The second option brings in the idea of woman of color. Yet it dawned on me once i truly thought about myself as a person and the people. Specifically, hooks argues that whitewashed cinema robs black women of narrative agency through not only violent misrepresentations, but also utter lack of representation. Why is feminist film theory a bad example for feminist film theory. Black female spectators in the article, bell hooks takes a historical look at black females as media spectators. Hooks primarily aims at critical discussion of the black female spectator and her relation to black and white representation on film.
Ruby rich argues that womens relationships with film is instead dialectical, consciously filtering the images and messages they receive through cinema, and reprocessing them to elicit their own. Black female spectators by bell hooks in which the spectatorship of black women is the centre subject. The oppositional gaze black female spectators hen thinking about black female spectators, 1 remember being punished as a child for staring, for those hard intense direct looks children would gi ve grownups, looks that were seen as confrontational, as gestures of resistance, challenges authority. Think of other examples of music videos that might similarly challenge the typical male gaze to recognize the gaze of a woman of color or other marginalized community similarly effected. Hattie mcdaniels portrayal of mammy in the 1939 film, gone with the wind, marked the first time that a black actor, male or female, had been honoured with the hollywood motion picture industrys highest award, the academy award or oscar, as it is popularly known. Bringing together key writings on art, film, architecture, popular culture, new media and other visual fields, this key reader combines classic texts by leading feminist thinkers with six previously unpublished polemical new pieces. Hooks says, analyzing laura mulveys visual pleasure and narrative cinema, placing ourselves outside that pleasure in looking, murvey argues, was determined by a split between activemale and passivefemale. Jun 25, 2019 i believe that the cinematic experience can create the oppositional gaze through characterisation to represent the other, and awareness of authorial intention. Through the black gaze a reappropriation of not only what it means to be black but also of what it means to be white can be achieved.
When i watch movies, it is easy for me to become a passive viewer but this time i was ready to find flaws. Black female spectators, analyzes the politics of the gaze as it affects black women in film. According to hooks, black female spectators take three courses of action when addressing the absence of positive representations of woman of color in hollywood films. What are the elements that she lays out for the reader.
All attempts to repress ourblack peoples right to gaze. Specifically, it is used by black females to challenge the male gaze and broadens the ideas of what the gaze, or filter on the media actually is. As bell hooks said in chapter 7 of the oppositional gaze. Gloria jean watkins better known by her pen name bell hooks, is an american author who wrote. Benjamin stands at a distance, wary and perhaps puzzled by this blatant display of sexuality. Although this film is seen as a great feminism movie in the dominant interpretation, it is far away from perfect. Bracha ettinger criticized the male gaze with the matrixial gaze, which is inoperative when the male gaze is opposite to the female gaze, wherein both perspectives constitute each other from a lack, which is the lacanian definition of the gaze. The first option is for the spectator to simply look the other way and disregard film as an interest. Oppositional summarize the the oppositional gaze by bell.
The black gaze forced to me to consider the regime of white truth that has been developed and deployed in positioning black people in convenient opposition to white people. Black female spectators 1992, bell hooks discusses the stakes of looking in a racially segregated united states. How might these three examples represent the oppositional gaze. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Summary the oppositional gaze by bell hooks is the rejection of laura mulveys paper. As i began reading hooks piece i initially thought of the power that must come with the position of spectator. Theory quiz study guide by briarf includes 20 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. Like bell hooks mentioned in her article the oppositional gaze. This theory of the gaze as an instrument of mastery stripping female spectators of their agency met a lot of resistance, especially from feminist writer bell hooks. Obstacles with olives sex life the oppositional gaze in.
Perhaps bell hooks offers us a way of complicating this idea of the gaze in her essay the oppositional gaze. Apr 28, 2010 bell hooks article talks about the black female gaze. Robinson, benjamins fathers law partner, is meant to be an uncomfortable one. This experience was different for the black female spectators. She proposes that restrictions and prohibitions on the black gaze that were established during slavery and reinforced in the postreconstruction era in the spectacle of lynching incited black viewers to adopt a critical mode of looking, an oppositional gaze of resistance. Black female spectators, bell hooks 1992 presented the.
This paper is specifically about black female spectators. Our next session in the gaze was a focus on the text the oppositional gaze. Ann kaplan notes that the mother is usually marginal in traditional cinema. Feminist film theory wikifema, the female encyclopedia. Oppositional gaze so african american females can avoid being hurt by the absence of a black female presence in cinema look past race and gender for aspects of content, form, language white womanhood, occupies the place of stardom in reading mulvey, african american females are outside the power dynamicthe pleasure in looking.
Looking down in this early disney film with an oppositional gaze, i found. During the oppositional gaze, the spectator takes the phallocentric gaze away from white woman and attempt to create their own meaning from the texts. By lyndsey maloney, andrew miller, shay nix and ben osborn main argument and thesis. Specifically, hooks argues that whitewashed cinema robs black women of narrative agency through not only violent misrepresentations, but also. The oppositional gaze and notes that there is power in looking 115. As i began reading hooks piece i initially thought of. Initially in the united states in the early 1970s feminist film theory was generally based on sociological theory and focused on the function of female characters in. Looking implores a sense of power that is removed from the black female body, to play the role of object in direct relation to white female existence. I could get pleasure from movies as long as i did not look too deep. Black female spectators by bell hooks bell hooks essay, the oppositional gaze. Bell hooks is a black feminist who calls attention to the negative aspects of white supremacy and capitalist patriarchy. The oppositional gaze and the watermelon woman 1996. For the black male spectator, it was easier to be interpellated into the white male gaze scenario provided by the cinematic apparatus context. The inference is that she includes female spectators in that, identifying with the male observer rather than the female object of the gaze.
I believe that the cinematic experience can create the oppositional gaze through characterisation to represent the other, and awareness of authorial intention. Feb 09, 2016 finally, the third option spectators can take is the oppositional gaze hooks, 121. Why women and girls must fight the addictive power of advertising. In the oppositional gaze, bell hooks brings up a very interesting point about the black female as spectator. Feb 24, 2014 in the oppositional gaze, bell hooks brings up a very interesting point about the black female as spectator. Feb 16, 2016 although this film is seen as a great feminism movie in the dominant interpretation, it is far away from perfect. Readingnotes 2200 final readings the oppositional gaze. Black female spectators traces the history of the black female experience as viewers in cinema from the slave fields of the south toward a modern representation of what it means for a black woman to look. Bell hooks article summary essaysthe oppositional gaze. The oppositional gaze black female spectators when thinking about black female spectators, i remember being punished as a child for staring, for those hard intense direct looks children would give grownups, looks that were seen as confrontational, as gestures of.
Gwstd g225 study guide 2014 maher instructor maher at. The original poster, which shows us benjamins gaze upon the fetishized leg of a faceless woman who we later learn is the middleaged wife of mr. It is not just about the male gaze, but there are many different gazes from many different points of view. White slaveowners denied slaves their right to gaze, and slaves were punished for looking. Summarythe oppositional gaze by bell hooks is the rejection of laura mulveys paper. Bell hooks article talks about the black female gaze.
Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. Bell hooks herself is black, and she introduces the topic to us by sharing. There is power in looking, as bell hooks proposes in her 1992 essay, the oppositional gaze. Stories told from the viewpoint of the husband or child displace the mothers perspective, a displacement that kaplan recog. Nov 17, 2012 summarythe oppositional gaze by bell hooks is the rejection of laura mulveys paper. In my life, i have been fortunate enough to not be marginalized in the media to an uncomfortable extent. Black female spectators, the intent to challenge reality is key in this process 116. Black female spectators, hooks gives the rubric that black woman are not only underrepresented in film, but they are also not allowed to look either. The development of feminist film theory was influenced by second wave feminism and womens studies in the 1960s and 1970s. Add one setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your universitys proxy server configure custom proxy use this if your affiliation does not provide a proxy. So when selecting a film for this blog post i had difficulty selecting an approach for an oppositional gaze. The oppositional gaze black female spectators when thinking about black female spectators, i remember being punished as a child for staring, for those hard intense direct looks children would give grownups, looks that were seen as confrontational, as gestures of resistance, challenges to authority. Black female spectators bell hooks all attempts to repress our black peoples right to gaze had produced in us an overwhelming longing to look this is oppositional gaze pg. The piece is hard hitting and interesting and again, i found it hard to follow until i read it a few times over.
According to hooks it produced in them an overwhelming longing to look, a rebellious desire, an oppositional gaze. Beyond conclusions are there any other variables that maybe feminist theory has ignored. Despite a history of oppression, hooks asserts that black people have a right to observe and the right to identification without consequence or compromising their identity. Sep 11, 2012 according to bell hooks, the oppositional gaze is a critical look that analyzes and reinterprets the construction of societal ideals and media. Black female spectatorship and john stahls imitation of life n her discussion of the maternal melodrama, e. Bell hooks the oppositional gaze black female spectators in. With the awareness of how they have been represented in film, black female spectators have begun to develop the oppositional gaze. Black womens relationship with cinema and other medias has always been highly vexed. Finally, the third option spectators can take is the oppositional gaze hooks, 121. Barbara kruger untitled 1986 one multiple from a series of.
They had to face a representation of themselves where black women were. Mar 03, 2019 oppositional activates a gaze, a resistance gaze. That being said, while i did challenge what i was seeing, i was able to find pleasure in the film by appreciating the moments in which agent harts smarts or strength were depicted. Type chapter authors bell hooks date 1992 page start 115 page end 1 is part. Black female spectators, she argues that black women are empowered by adopting an oppositional gaze, specifically in relation to cinema. They had to face a representation of themselves where black women were objectified and desired, thus seen as white. Initially in the united states in the early 1970s feminist film theory was generally based on sociological theory and focused on the function of female characters in film narratives or genres. Black female spectators ignoring racism and sexism and watching anyways black characters are there to maintain white womanhood as an object of of phallic gazes. According to bell hooks, the oppositional gaze is a critical look that analyzes and reinterprets the construction of societal ideals and media. When thinking about black female spectators, i remember being punished as a child for staring, for those hard intense direct looks children would give grownups, looks that were seen as confrontational, as gestures of resistance, challenges to authority.
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