, as Jane Elliot stated “White People’s number one freedom in the U.S.A is the freedom to be totally ignorant about those who are other than white” (The Angry Eye).

As there are many characters to this show, it is important to capture the essence of how different each other’s characters are while sharing the same ethnicity. Difference is gender, belief, class, thought process, but share the common grounds of standing up and supporting the black community. As said by Samantha, “Dear white people, here’s a little tip: When you ask someone who looks ethnically different ‘what are you?’ the answer is usually a person about to slap the shit out of you.”(Ep. 1)

Citations:

Adaway, D. (n.d.). Is The Work You Are Doing Revolutionary? Retrieved October 08, 2017, from http://desireeadaway.com/is-the-work-you-are-doing-revolutionary/

(2014, August 20). The Angry Eye. Retrieved October 08, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAE3UqxIhfE

Blackface! - The History of Racist Blackface Stereotypes. (n.d.). Retrieved October 08, 2017, from http://black-face.com/

Simien, J. (Writer). (2017, April 28). Dear White People [Television series]. Neflix.