The Oppositional Gaze Summary

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In “The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators,” Bell Hooks explains in spite of the oppressive acts African American women dealt with through early history, there has been recent movement within television and film to oppose stereotypical views against African American female citizens. Hooks supports her position by summarising the antiquity of white supremacy in mass media, along with the sexist movement presented in films by African male filmmakers to have women as an object of a male’s gaze in films. This has proven not only African American women are degraded by white citizens in mass media, but also by their male counterpart. The lack of diversity led to many black women across the United States to have a distasteful appeal towards film.

The article explains many cases in which black women previously treated inferior in North America. Hook describes an essay about Sapphire from Amos ‘n’ Andy, as a lesson in which African American women are represented in television and film then rejected by the people who inspired the image (Hooks 252). Sapphire was depicted as angry, bossy, and stereotypical, which did not reflect an overall good image of black women during those years. Stereotypical representation of black women during those years caused damage …show more content…

To not only see the lack of black women presence in television and film, but to search at other cultures to gain a better understanding of the world. Although, the author still criticizes feminism to be catered toward once race, concluding with feminism during that time only appealed to white women. The reading depicted the uneasy feeling impression of the “being the only black female present in the theatre” (Hooks, 258). Hooks experiences this activity when she attends to view foreign/independent films in the theatre. Hooks’ experience describes the lack of diversity in television and film during her

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