Black Looks
I've just read a terrific essay called "Black Looks", by Jacqui Roach and Petal Felix, from the 1989 collection The Female Gaze (cite below). They ask: "Is there a black female gaze?" In an overwhelmingly White population, non-White people tend to be excluded, marginalised, stereotyped, and generally treated as "the other" or a "problem". When Black voices are heard, they tend to be the voices of Black men. The authors argue that "there is a black female presence in British popular culture today. This presence is one that projects a black female gaze upon a world otherwise dominated by whites and males."
Through interviews, they explore the approaches of three Black women - the author Joan Riley, the actor Judith Jacobs, and the singer Judy Boucher. Riley was criticised for portraying violence in Black families; the authors ask, "Should the black woman writer temper her vision according to what she thinks white people will think when they read her book?... On the other hand, can she afford to ignore how a racist society might appropriate her work...?" Jacobs refuses to play roles that "would degrade or insult black women" and points to the lack of Black people behind the scenes in TV. Boucher takes a different approach again, considering herself "just a person". The authors suggest that "Perhaps all three strategies have a part to play in establishing black women's presence and perspectives in British culture."
Surely the absence of non-White people behind the cameras is the single biggest reason for the exclusion, marginalisation, and sterotyping of non-White characters on TV and in film. This directly affects Doctor Who, with the Beeb continuing to come under fire for its lack of diversity behind the scenes. I can't agree with their position that "What really matters is that we reflect our audiences through our programmes" - ie, a failure to hire non-White producers, directors, etc, is compensated for by showing non-White faces on the screen.
The book is: Gamman, Lorraine and Margaret Marshment (eds). The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture. Real Comet Press, Seattle, 1989. (Originally published by The Women's Press, London.)
Apropos of nothing, there's a nice selection of stuff at stickergiant.com under the heading "Racism Stinks!" (Though frankly I could live without the redneck-bashing sticker.) And here's a bumper sticker that says Welcome Immigrants! America is happy to have you. Hmm, Australia needs a version of that.
Through interviews, they explore the approaches of three Black women - the author Joan Riley, the actor Judith Jacobs, and the singer Judy Boucher. Riley was criticised for portraying violence in Black families; the authors ask, "Should the black woman writer temper her vision according to what she thinks white people will think when they read her book?... On the other hand, can she afford to ignore how a racist society might appropriate her work...?" Jacobs refuses to play roles that "would degrade or insult black women" and points to the lack of Black people behind the scenes in TV. Boucher takes a different approach again, considering herself "just a person". The authors suggest that "Perhaps all three strategies have a part to play in establishing black women's presence and perspectives in British culture."
Surely the absence of non-White people behind the cameras is the single biggest reason for the exclusion, marginalisation, and sterotyping of non-White characters on TV and in film. This directly affects Doctor Who, with the Beeb continuing to come under fire for its lack of diversity behind the scenes. I can't agree with their position that "What really matters is that we reflect our audiences through our programmes" - ie, a failure to hire non-White producers, directors, etc, is compensated for by showing non-White faces on the screen.
The book is: Gamman, Lorraine and Margaret Marshment (eds). The Female Gaze: Women as Viewers of Popular Culture. Real Comet Press, Seattle, 1989. (Originally published by The Women's Press, London.)
Apropos of nothing, there's a nice selection of stuff at stickergiant.com under the heading "Racism Stinks!" (Though frankly I could live without the redneck-bashing sticker.) And here's a bumper sticker that says Welcome Immigrants! America is happy to have you. Hmm, Australia needs a version of that.