DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST

Julie Dash Julie Dash Julie Daaassshhh!!! Round of applause for this talented women! I am grateful for her contributions to cinema and the representation of women.

Now that I’ve given my gratitude and praise to her as an amazingly creative soul, let me just express how much I hated this film.

Credit where credit it due, I respected and admired the Cinematograph throughout the film. I loved that it was isolated from the rest of “society” and focused on a specific group of people. For me, this isolation made the dynamics of culture and family even stronger. The film is incredibly “dream like”. It takes us back in time as it’s set in the past. It’s incredibly specific about time and location.

And it’s on that note ladies and gentlemen that I become confused and aggravated with this film. The progression of the scene is not linear; it is fragmented. Therefore we become unaware of what is going on. I also loved that I’m not the only one who felt like this. When we were having the discussion in class (aahh, good old face to face) most people if not everyone was confused as to who is speaking and from what time period … it was mentally exhausting.

Despite the fact that I don’t personally like the film, I do believe this film is important in its contributions towards women in cinema- specifically, BLACK women in cinema. Daughters of the Dust focused on GENERATIONS of Gullah women (and men). It shared perspective and personalities that clashed and this- sometimes, presented humor to the audience.

Daughters of the Dust is about the story of generations of Gullah people, that focuses on the preservation of culture and their connection with their ancestors. The film exposed the presence of women and their strengths particularly as it relates to their cultural and societal responsibilities.

I did admire the film taking a different approach to storytelling by including the perspective of black characters and GLORIFYING THEM! In a successful attempt to recall, record and reclaim history, the film tries to move past the sense of shame that has lingered in the past, and replaces that shame with pride admiration and gratefulness.

The film focuses on the women who were the carriers of the traditions and belief of the Gullah people. The clashing ideas of Nana Peazant and her “children” who wanted to leave the island to venture out into the world represented the fear of change and the fear of stagnation and missing opportunities equally. This film exposes the strength and determination of women and more importantly, our ability to adapt and grow. The clash was also as a result of the generation gap between the women and their priorities. I particularly enjoyed the power that the women were given, and the important role they played in the film. This opposes the experience of so many women.

In an interview, Julie Dash expressed what it was like being on set with men- and being filmmakers. When asked “as a woman, it’s gotta me hard right?” As it relates to working on set with men, she said “and you learn that in film school, so it’s like please… get outta here with this”. Dash made it clear that she just had to be strong and stand up for whatever direction she wanted to take the film in, and ignore her male counterparts who would often times try to downplay her ideas and not take her seriously.

Here’s a clip from the interview! Check it out!

All in all it was a rough film to watch because it was hard to follow the flow of information. Apart from that it was a good watch. I personally enjoyed the light that the women were shown in, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the key to women empowerment is distancing ourself and our people from the rest of the world. Maybe isolation is key, who knows. On a serious note, I do believe that society and “norms” play a major role in the gender stereotypes and expectations, once these Gullah people created their own society they maintained their culture and women had power!

Who’s coming with me on an island so we can start over? Let’s do it in the name of equality! #TeamNanaPeazant clearly I still agree that they shouldn’t leave the island.