Cutting Against Controlling Imagery: An Analysis of Films Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and Ava DuVernay

Historically, images of Black women in media have been confined to one-dimensional, caricatured representations such as the mammy, jezebel, and 'angry Black woman'. However, a small segment of Black female filmmakers have committed to the re-presentation of Black women. This study focuses...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Greene, Danyelle
Format: Others
Published: OpenSIUC 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/1984
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2998&context=theses
Description
Summary:Historically, images of Black women in media have been confined to one-dimensional, caricatured representations such as the mammy, jezebel, and 'angry Black woman'. However, a small segment of Black female filmmakers have committed to the re-presentation of Black women. This study focuses on two Black female directors, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Ava DuVernay, who have re-presented multi-dimensional images of Black women at the center of their stories. In this thesis, Prince-Bythewood’s "Love & Basketball" (2000) and "Beyond the Lights" (2014) and DuVernay’s "The Door" (2013) and "Selma" (2014) are the subjects of the chapters as I examine themes such as community, motherhood, and girlhood from the films.