Portrait series

 

 

Hidden Hollywood by Djennifer Georges 

 

“How do we begin to alter the domestic space”

“…morally condemning the woman who’s nakedness you had depicted for your own pleasure.”

“Looking at film with an oppositional gaze, black women were able  to critically assess the cinema’s construction of white womanhood as object of phallocentric gaze…”

In respect to the work of Cindy Sherman, these photographs are a nod to the classic culture of Hollywood and some of the absent roles black women had in early cinema. In entertainment, we often find that it is common practice to exaggerate the behaviors of women when it comes to lead roles. These roles are often overly sexualized, or place women in roles of victimhood and violence.  The photo series I’ve provided demonstrated that black women can have a lead roles in older Hollywood films. while still containing the structure of the story. Hooks made an excellent point  about the oppositional gaze, where she speaks on the depiction of black people and media. While sometimes offensive and even stereotypical to the black experience, black women are often placed in roles where they bare their souls, exemplify confidence and can still carry an entire films premise because they aren’t overly associated with femininity and softness in any version of society. In black women we find art and extreme depth in the entertainment world when these roles are not too stereotypical to race.