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The Black KKKlansman: Post Three

This film can be connected to the poem Ku Klux by Langston Hughes. This poem relates to the movie the Black KKKlansmen because it discusses directly the white man's desire to reign supreme. It also touched on the violent nature of the KKK.

The Black KKKlansman: Post Two

-A connection between The Black KKlansman and Get Out is there is excessive use of force and violence to subdue and punish blacks. In Get Out they use mental warfare and the abrasive/combative brother Jeremy. In the Black KKKlansman, Connie uses a bomb under Patrice’s car to threaten Civil Rights Protest and cops beat up Ron in the film as well. Both films capture the violent side effects of white supremacy.

Image: Moments before the bomb was triggered. - you can see the ill intent in his eyes.

The Black KKKLansman : Post One

My Interpretation of the film is that is a revolutionary film used to illustrate white ignorance and the real dangers of civil rights work. The film’s relationship to the “race and gender in American American film” is that it is set in a very pivotal time, the seventies and racial tensions still were incredibly high. During the rise of the silent majority, white supremacists were emboldened. Being black in America has always been dangerous but groups like the KKK made it intentionally deadly. In terms of gender, the patriarchy was alive in well. The white wives dutifully handled the logistic work and the organizing while the men set out to do the violence and treachery. Women would make the cloaks and the men would wear them, Connie was very willing to participate in the violence but because she was a woman she was scoffed at. White women bolster white men but will never be on the same level. In terms of race, Ron Stallworth is really black but knows that he can’t physically infiltrate the hate group that was designed to murder and terrorize his people. As a result, he makes an unlikely alliance with Jewish co-worker Flip Zimmerman. In this way, the film is proving that despite color differences blacks and whites can be on the same team.

Flip and Ron working as a team.

Week 12 - Post Three : Get Out

This film can be connected to the anime called Parasyte the Maxim. Aliens takeover everyone's brain to survive and eradicate the human race. Similarly, white want to erase the consciousness of Blacks and their experiences while using the body for longevity and procreation of their own kind.

-This relates to the Get Out because it incorporates the theme of intellectual genocide, the theme of control, and the theme of racial superiority. Whites and aliens both want to use the physicality of beings they deem to be of lesser value and substance.

Week 12- Post Two : Get Out

-A connection Get Out and The Help is that they use the storylines of the Help to forward a specific narrative. In Get Out, the help represents the successful usage of black bodies and black face. In The Help, the maids represent the cold reality of Jim Crow and the intricacies of race relations within a white household with black maids. Both films also focus heavily on the idea of being an outsider. Skeeter in the help is an outsider within her world because she wanted to be a journalist and went to college and pursued a scandalous (almost sacrilegious) book topic that would ultimately prohibit her from being a perfect Southern Bell wife. In Get Out, Chris knew and felt as if he was out of place within his girlfriend's home. He was filled with anxiety and possessed no control in his environment. Similarly, the maids in The Help were also outsiders, very dispensible and their livelihood rested on the will of uninvolved mothers.

-Above is an example of Chris’s physical discomfort, as a result of invasive and ignorant questions from the Caucasian guest at the psuedoslave auction

Week 12 - Post 1 : Get Out

-My Interpretation of the film is that is a psychological horror film that alludes to the ultimate form of black face and to the desire for whites to be what they cannot - colored. On a deeper level, it relates to the psychological conditioning of blacks to believe they are trapped within the confines of their own mind and circumstance. This film is a metaphor for the whitewashing of our society.

-The film’s relationship to the “race and gender in American American film” is that it talks about how whites desire to embody blackness without handling the burden of black consciousness. In terms of gender, it feeds into the revolting black male loves white guy trope. All of the victims were mostly black males with the exception of the black female helper Georgina. In terms of race, it adds a layer of uncomfortableness for the viewers. In older films, blacks are happy to be in the space of whites- but in Get Out all of the blacks act funny and anxious. The main character Chris, is also visibly uncomfortable the whole trip. There is also a scene where there is a slave-like auction and they comment awkwardly about his appearance and physique. Despite the vestiges of slavery within the film they also touch on the predatory nature of whites. In light of the violent shooting of innocent blacks, it is apparent in the film that black people are meant to be stalked, hunted, and killed. Killed either spiritually, mentally or physically if need be. In today’s world, blacks are still treated like animals and disposed of in a similar fashion ( typically at gunpoint). Race in this film is the catalyst for volatility. Race is the center of the storyline and all the craziness in the film intersects with the fundamental idea that blacks are meant to be used by whites.

- In the image above, Chris fights hard to remain out of the sunken place, the house help really is the white grandma and she has so much chagrin that it could only be a facade. The house help is already being used and Chris is being preyed on.

Week 11 - Post Three : The Help

This film can be connected to the depiction of black house servants in Birth of a Nation and in Gone with the Wind. This relates to the themes of race and gender because they both depict black women as amiable, content, and submissive. They are also devoid of any sensuality and lack any inner gall/ attitude.

Week 11 - Post 2 : The Help

“You’re my real mama Aibee ," says the baby in the scene above. In the help non-blood family is family.

-A connection between The Help and Gook is that it touched on the nuances of interracial relationships that are platonic and familial. It shows that love transcends color.

It also shows the contradictory nature of racism in America. Blacks are good enough to nurse white children, feed white families, and have sex with white men but they aren’t good enough to defecate in the same vicinity. In this case, the baby even believes that Aibee is her real mother because she is well cared for and shown tenderness. This also complicates the narrative of The Help because in some aspects they were not just the servants but part of the family ecosystem.

Week 11- Post One : The Help

My Interpretation of the film is that it is an expose on the pre-civil rights era, in The Help, we learn the stories of housemaids. Entrenched within the cult of domesticity, these housemaids were the gears that made the clock tick. The purpose of This film is to give life to a set of people who typically have no voice or historical significance in the eyes of the majority.

-The film’s relationship to “race and gender in American American film” is that they reimagine the stereotypical depiction of house servants. In the film ethnic notions and in Birth of a Nation, the house help was depicted as dutifully faithful, pleasant, and loyal to their masters. The Help revitalizes the Mammy stereotype by adding a less palatable storyline. The Help does not depict the housemaids as happy, loving, and thankful to the families they serve. The Help humanizes the black bodies that are typically looked over. We get to hear and understand their fears, pain, and worries. We also get to experience their joys and life through their eyes. In the image above Aibee, is fed up with servicing the X family and behind closed doors and corridors, she has complaints and dislikes that she has to put up with because of her environment.

Week 10 - Post 3 : Gook

This film can be connected to the movie Crooklyn because it is also a coming of age film about a young black girl but in her case, she had to grow up quickly. Both young black girls experienced motherlessness and were influenced by their urban surroundings.

Week 10: Post Two - Gook

Post Two:

-A connection between Gook and Moonlight is that they are both coming of age films that speak to existences that are often undermined. Black children are usually depicted as just victims of circumstance. Both of these films went to great lengths to humanize black children. Both films were incredibly clear about the intricate dynamics that exist within black communities because nuclear families are atypical.

Below: Kamilla and Eli

Week Ten: Post One - Gook

Post One :

-My Interpretation of the film is that it is a coming of age film that shows the rare story of a young black girl who feels misplaced and is emotionally rehomed with Asian counterparts. Kamilla is the embodiment of confused youth who is looking for love and acceptance wherever she can receive it.

-The film’s relationship to the “race and gender in American American film” is that we see a young girl who is not obsessive over her looks, she’s not your stereotypical young girl. She’s bold, loud and rambunctious. In terms of race, she is a black girl and she savors her unlikely friendship with Eli. Camilla being black is somewhat a point of contention in the film because within her community the blacks, hispanics and asians do not get along. She also has these wonderful scenes where she dancing carefree and is expressive. Even in the ending scene, her vitality is immortalized by her dancing spirit and her child-like nature gets to be preserved.

Week Nine: Post Three

This film can be connected to the song - Papa was a rolling stone by the Temptations. This song relates to the films and their themes because it talks about the effects of fatherlessness and expresses the need for fathers in the lives of their children.

Week Nine: Post Two

-A connection between Moonlight and We The Animals is that both of the main child characters are young boys who are struggling to embody a distinct masculine identity. Chiron was chastised into fighting when his nature was not to fight but to be submissive. His environment rewards dominance, aggression, and threats whereas shyness and softness are looked down upon as negative traits. Both characters are loners, in We The Animals, the two older brothers take on the toxic masculinity of their father and partake in self-destructive behavior such as engaging in violence, drinking, and using drugs. Additionally, the movie comments on the effects of fatherlessness and the impact of a father figure. Both films had swimming scenes in which the father figure was teaching a lesson about swimming. Swimming is a life skill and necessary for survival. Without these father figures, both boys wouldn’t be able to survive in the event they were surrounded by H2O. Water could be a metaphor for life and without fathers, young boys are ill-equipped to survive through life's hardships.

-Chiron getting taught how to swim by Juan .

-Jonah getting taught to swim by his father

Week Nine : Post One

-My Interpretation of the film is that is a coming of age film that attempts to shed light on fatherlessness, finding sexuality, and the black urban experience.

-The film’s relationship to the “race and gender in American film” is that it discussed the role of masculinity in boyhood. The black males that reside in the urban areas must assert themselves and not be perceived as soft in order to survive in their environment. In terms of race - black men and black boys are conditioned and socialized to normalize this aggressive behavior and it is evident that Chiron doesn’t necessarily want to partake in acts of violence but is forced to. As a male, there is constant pressure to be domineering and partake in agonistic behavior. Race and gender play a large role in the ways in which boys are brought up. It is rare to see black boys who are comfortable in their softness. Down below is a moment after Chiron partakes in his tussle with a friend despite being apprehensive - he does it to prove that he’s not soft.

Week Eight: Post Three

This film can be connected to the song “Mr.Lonely” by Bobby Vinton. This song relates to the films and their themes because it talks about the melancholy feeling that loneliness can bring.

Week Eight: Post Two

-A connection between We the Animals and the Breakfast Club is that they both portrayed what it’s like to be an outsider. These movies help viewers understand the negative effects of isolation and humanize the experience of feeling alone.

-The We the Animals in relation to The Breakfast Club is a reflection of the microcosms that exist in society. In We the Animals, they live a very isolated lifestyle but Jonah is also emotionally isolated from his family. In The Breakfast Club, the teens are not geographically isolated but they’re socially isolated from one another. In The Breakfast Club, they were all white but still were able to relate to the awkward and scary feeling of being different. Jonah was literally in a different world throughout most of the film. As depicted below he was in this living grave and later floated out of it as the movie ended. We see that Jonah is in a different headspace when compared to his brothers but he also gets treated less than because of it.

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