The Oppositional Gaze

The Oppositional Gaze



    As an African American male I can relate to some of points made in this article. As a child growing up you just learn when you do something that you're not supposed to be doing your mom will give you that look in her eyes and you'll immediately know that you need to stop. Growing up I thought I was the only person that experienced this until I was older and realized that this happens to many people in other families as well. That look just comes from experience of seeing the parent upset. Another point that I can relate to is how black people are represented in films through stereotypes and are also down graded. In the past black women in films weren't really the "gaze" of films. Films in Hollywood in the past didn't represent black women well at all.  Now we are starting to see more films today where black women have the lead roles and are powerful. There still isn't that many films of it but we are getting more of it. 

    Some recent films I can think of that do not reinforce white supremacy and is lead by a black woman is the Black Panther and Us. These two films are both lead by actress Lupita Nyong’o. 


https://screenrant.com/best-black-female-leads-tv-film-past-decade/

    Today we see many shows that are predominantly black actors and actresses and we see many shows that predominantly white actors and actresses. I think we still do this today so that the audiences that are watching can relate to the people in the show. Depending on what the show is about and who is watching they may not be able to relate to what is going on in the show. For example, if someone black is watching a show that is made up of predominantly white actors then they may not be able to relate to what is going on in the show. This is the same thing if someone white was watching a an all black show. I think the reason for this is because the culture is different from one another. It would be hard to try and demonstrate another culture if you're not part of it or don't have an understanding of it. Thats how we get stereotypes in shows.     


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