Contemporary Black Women Filmmakers and the Art of Resistance

Christina N. Baker’s Contemporary Black Women Filmmakers and the Art of Resistance is the first book-length analysis of representations of Black femaleness in the feature films of Black women filmmakers. These filmmakers resist dominant ideologies about Black womanhood, deliberately and creatively reconstructing meanings of Blackness that draw from their personal experiences and create new symbolic meaning of Black femaleness within mainstream culture. Addressing social issues such as the exploitation of Black women in the entertainment industry, the impact of mass incarceration on Black women, political activism, and violence, these films also engage with personal issues as complex as love, motherhood, and sexual identity. Baker argues that their counter-hegemonic representations have the potential to transform the narratives surrounding Black femaleness. At the intersection of Black feminism and womanism, Baker develops a “womanist artistic standpoint” theory, drawing from the work of Alice Walker, Patricia Hill Collins, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and Kimberlé Crenshaw. Analyzing the cultural texts of filmmakers such as Ava DuVernay, Tanya Hamilton, Kasi Lemmons, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and Dee Rees—and including interviews she conducted with three of the filmmakers—Baker emphasizes the importance of applying an intersectional perspective that centers on the shared experiences of Black women and the role of film as a form of artistic expression and a tool of social resistance. CONTEMPORARY BLACK WOMEN FILMMAKERS AND THE ART OF RESISTANCE: CHRISTINA N. BAKER Half Title Title Page CIP Page CONTENTS Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION: Becoming Visible CHAPTER 1: Unicorns Black Women Filmmakers WOMANIST ARTISTIC STANDPOINT BLACK WOMEN FILMMAKERS’ ENTRANCE INTO FILM TRANSFORMING THE MYTH OF BLACK WOMANHOOD IN FILM OVERCOMING RESISTANCE AND MAINTAINING ARTISTIC VISION LIFTING AS THEY CLIMB CHAPTER 2: Work as Passion: Love & Basketball and Beyond the Lights CONTROLLING IMAGES OF BLACK WOMEN AS LABORERS LOVE & BASKETBALL Seeking Inclusion in Basketball BEYOND THE LIGHTS From Objectification to Empowerment in the Music Industry CENTRALIZING “BLACKBIRD” AND NINA SIMONE CHAPTER 3: Y’all Are My Children: Eve’s Bayou and Night Catches Us CONTROLLING IMAGES OF BLACK MOTHERHOOD EVE’S BAYOU CREOLE CULTURE AND MOTHERING IN EVE’S BAYOU OTHERMOTHERING IN EVE’S BAYOU SPEAKING THE “SAME LANGUAGE” AS JULIE DASH NIGHT CATCHES US ACTIVIST MOTHERING IN NIGHT CATCHES US RECOGNIZING THE WOMEN OF THE MOVEMENTS CHAPTER 4: Rebellious Love: Middle of Nowhere and Pariah THE ABSENCE OF LOVE IN CONTROLLING IMAGES OF BLACK WOMEN MIDDLE OF NOWHERE LOVE, MARRIAGE, AND MASS INCARCERATION PARIAH FINDING FIRST LOVE . . . FINDING ONESELF THE POETRY OF AUDRE LORDE AND ALIKE CHAPTER 5: Transformative Beauty BEAUTY AS A FLOWER GARDEN THE BEAUTY OF BLACK HAIR APPENDIX A: Narrative Feature Films by Black Women APPENDIX B: Tanya Hamilton Interview Photo of Tanya Hamilton APPENDIX C: Kasi Lemmons Interview Photo of Kasi Lemmons APPENDIX D: Gina Prince-Bythewood Interview Photo of Gina Prince-Byhewood BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX Series Page "An analysis of the films of Black women directors--including Ava DuVernay, Tanya Hamilton, Dee Rees, Kasi Lemmons, and Gina Prince-Bythewood--the book examines how contemporary Black women filmmakers engage in acts of resistance through their filmmaking, using a theoretical lens at the intersection of Black feminism and womanism"-- Provided by publisher