Their Eyes Are Watching Cinema

Since the 1930's cinema has been told threw the eyes of Caucasian men. Largely from their point of view which was displayed for the world to see, thus spreading their opinion and values. As millions of viewers mindlessly absorbed what most would consider as harmless information. This is most detrimental to women of color, as it has created a false perception. 

Yes! Women of color African American women are strong, sometimes fearless, family oriented, married, loving women of men that is a given. However, according to wealthy corporate cinema African American Women are  driven to assist Caucasians at any given chance via cleaning, nursing and or raising of their children, and or fulfilling sexual desires, because were so desperate to be loved and accepted. Or African American Women are made to be drug craved slash angry women who hate man kind, always fighting against our own ‘sistha’s’ because we lack the ability to communicate properly and shut any Cracker, Brother, or female that even thinks anything... down quick that gets in our way!

Cinema’s biggest night is the Oscar Awards. 1939 The first women of color (African American) Hattie McDaniel won for best supporting actress as she played t a stereotypical role as a mammy in the movie Gone with The Wind. As time passed negative images became more negative and insulting to the African American community. This is prevalent in four additional awards were given out when actresses played demeaning roles. 1990 Whoopi Goldberg in Ghost as she played the role of a thief turned psychic. 2001 Halle Berry for Best Actress in Monster’s Ball as a non family oriented mother which was stereotypical and demeaning to women of color. This role was first pitched to Angela Bassett and then Vanessa Williams who both declined the negative role.  2006 Jennifer Hudson for best supporting actress in Dream Girls who played the role of an Angry Black Women. In 2009 Mo‘Nique for best supporting actress in the movie Precious where she played the stereotypical role of a psychological abusive and deranged mother. 

Finally Octavia Spencer for best supporting actress in the movie The Help as a shit pie making maid in 2011. Out of these five movie titles I have mentioned. four are owned by two production companies Lions gate with Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer at the helm and Paramount/Viacom with controlling interest of CBS Chief Executive Officer Summer M. Redstone dictate and authorize what is said about a particular culture even though the majority of the African American community are against these types of roles. Negative perceptions are being instilled by repeating them in cinema throughout time especially with the use and sales of DVD, Blue Ray disc, as well as the viewing of YouTube.

This is why alternative cinema is so needed as it challenges the status quo as it offers a new fresh and often closer to the truth perspective. 

One of the film maker is challenging the status quo and her name is Ava DuVernay a female African American film maker.   DuVernay is a bright shinning star in the film industry. She has made four films 2010’s I Will Follow You a family drama based on a loss of a loved one. My Mic Sounds Nice a documentary about African American female Wrappers and the challenges they face when sex sells and they don’t. Asking the question of where do they fit. 2008‘s critically acclaimed This Is The Life a documentary of an era of African American wrapper in the hood starting a movement to have their voices heard. Faith through The Storm was her debut in 2010 with a documentary for TV One speaking about an female African American Katrin surviver. 2012’s Middle of Nowhere, which depicts an African American women struggles between to men she loves, changes in life, and how she finds herself.

Duvernay won Best Director Award at the 2013 SunDance Film Festival. Ava grew up in Compton California and graduated from UCLA with her own savings of fifty thousand dollars and made her first full length movie I Will Follow You which triple her cost in ticket sales. February of this year she was commissioned by the house of Miu Miu to create a short film which premiered at New York’s Fashion Week. 

Previously, she worked in DVA Media and Marketing, as a marketer and publicist for fourteen years she has also founded AFFRM African American Film Festival Releasing Movement. Where she wishes to make a different. She is quoted as saying “she wants to skip big studios and their deep pockets and dig into more honest stories.” Ava DuVernay understands the importance of what our perception as African American women as she know their eyes are watching cinema within the the confides in which we live and abroad. Ava states "There's something very important about films about black women and girls being made by black women," she said. "It's a different perspective. It is a reflection as opposed to an interpretation, and I think we get a lot of interpretations about the lives of women that are not coming from women." DuVernay is so important to cinema and she is diffidently turning heads with her style as she creates texture in her colors choices, camera angeles, and most of all in film she brings truth, honor, respect, and dignity back to the African American Women’s character.

References

Viacom has controlling interest of CBS

http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=viacom 

Holding The Door Article

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-carpenter/ava-duvernay-_b_2671284.html

http://www.avaduvernay.com/

Monster’s Ball

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,624142,00.html

Production Companies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_film_production_companies

Ava DuVernay, Independent Filmmaker, Fires Up Black Cinema

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/19/ava-duvernay-independent-filmmaker-fires-up-black-cinema_n_1988255.html