Triskaidekaphobia: A Depiction of Humanity
The Onion recently joked that The Academy just makes up a list of names for sound editing and other categories that "people don't care about." I, however, surprised my family when I got extremely excited about a particular nominee in the Documentary category: indeed, 13th and its director Ava Duvernay, absolutely slaying the red carpet game even though she lost the statute to "O.J.: Made In America." An Oscar nom is a massive honor that was rightfully deserved for more reasons than one. However, one concept Duvernay depicted throughout her documentary that latched onto me deeply was about the humanity of people of color.
The beginning of the doc goes into detail about the *coughs in disgust and scowls* "classic" 1915 American film, The Birth of a Nation. The silent movie, based on Thomas Dixon Jr.'s novel and play The Clansmen, depicted black people like raping, pillaging, animalistic savages. As noted in 13th, The Birth of a Nation confirmed the story that whites wanted to tell about the Civil War, and was an accurate prediction for how race would operate in the United States post-war.
This movie, produced almost exactly 100 years before 13th, allowed for Duvernay to include some incredible juxtaposition and humanizing of people of color. The closing credits are filled with pictures of black families and friends enjoying themselves, loving one another, and being joyful: actions and emotions that are not commonly associated with the enemy or anything bad.
The contrast between these two films brings up another topic that has been discussed in class: why do we humanize white terrorists and criminals "troubled young men" and "mentally ill college students" while black people who commit the same or lesser crimes are portrayed as thugs? A prominent example includes ex-Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, who raped a woman behind a dumpster and received a six month sentence, and whose father complained that Brock was so upset he would no longer eat his favorite snack, pretzels. Contrast Turner with oh, let's see, Michael Brown, who paid for a stolen pack of cigarellos with his life.
It's remarkably important to be aware of the difference in portrayal here, and how it displays the fact that black people are still being dehumanized by the media today. The Birth of a Nation was just a jumping off point for a terribly unfortunate trend.
This blog post seems very depressing, but it's encouraging to know how much backlash there was against both Brown and Turner's situations. Considering Brown's killing has basically been a case study in CST, I need not elaborate on it. But Turner? Oh, boy. The woman he raped wrote a deeply intimate and moving letter about what his actions did to her and read it to him at his sentencing. Other backlash included Brock's neighbors protesting his brief sentencing across from his home in Ohio.
It's profoundly frustrating and truly unfair that it's been so long and people of color still aren't on the same playing field in the American justice system. But people like Duvernay are pushing back because it is unacceptable. Her, and people like me too.
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| Ava Duvernay looking like an actual goddess at the Oscars. Source: Amazon Images |
The beginning of the doc goes into detail about the *coughs in disgust and scowls* "classic" 1915 American film, The Birth of a Nation. The silent movie, based on Thomas Dixon Jr.'s novel and play The Clansmen, depicted black people like raping, pillaging, animalistic savages. As noted in 13th, The Birth of a Nation confirmed the story that whites wanted to tell about the Civil War, and was an accurate prediction for how race would operate in the United States post-war.
This clip talks about the effects that The Birth of a Nation had on America culturally,
and summarizes the lengthy (3 hours! Only Titanic can do that) movie's plot.
Source: 100 Years of Cinema (Youtube)
This movie, produced almost exactly 100 years before 13th, allowed for Duvernay to include some incredible juxtaposition and humanizing of people of color. The closing credits are filled with pictures of black families and friends enjoying themselves, loving one another, and being joyful: actions and emotions that are not commonly associated with the enemy or anything bad.
The contrast between these two films brings up another topic that has been discussed in class: why do we humanize white terrorists and criminals "troubled young men" and "mentally ill college students" while black people who commit the same or lesser crimes are portrayed as thugs? A prominent example includes ex-Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, who raped a woman behind a dumpster and received a six month sentence, and whose father complained that Brock was so upset he would no longer eat his favorite snack, pretzels. Contrast Turner with oh, let's see, Michael Brown, who paid for a stolen pack of cigarellos with his life.
 |
| The photo that NBC used to depict Michael Brown when reporting his death... Source: News.mic |
 |
...versus the headshot like picture used to
portray Brock Turner in the media. Notice anything
different between the two?
Source: News.mic
|
It's remarkably important to be aware of the difference in portrayal here, and how it displays the fact that black people are still being dehumanized by the media today. The Birth of a Nation was just a jumping off point for a terribly unfortunate trend.
This blog post seems very depressing, but it's encouraging to know how much backlash there was against both Brown and Turner's situations. Considering Brown's killing has basically been a case study in CST, I need not elaborate on it. But Turner? Oh, boy. The woman he raped wrote a deeply intimate and moving letter about what his actions did to her and read it to him at his sentencing. Other backlash included Brock's neighbors protesting his brief sentencing across from his home in Ohio.
It's profoundly frustrating and truly unfair that it's been so long and people of color still aren't on the same playing field in the American justice system. But people like Duvernay are pushing back because it is unacceptable. Her, and people like me too.
1. You're right - DuVernay should've slayed with an award and not just an outfit. 2. Interesting choice of contrasts between Turner & Brown - did you see the just released footage of Brown from earlier in the day during his first visit to the convenience store? 3. I see how DuVernay is pushing back. How will you?
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