Marianna's Thoughts | Blogs

[mariannasthoughts]

Understanding History & Trauma Through Black Horror

These last couple of weeks in class have really made me think more about how deep Black Horror goes, especially after reading “The Devil in America” and “Please Momma”. Not only that, but also because I’ve been thinking through all the topics in my final essay and writing my outline, and I have realized how this horror could relate to our daily lives. During the lectures for this week, we talked about how these stories are actually trying to make sense of things that maybe we can’t make sense in real life, like the amounts of hate and violence done. “The Devil in America” was definitely tough to read, especially because it was a bit long and confusing since the story didn't go in order, and I know Professor Due called this a “non-linear” story. Even though it was hard to follow sometimes, the feeling of the story being "unrelentingly evil" really stuck with me. The main message of the story is how racism is the real monster, and this did feel true, especially with the Devil showing up as a Rebel soldier and connecting to real historical violence like Tulsa.

“Please Momma” was also interesting to read, and it did have horror, but it was emotionally tied and personal. It focused way more on family trauma and grief. I liked how mysterious the beginning was, with the sisters arguing in the car, and then the surprise when you realize one sister is actually a ghost and not actually physically riding in the back. It showed how the mother’s grief became a parasite and started haunting her. The parasite started feeding on her hopelessness, grief, and fear, which is why she's been so abusive to her living daughter. I do think that the message of the story is how this lasting grief doesn't just hurt you emotionally, but it can literally become a destructive force that makes you hurt the people around you. 

During this week, we also focused a lot of time on our final projects/essays during lecture, and I really enjoyed taking time with other peers to discuss our ideas. I think doing two peer reviews during class time and getting to ask questions on our final project was really helpful because it helped me guide my outline for my final essay. Also, our class sections really highlighted that when we talk about black horror, we are also connecting them to real-life systemic issues, like historical massacres or generational trauma. It is really powerful how we can connect this genre to the real world.

[mariannasthoughts]

Beloved - A Horror of our History & Trauma

This week, the film that really impacted me was Beloved, and I want to talk about it in my final essay. This was a hard film to watch, and I agree with Professor Due that the movie hits way harder emotionally than just reading the book. I think it’s because we are actually seeing it, vs reading, where we're just trying to imagine it. This film gave me an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach, kind of like what Professor Due mentioned when it was seen in theaters. What made it so difficult for me is how real the horror is because we have seen a lot of supernatural or monster-based films in this class, but Beloved feels different because the fear is tied directly to real history. During the recorded lecture, hearing those recordings of formerly enslaved people was a reminder that slavery wasn’t that long ago. Listening to people talk about being sold away from their families or carrying a master’s name felt like the real Black horror. I think as a society, we have forgotten what happened in the same country we all live in right now. Sethe’s choice to kill her child so she wouldn’t have to experience slavery was heartbreaking to watch, but it’s not just a story because it all ties to the real history and the extreme trauma there. 

The main message I got from this film is that the things we go through, especially trauma, will always find a way back into our lives. Beloved returns to haunt Sethe, and is always hungry and needy because she’s like a baby who never got the chance to live. She basically drains Sethe emotionally, physically, and financially because Sethe tries to give her everything she never had. It’s a heartbreaking reminder that you can’t ignore your past. All that trauma, her daughter’s death, and the reality of slavery come back and take over Sethe’s life.What surprised me most about black horror is how much psychological depth it has. Professor Due talked about how the haunting in Beloved could represent real-life things in our lives, like an alcoholic parent or incest, and that really changed the way I saw these supernatural parts. It shows how real trauma can feel so overwhelming that it almost becomes its own kind of “ghost” and horror.  Overall, this week made it clear that the real monsters are usually the systems around us, like slavery, racism, and white supremacy. What really resonated with me about Beloved is how it makes the past feel present, and forces us to face the parts of history we still don’t fully talk about.

[mariannasthoughts]

The Scariest Type of Horror - My Reflection on Eve's Bayou

This week one of the films that got me to see other versions of horror was Eve’s Bayou. I felt that it wasn’t the kind of horror that had jump outs or even gory images, but it was the kind that stays with you because it feels real. We discussed during lecture on how the film showed themes like secrets, loss of innocence, and casual monstrosity. I think this film reminded me how sometimes the things that scare us most don’t come from ghosts or monsters, but from actual horor comes from our own experiences and people closest to us. I agree with how Professor Due explained how Samuel L. Jackson’s character is an example of “casual monstrosity", which is also a theme in the film. He’s the "successful doctor", the "doting father" who provides for his family, yet his open infidelities create this environment of insecurity in his family where it was inevitable that something was going to go wrong. The idea that secrets themselves act as a kind of monster resonated strongly with me and I think is what made me connect with this film. This film shows how secrets are devastating when parents try to shield their children from the truth, but this brings Eve to intuit that something is terribly wrong. Her loss of innocence is the film’s biggest tragedy and I would've loved to see how the original ending Kasi Lemmons had planed would've had a different turn out in the film. Although the ending was left the ending more ambiguous, but it was clear that the real monster was the the father and he took advantage of his daughter. However, I know that this other ending does make the audience bring their own perspectives to determine reality.

[mariannasthoughts]

Reclaiming Black Horror in Candyman

This week, I really enjoyed the discussions we had on both the new Candyman from 2021 and the old Candyman from 1992. I actually had never seen either Candyman film, until this class. I went into the original 1992 film loving Tony Todd's performance, however through the film I realized how problematic it was. What truly surprised me was understanding how easily a narrative centered on Black pain can be filtered through a white lens and the difference it makes within the film. The fact that the 1992 film was written and directed by a white man really highlighted why the story was told through Helen’s perspective, who serves as the privileged narrator and makes the film centered in her experience. I also believe that the old Candyman does portray Helen as the savior in the film, which contributes to the white saviorism concept. How she was the one explaining the history of housing discrimination made me realize how the original movie depicted Black trauma through a white lens, and the true experience of what the community experiences. I really disliked the scene in the 1992 version where Helen is harassed in the bathroom. I do feel that scene was completely unnecessary and only served to fuel a social stereotype about Black criminality from a white perspective/lens. It reinforced the idea that the film exaggerated Cabrini-Green as an "urban jungle" and contributed to the sense that Black male monstrosity extended beyond just the supernatural villain, like we have seen in other films like Owanga. 

The newer Candyman film felt like a direct and powerful correction in what the older Candyman failed. I loved how it flipped the lens/perspective of the film entirely. Instead of focusing on the fear of Blackness or urban crime in general, the 2021 version made gentrification the real monster and not a Black person. The new luxury apartments are built on the actual ghosts of the past, showing how gentrification destroys Black communities while profiting off the same culture it erases. Overall, both films were interesting to watch and see how each were based on the same novel/storyline, however they both reflect social issues differently and protray a different feeling when watching. This week made me realize that Black Horror confronts societal truths/issues, having viewers face the realities of racism, inequality, and the trauma that society often tries to ignore. Like our previous discussion on Us, where the film highlighted classism and the forgotten, this film uses horror as a reflection of inequality and systemic injustice. 

[mariannasthoughts]

What Us Taught Me About Society

This week’s discussion on Us really made me think about how horror can be a reflection of things about ourselves and society that we usually don’t want to face or try not to. I had never seen the movie before, but after watching it and our discussion during lecture, I understood it in a much different way. When we talked about how the Tethered represented the people who are left behind, and this relates to society, on how we as a collective try to leave out the poor, the forgotten, or the ones who live “below” us, showing the true theme of the film, classism. I saw the film in a different way, and it wasn’t just a creepy clones film anymore, but instead I saw it as a story about inequality and how some people get to live comfortably on the surface while others suffer in the shadows. 

What I found really interesting was how the movie didn’t have one clear villain.  I think someone mentioned during lecture or my discussion section that Addy’s story feels both heartbreaking and understandable, and I agree. I actually feel bad for both Addy and her Tethered version because, in a way, they both just wanted to survive and have a chance at a better life. The original Addy seeked vengeance and wanted to take her life back, while at the same time giving the people in the Tethered a place on Earth to live their own lives and not just under the shadows. On the other hand, the Tethered version of Addy decided to take a life that she thought she belonged to when she was younger; she believed she deserved to switch places with the real Addy.  The plot twist at the end really stuck with me because it made me question what “good” and “evil” even meant in a system that’s already unfair, and the way society has already marked what it was. 

Overall, I think that Us isn’t just about facing a scarier version of yourself who might take over your own life, that’s the fake/fantasy aspect of it in the film. But I do believe we as a society could relate to it, and for some viewers, it could’ve been hard to watch since it does touch on social issues. I think it does touch on certain truths in the world, like the difference in treatment depending on our social class. It made me realize how easy it is for people to ignore the pain of others if it doesn’t directly affect them, and I think the film does a great job of showing that and forces the viewers to see that. Even though it was my first time watching it, it made me reflect on how privilege can shape the way society decides to treat the social class and who gets left behind. I really enjoyed watching the film. 

[mariannasthoughts]

Finding Meaning in the Sunken Place

If we are talking about films, I think the film that really brought the concept of black horror together and made me actually like horror for the first time was Get Out. Get Out has easily been my favorite so far because of how much meaning is behind it. The Sunken Place really made me think about how it represents being silenced or trapped not just physically but mentally. I thought it was powerful how Jordan Peele connected that idea to real-world issues like racism, assimilation, and microaggressions. The part about people “loving the body but not the mind” really connects to even modern times today, and seeing things in the media. It reminded me of how society can praise Black culture like their music, fashion, and art, but continue to ignore the pain and struggles that Black communities face in society. The movie is about how people want the “aesthetic” of Blackness, but in reality, without respecting or supporting actual Black lives. I think that’s what makes Get Out so genius, because it’s scary, but not just because of the plot. It’s scary because it’s actually real, and we see this in the real world. Jordan Peele took the everyday experiences of racism and he turned them into something visual that forces the viewers to confront it. For me, this film actually made me reflect on society and the kind of “Sunken Places” that still exist today.