“For Colored Girls” involves seven women who represents a different shade of the rainbow. The colors are brown, red, yellow, white, green, orange and blue. Their costumes and make-up transformed each of them and were significant of the color their character embodied. As a group their acting made all of their roles of equal importance, without one dominating the other. These women together formed a bond through their various adversities, gradually taking them from strangers to companion. From an objective view, the audience is allowed to simply observe the events as they take place chronologically. Throughout the movie during some of the conflicting and traumatic scenes, one of the women recites a poem to signify and release the emotion being felt at that time. Tyler Perry’s movie “For Colored Girls” was inspired by a stage play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, written by Ntozake Shange’s. The story was adapted from a play that consists of monologues, which combines dance and poetry. Gates highlights that For colored girls is a film that makes a strong message of empowerment to the humanity of women. No matter how bad things could get in life and no matter how many times you’ve been brought down, always know you are strong enough to get back up and not let darkness conquer your life. This essay will explore how a person can overcome any kind of tragedy, hardship or struggle whether or not they are affected emotionally,
A black man, Arsenio Hall is the executive producer of his own talk show. Which is one of the most democratized forms of television shows. Often times his show brings the raw, honest truth from the hearts, minds, and souls of black Americans. This segment right here was one of the realest moments. Arsenio starts the show by stating that he had to bring her back to kick off the current episode that was being filmed. This sends a very strong message to the media and society that the voices of not just black people, but young black women will and must be heard. The creative design of this set and the director's choice of shots suggests a calm, yet powerful stance on a subject. This vision is accomplished by the soft blue, purple, and hint of green lights that contrasts the color of her skin and outfit and allows her to pull away from her background. If they would have used colors with a reddish hue, it could create a feel of anger or vengeance. The bluish tone can also suggest the confidence and intelligence of the speaker herself. Additionally the strong spotlight on the speaker states that she is the main focus so pay attention.
In the exhibition there was a video playing that discusses racial discrimination and how viola Desmond was treated like she was not a real person. It suggests that her story has changed history, fearless in the face of racism and injustice her story tries to break barriers between black people and white people.
Naylor means that word nigger was changed from derogatory term used by racist whites to subject African Americans based on their previous mistreatment to a term used by the African Americans to each other to compliment one’s actions. For example “In the singular, the word was always applied to a man who had distinguished himself in some situation that brought their approval
I have no intention to compare and say one women suffered more than the other, nor do I have the desire to dismiss the other’s ordeals. My goal for this paper is to make readers understand that most women, regardless of colour was subjected to situations wherein some thought they couldn’t escape, no matter what, while the others took the chance to “freedom” by force. I intend to explain the living environment that resulted to these two types of mindset while giving
Being an African-American female I have been faced with many obstacles in life. These obstacles have consisted of being faced with stereotypes because of my gender and race. Despite these challenges I have learned to always embrace my ethnicity and culture, and use these stereotypes as motivation to not only better myself as a person, but to prove those who doubted me wrong.
Citizen (2014), by Claudia Rankine, is a book that explores racism and prejudice that is happening in the United States. Rankine incorporates personal encounters, reactions, reflections, writing and art pieces, historical events, and the media to prove the point that racism is still very prominent to this day. For a majority of the book, Rankine writes short pieces about her personal encounters that deals with some form of racism, whether it happened to her or if she witnessed racism happening to other people. Within those short pieces, Rankine refers to herself as “you,” because she wants her readers to see what racism looks like in her shoes, even if the readers have not personally been affected by racism. Throughout the book, Rankine includes several symbols that are important to her that shows the audience that those symbols may be small, but they have a huge impact on how people perceive them. Rankine emphasizes the existence of the color line, the effect of a darker complexion, and a deeper anger that is being marketed towards the black culture. What is the importance of these symbols?
As I listened and re-listen to my interview with Adeena, I was constantly reminded how lucky I was to have the privileges that I do. I am a White woman who grew up in a middle class family with parents who unconditionally love me. However, I am a woman and although I have never been discriminated because of my race, I have been treated differently than my male counterparts. It took a long time for me to become the person I am today, someone who would speak up for herself if she was put in the situations that I went through in High School, but it is hard for me to imagine how much more difficult my life would’ve been if I happen to be born a different color. This sickening reality makes me admire women of color like Adeena who speak out against interlocking systems of oppression.
In For Colored Girls, all of the women find strength in each other and faith in order to overcome their individual struggles and find strength to continue on with life. They become stronger individuals that they once were and
“…And this is for colored girls who have considered suicide but are moving to the end of their own rainbow…” (Perry: For Colored Girls, 2010). For colored girls was first written and performed as a play by Ntozake Shange in 1977. It was then called “for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow was enuf”. Tyler Perry adapted and transformed it into a movie in 2010. For colored girls is centered on nine women as they encounter their fair share of neglect, abuse, pain and harassment both physically and emotionally. They slowly but surely recover from such abuse and discover joy in themselves. The movie begins with the characters as strangers but at the end, they become good friends.
The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.” Malcolm X speech is very powerful because it makes the point that being a black woman is the most oppressed the one that suffers most. This is why then throughout the film only African American woman are show and they are also shown as powerful woman because usually they are seen as less. Beyonce did do a great job of demonstrating the real African American women as women who deserve being respected by making them look warriors because throughout their lives they had to work extra hard when the rest of the people are
For colored girls (FCG) is Tyler Perry’s adaption to Shange’s first and most acclaimed, theater piece. Shange’s original work was not so much of a play with an ongoing plot; rather, it consist of a series of emotional poetic monologues accompanied with dance movements and music. Shange called her work a “choreopoem.” The original work by Shange and Perry’s adaption deal with black feminism and what it means to be a black women living in America. The poems deal with love, abandonment, domestic violence, rape, and abortion, embodied by each woman's story. The end of the play brings together all of the women for "a laying on of hands," in which Shange evokes the power of womanhood.
The viewer follows the story of a young African American male who is seen as “normal” through societies eyes, but as the video progresses the real story and challenges faced are shown. Gender stereotypes and expectations are shoved in his face at a young age by media, his parents and his friends. He tries to conform to societal expectations by giving the girl
The film expands on several course objectives. The key objective, (VSU Gen. Ed. Outcome 1,2; AFAM Minor Outcome1) which states to engage students in a personal exploration of African American cultural experiences is extremely relevant to the content of the film. There are many issues within the black community that go unsaid, such as homosexuality. Marlon Riggs, along with the other speakers express their daily challenges and how their sexual orientation caused them to struggle with their identity. In addition, their experiences show that African Americans can come from various backgrounds with several traditions, yet they can still remain connected. The film also shows an appreciation of the historical and cultural origins of African Americans as stated in the objective (VSU Gen. Ed. Outcome 1,2; AFAM Minor Outcome 1). In the video, the speakers talk about how as time progressed blacks began to embrace their heritage. During the sixties, the slogan “Black is Beautiful” emerged. Women started to wear their natural hair and full lips were then recognized as desirable. It was no longer shameful to be black, but instead it was empowering because the diversity of being African American is
It is indisputable that the media depiction of “strong black woman, angry black woman stereotypes [that are later developed in the paradigm that] that little black girls are often taught to keep their heads up to get through anything” (Patel, 4). The similar expectation is carried on in adulthood that women can “manage everything” (Patel, 4). Comparatively, Stacy-Ann Buchanan was a struggling actor who firmly believed that she was not going to see her 30th birthday as her struggle with depression was exhausting. “I always made sure my nails were done, my hair was perfect, skin was perfect because I knew inside I was dirty” (Patel, 1). This term ‘dirty’ is very disturbing, as it is difficult to escape the feeling of a lacerated
Theatre has always served as a place for discussion of social issues. In For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide, When the Rainbow is Enuf approaches different issues such as sexuality, racial identity and venereal disease. In “Positive”, DJ beats his ex on the implication that he might be gay. Although the poem is graphic, it explores the HIV epidemic of the 1990s. The play shows how homophobia led to the perpetuation of the virus. The play also proffered the message that HIV positive is not always a death sentence and discusses the difference of HIV positive and AIDs. The playwright presents a complex social issue and creates thoughtworthy messages for the audience.