Junot Diaz expressed how it feels to not be seen in popular culture best when he explained that vampires don’t have reflections in mirrors, that "if you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves".
I am studying film for the first time in formal education at university, and having to read and watch away from my own list which I curated for myself over the last few years. I feel like I’ve suddenly been confronted with the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag in real life. Out of our 51-book reading list, only one writer isn’t white and I can count the female authors on my hand too. Not to mention the weekly film screenings that have a combined grand total of zero black directors and leading characters. When I asked a teacher about this she told me she hadn’t even realised, and awkwardly said they would bring it up at the next meeting.
The people behind the camera are just as important as those in front. For me and other young aspiring black artists and filmmakers it can be hard to find role models and people who look like us on and off screen. Dionne Edwards, director of We Love Moses, which was screened as part of Black Lives on Film, said in a BFI interview about being a black, LGBTQ, female filmmaker that "there’s pressure of depicting a community that is often misrepresented". She means that in an area where there is a lack of representation, every representation carries more importance and impact. Edwards continues that "You could argue that many straight white male storytellers, for example, have the freedom to depict a whole spectrum of characters, even the most despicable anti-heroes and make them three dimensional and memorable without the same kind of baggage."
Her short film ‘We Love Moses’ is honest and her understanding and lived experience means it doesn’t feel exploitative. It’s her unique experience and voice which makes her work poignant and interesting. This isn’t to say that people can only create art about themselves and their own experiences, because there are some wonderfully empathetic films out there – but everyone is different and has a different perspective. Film is an exercise in empathy and it shouldn’t exclude narratives or create a dangerous single story narrative about certain groups and identities.
MOST PEOPLE GO TO THE MOVIES TO ESCAPE, TO SEE THE REAL WORLD CHANGED INTO SOMETHING MORE MAGICAL. THROUGH THE BLACK STAR SERIES, REBA EXPLORES THE CONSEQUENCES OF MISREPRESENTATION IN AN INDUSTRY WHICH LACKS DIVERSITY ON AND OFF SCREEN
by REBA MARTIN
MAKING MONSTERS