Film Evaluation: Black Is… Black Ain’t The final film by Marlon Riggs, Black is…Black Ain't, is concerned with the state of the African American community. This film essentially asks the question, what does it mean to be black? The director and producer, Marlon Riggs, guides viewers along an “an up-front examination of racism, sexism, and homophobia within the black community itself. Bringing together personal stories, interviews, music, history, and performance, Black Is...Black Ain’t asks African Americans: What is black, black enough, or too black?”1 Unfortunately, the AIDS-stricken director died before the film was completed. This film operates as a kind of last will and testament for Marlon Riggs. “He bequeaths the idea that rigid …show more content…
The film reminds us that “slavery and its aftermath involved the emasculation-physical as well as psychological - of black men, the drive for black power was usually taken to mean a call for black male power, despite the needs of (and often with the complicity of) black women. That continues to result in the devaluing of black female contributions to the liberation struggle and in the subordination of black women in general.”4 The result of emasculation became hyper masculinity. This phenomenon confined the meaning of what it meant to be black even further. For example, to be black is not to be homosexual. This is due to the notion of homosexuality as the ultimate weakness. Hence there is often prejudice of homosexuals in the black community. The homophobic initiative from the black Catholic Church doesn’t make the situation any better. Hence, Marlon Riggs ties in his own story as a gay black man with AIDS. It really assists the film in showing the restrictions that exist in black unity. So what is the black identity? Are you black enough? Do you talk black? Are you a hyper masculine heterosexual male with kinky hair and a criminal record? I can see how it must be difficult to maintain a sense of communal self. Angela Davis one of the speakers in the film, provides this answer: "You take some color, a dash
Imagine being one of the black female victims in the plantation south, and not having the voice to revolt against immorality experienced frequently because of White southerner males. The unthinkable feeling of white males having full access to a female’s body without her consent, and using her for their personal amusement reveals that discrimination and inhumanity existed in the era before slavery was abolished. For this reason, Deborah Gray White wrote the book known as Ar’n’t I a Woman? to highlight the brutal actions of these white southerner males that made miserable circumstances for black slave population to survive. The way she brought forth the reality and the vicious mentality of the White southerner males manifest that the status
To be a woman meant that one had no say in regards to political affairs or in government making decisions. If being a woman had limitations, imagine what a black woman experienced, as they were considered less than human and mistreated more than any other female from any different background. In “A Plea for the Oppressed”, Lucy Stanton, one such black woman, tried to avail her people’s plight upon an audience of white women, to support the antislavery and reform cause.
The movie, And the Band Played On, discusses the origin of the AIDS virus and how it spontaneously spread across the world. It used the Ebola disease to foreshadow the forth coming of another serious disease. The world was not prepared to handle such a contagious plague. Doctors around the world assumed that the first cases of the HIV virus to be just an abnormality of a certain disease, their carelessness of this matter was the start to the spread of this disease. Throughout this movie, it illustrates different points, such as the beginning of HIV, the misconceptions it gave, and the panic it aroused amongst doctors and the common people.
As a result, the black feminist movement developed, where black women were the sole leaders of the movement that liberated all people. Many black women believed that it was counterproductive for the Civil Rights Movement to neglect the needs of black woman because black men continued to use the same systemic oppression that white people used against them on black women. In “I Am a Revolutionary Black Woman,” Angela Davis writes that “black women constitute the most oppressed sector of society” (Davis 461). It is evident that black women have been super exploited by American society economically, sexually, and politically, making them the lowest on the social hierarchy. Because of black women’s low social standing, if the black woman is liberated, then everyone else will follow, which will ensure the liberation of all people. Thus, Davis argues that “women’s liberation is especially critical with respect to the effort to build an effective black liberation movement” (461). Unlike Hamer, Davis believes that black women should liberate themselves from the black man if they are too oppressive like the white man; black men should be held accountable for their chauvinistic efforts, and should embrace the fight for liberation of women just as black women supported the liberation of black men.
Throughout the Age of AIDS film many topics that were related to AIDS were brought up that I did not know anything about before. I did not know that there could so many strings attached to a disease and have such an influence in people’s lives whether it was negative or positive.
Black Alliance for Education Options is an organization that was created to help black children with getting an education. “BAEO was officially launched in August 2000 after African-American educators and parents held a series of meetings in Milwaukee and Washington, DC. BAEO’s co-founder and chair is Howard Fuller, the former superintendent of the Milwaukee public schools and a Marquette University professor.” (Activist Facts) By helping they make it possible for African American families with low income to be able to send their children to either public, private, charter, or even be home schooled. BAEO is all for what the children need and wants.
The United States has long been a country that has accepted that change is a necessity for prosperity and growth. However, each change within the nation's history was hard fought against those who resisted such change either through racism, bigotry, and blatant discrimination. African American cinema is enshrouded in history that depicts these themes of racism, struggle, and deprivation. Yet, this same cinema also shows scenes of hope, artistic spirit, intellectual greatness, and joy. Black actresses, actors, directors, producers, and writers have been fighting for recognition and respect since the great Paul Robeson. The civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's was fueled by black cinema through films like A Raisin in the Sun.
Teenagers may come across problems such as bullying or harassment in their daily lives. If these problems continue, the teenager might react violently. This happens because if young adults deal with their problems violently, they might go away, which is why I disagree with adults that young adults need to deal with challenges without violence.
Historically Black College and Universities have played a essential role in changing the scene of advanced education in the United States. Today, in a time of quick change, HBCUs confront difficulties and also new snags. Not only does the HBCU itself face difficulties, but being a student at one can definitely be challenging at times. They face multiple issues such as debt, discouragement, and mental illnesses. All of this could affect both their futures, and worth ethics. In order for the students to be career steady, these issues they are facing must be fixed.
In The 1950s racism reached an all-time high in the Southern United States of America. John Howard Griffin crossed the border of color and with the help of medications and stain he turned himself into a rich dark brown. He went by the same name, same education, same clothing, only difference was his skin color. He surrendered all his rights for being white and traded it to be a workless black man. Mr. Griffin did the seven week project for an article for the Sepia Magazine which also sponsored his trip. The book "Black Like Me" was made from a notebook that John Howard Griffin kept with him throughout his journey and told the uncensored truth about what goes down in the south.
I think the main idea that John Howard Griffin is trying to make is that nobody had any idea what the black population was feeling, or even doing. The white population was just content to think they were all happy and smiling all the time. On page 166 Griffin says “if he did not do his yessing and grinning and act out the stereotyped image, then he was immediately considered a “bad Negro,”. On the same page”
Over the course of approximately one-hundred years there has been a discernible metamorphosis within the realm of African-American cinema. African-Americans have overcome the heavy weight of oppression in forms such as of politics, citizenship and most importantly equal human rights. One of the most evident forms that were withheld from African-Americans came in the structure of the performing arts; specifically film. The common population did not allow blacks to drink from the same water fountain let alone share the same television waves or stage. But over time the strength of the expectant black actors and actresses overwhelmed the majority force to stop blacks from appearing on film. For the longest time the performing arts were
Instead they said it was simply a love story.” (Boykin) The film humanized the men and told of the pain that led them to their deception. “But similarly, situated black men are rarely so humanized. Instead, they are depicted unsympathetically as purveyors of disease and deception.” (Boykin)
The image incorporates African slaves as a representation of a point in time in which the domination of Black bodies began, through the next layer of the photo, we travel forward to Black Power Movements, as the image depicts the Black Panther Party’s founding members standing ‘in formation’ in front of a building that has ‘the ultimate justice for the people’ inscribed on the front. Next, the image brings us to the contemporary Black Lives Matter protests and as a sign from the protest reads ‘we wont take it anymore.’ Smith describes how slavery is the logical that renders Black people as inherently slaveable, therefore as they are nothing more than property (2006), they are dehumanized, and treated as if they are disposable. These effects and the inherent idea that ‘Black = disposable’ are still at play today, we can see this through the constant terror that is inflicted upon Black bodies in North America, the countless murders of Black bodies, the prison-industrial complex, and the institutional and systematic racism that is perpetuated upon Black bodies. This image encapsulates these histories and the contemporary effects, and demonstrates how Black bodies have showed resistance (the Black Panthers and Black Lives Matter) by getting in ‘formation’ by standing up and fighting for their
As the family settles into their new home the wife sees a need for a new