Final Project: Womanhood

Spike Lee’s films have been known to touch on a variety of topics and realities in society in the most blunt and honest ways.  In class we’ve often talked about the amount of passion and feeling behind some of the topics approached in his films describing moments that are painful to watch but at the same time funny while recognizing the fact that Spike Lee is not laughing.  When it comes to womanhood though it’s interesting because where Lee stands is sometimes questionable and confusing.  He deals with womanhood in many of his films sometimes choosing to depict women as queen’s, saviors, supporters, and free thinkers, but in many instances as one dimensional characters whose depth is seen through the men they follow behind.  Here’s our collection of post from our classmates and ourselves that take a look at and draw attention to the many depictions of womanhood through Spike Lee’s joints.

Table of Contents:

Malcolm X

This post highlights an article that pointed to the lack of conversation about gender in the nation of Islam and more specifically womanhood in the nation of Islam as well as with Malcolm X.  Using in outside source for reference, this article shines a light on Spike Lee’s directorial decision to represent women as simply the support system to the patriarchal male in the form of Betty Shabazz and Malcom X when that wasn’t the complete case in their story.

-Taken from Spike Lee Joints 3

Re: Malcolm X

A movie that I found that spoke somewhat indirectly about gender was “Malcolm X”, and I chose this post because it introduced the idea, while using outside research to bolster the point. For me, Lee’s decision to not explicitly explore the idea of gender while discussing the issue of race seemed a poignant directorial choice, and I wanted to understand in greater depth, the reasons he made the choices he did, and perhaps, what would have been at stake had he spoken more truthfully about various incidents. For me, Lee’s circumventing the issue of “Womanhood” spoke volumes to me about the aspect as it’s portrayed in his films.

-Written by Mercedes MacAlpine

Black Women in Mo’ Betta Blues

Black Women in Mo’ Betta Blues challenges Spike Lee’s inclination to depict black women as either the queen or the savior in his films by highlighting the manner in which these identities are in the context of men. Through the use of Mo’ Betta Blues as the primary example, hudso22k points at the band mates use of the term queen in regards to their women while at the same time objectifying them as well Bleek’s use of Indigo as his savior in the end.  This post highlights the manner in which Spike Lee is quick to depict womanhood as being able to fit into the category of queen or savior, which is problematic when this identity is “not from the context of or for the good of a woman but of and for a man.”

-Taken from Spike Lee Joints 3

Aunt Song as a Role Model for Troy

We chose this blog post because it talks about Troy having a certain maturity in relation to other children and women in Spike Lee’s films and it also talks about the personal growth she garners from spending the summer with her aunt and uncle. This blog post makes an interesting argument that even though Troy is not yet physically developed enough to be a woman or assume womanhood, she must assume a role of motherhood (which is an aspect of womanhood) once her mother dies.

-Taken from Spike Lee Joints 2

Troy, the Caretaker

This post was chosen because it supports the notion from “Aunt Song as a Role Model for Troy” which argues that Troy was forced into roles of womanhood due the death of her mother. This post visually makes the argument that Troy undergoes a transition from child to caretaker. The first image is Troy in her father’s lap crying because of her mother’s death and the second image is Troy’s little brother in her lap getting his hair picked out by her.

-Taken from Spike Lee Joints 2

On Not Wanting to Be Alone Tonight

Through Liz’s comparison of Destiny Child’s hit, “Cater 2 U” and the Gamma Rays’ performance at the homecoming showcase, we can see the manifestation of “womanhood” as defined by the entertainment industry in mainstream culture. Sexually appealing and on display, both groups seem to be inviting the viewer to feast their eyes, yet Destiny’s Child’s reputation as being a performance group filled with strong “independent” women, creates a tension that is absent in The Gammas’ performance. Does this tension make them more covetable? Is their independence merely a farce that is overlooked in the grand scheme of their appearance? How lucrative is the idea of a woman who owns her womanhood? These are some of the questions that we engaged with in this post.

-Taken from Spike Lee Joints 1

Spike Lee’s Conception of Black Womanhood Through the Use of Physical Markers: Hair as as a Reflection of Womanhood

Spike Lee’s School Daze, provides his commentary on womanhood by utilizing Jane, a character that represents a perceived black femininity and “womanhood” through reliance on European beauty values and Rachel, a character that stays natural and represents black womanhood and promotes racial empowertment. This is examined through the dichotomy of the Jigaboos and Wannabees with specific interest in the physical marker of hair as well as the differential sexual portrayal of Jane and Rachel. Ultimately, the problematic nature of viewing and basing womanhood on physical attributes and men’s preferences is examined.

Written by Millicent Gordon

What defines Womanhood?

This post is a response to the interpretations of womanhood in “Aunt Song as a Role Model for Troy”, “Troy, the Caretaker”, and “On Not Wanting to Be Alone Tonight”. I was interested in the different definitions associated with womanhood because when I started thinking about the topic, I realized that I did not have a clear understanding of the womanhood. This post takes both interpretations of womanhood and uses them together to come to a conclusion on womanhood and its distinguishing qualities.

-Written by Coralie Pardo

To Praise or To Punish?

This post cites an article written in the Root in 2009 that took an in-depth look at depictions of womanhood in Spike Lee films over the years.  The article calls attention to Spike Lee’s contradictory and problematic decisions for women as well as his chauvinistic attitude towards his films.  It’s in interesting perspective looking back on these films that caused so much buzz when they first appeared.  The article’s title “Do The Right Thing at 20: Spike’s Women Problem” sums up the overall idea behind the article.

-Written by Kristen Harris

Malcolm X

So I had no intentions of making a blog post about gender after watching Malcolm X until I coincidently came across an article for my Black Women Narratives class that talked directly about the movie itself.  In an excerpt from Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Though, Barbara Ransby and Tracye Matthews take on gender politics in popular culture specifically with the depiction of black males.  It first cites Malcolm as representing one of two dichotomies for the black male with him embodying the “strong, powerful, dignified black patriarch standing at the head of his family, acting as protector and provider.”  In reference to the film the article suggested that Spike Lee used his directorial license to ignore the fact that a large portion of Spike Lee’s time in the nation of islam taught him to look down upon women.  In a letter that Malcolm wrote to his cousin-in-law, he was cited as saying “I taught these brothers to spit acid at the sisters.  If the sisters decided a thing was wrong, they had to suffer it out.  If the sister wanted to have her husband at home with her for the evening, I taught the brothers that the sisters were standing in their way.”  The article shows disappointment at the fact that Spike chose not to represent the true nature of Malcolm X and the views he stood by during most of his time in the Nation of Islam but rather the more romantic view of him.

http://sljoints3.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/malcolm-x/

Re: “Malcolm X”

“Womanhood” as depicted in the worlds of Spike Lee, is shown as though it were a destination that a girl one day arrived at with suitcases and ticket stubs in hand. Crooklyn’s Troy happens upon womanhood after her mother passes and she’s seen picking her brother’s hair out. Red Hook Summer’s Chaz does the same for Flik, and the soon-to-be Mrs. Shabazz describes how she lamented over X’s seriousness and decided she wanted to have many children with him. Mrs. Shabazz’s strength lies in her furious defense of her h3usband, even when she runs the risk of upsetting him or stepping “out of her place”, she’s willing to stand up for the sake of her family, and more specifically, her husband. Much like the Gamma Rays, she can be seen as someone supporting her husband’s every move, keeping watch over the home, being father and mother in all reality to her children. But she never falters, and I would argue that we see her “reach womanhood” more than once: the first time when she’s speaking to X about their future together, and the second when she’s questioning if that future still exists in light of his impending betrayal. In both cases, Mrs. Shabazz is taking care of her husband’s physical health while communicating that she will always be there to support and care for him. 

So, perhaps, this was the purpose of Lee’s movie. Granted, it’s easy to, and probably not incorrect, to assume that certain things were left out of the movie because they would be unpalatable to the audience, but I think they were also left out because they didn’t apply directly to X’s life. Having X preach things that he might never have actually practiced was risky, and especially in a society still sensitive to black leaders speaking, he might have felt it safer to use this tried and true method. But, what defined X, and his relationship both to his followers and his wife, was the way he treated them. Sure, you can discern womanhood and its accompanying characteristics by reading between the lines, but the lines are simply to guide us in our viewing, not to keep us out intellectually. For Lee, womanhood lies in the place where women can become bigger than themselves and domesticated, becoming concerned with the safety of hearth, home, and another; trapped Tina, who angrily wanders her apartment with a permanently-sleeping toddler on her hip, berates Mookie to grow up because he shows no interest in “being a man” or taking care of his son and spending time with her. Bleek is saved by finding a wife, and through her, a son. To Lee, you are granted your “hood”, be it wo/manhood through domestication and the admission of being in a position of relative subservience. 

http://sljoints3.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/malcolm-x/

Black Women in Mo’ Betta Blues

In Mo Better Blues, Spike Lee’s depiction of the African-American woman as a  ”queen” or “savior” is as problematic as it is intended to be constructive. The problem in this situation is that within Mo’ Betta Blues, it is not from the context of or for the good of a woman but of and for a man. The band disparages Left Hand Lacey (Giancarlo Esposito) in the dressing room for having a “white girlfriend” and “disrespecting the dressing room” by bringing her inside. They then start throwing pin-up magazine pictures of mostly naked or bikini-clad African-American women at him, talking back and forth about how beautiful and sexy those women are and that they are “black queens,” while Lacey sits in the chair defending his girlfriend, simply stating, “You’re ignorant black men.” Lacey’s bandmates are unable to extract themselves from the same condition that Bleek lives with: sexuality and ethnicity comingle with the desire for masculine identification (especially career-wise) and yet intimacy is lacking. These men are throwing pictures of women that they are objectifying at a man who sincerely worships his lady. Yet they are calling the objectified women “queens.”

Things aren’t much different for Bleek. The figure of Indigo ends up being a representation of his mother and her stability, since everything else ends up going terribly wrong in his world. He runs to her, asking her to, essentially, be his savior and “save his life.” She fights him off at first but finally caves. But this “saving grace moment” is bittersweet. Everything has been taken from his at this juncture: he has no ability: he can no longer play the trumpet, he can no longer be the “hot shot” guy on stage, and his dreams are shattered due to recent occurrences at the club. He asks her to “give me a son” because he knows that is the only way that he can keep on playing music and, as he says in the beginning of the film, music is the only thing he cares about. And yet, when the child arrives, he makes sure that he raises him slightly different than he was raised: when the identical scene from the beginning of the film plays out, he allows the child to go out to play, giving him more freedom than he had himself, perhaps allowing the boy a better opportunity at socialization. While this finale has some “bleakness” to it, perhaps not all is lost.

http://sljoints3.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/black-women-in-mo-betta-blues/

Aunt Song as a Role Model for Troy

In class we talked about how well developed Troy from Crooklyn is, especially when looked at next to Lee’s other female and other child characters. Much of her growing up takes place at her cousins’ house in the rural south, a setting far removed from the concrete jungle of Brooklyn. She has her first birthday slumber party, where she enjoys a pillow fight with a group of girls (a starkly different tone from her physical relationships with her brothers). She rides bikes and plays jump rope, something she does have experience with, which teaches her she can find enjoyment and comfort in the same ways regardless of her position in what might seem like foreign territory.

At ~1:18:00, Troy receives gifts from her cousins: Aunt Song gets her a white dress, signifying the role she hopes Troy will one day fulfill. Viola gets her a training bra and Aunt Song reacts by saying Troy won’t have any use for it for some time. These two gifts point to a certain unevenness within Troy’s development. Her relatives feel it is time for her to domesticate (white dress), but she is not ready for sexual maturity. This unevenness is one of the obstacles Troy must face later when her mother dies prematurely, leaving her—still very much an adolescent—with the responsibilities of a mother.

Aunt Song is a caricature of the over-protective easily upset matriarch. Despite this, Troy learns valuable information regarding how to run a household from her. Aunt Song interrupts the pillow fight, in dire straits due to her beloved dog’s absence, keeping enough composure to ensure the girls have all washed their hands, eaten enough cake and ice cream, and brushed their teeth. We see Troy able to keep tabs on all of her brothers later in the film, knowing she does not have a choice as the maternal figure. Troy also learns a few things not to do from Aunt Song. She laughs at her Aunt’s ridiculous melancholia over her dog’s death (which the film treats with a light and humorous tone), probably teaching her the importance of keeping composure even in the face of death. This obviously becomes of vital importance when her mother’s death forces her to assume new responsibilities while staying strong for her brothers, over whom she must assume motherhood.

http://sljoints2.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/aunt-song-as-a-role-model-for-troy/

Troy, the Caretaker

In our discussion of Crooklyn’s final scenes, I was struck by the repetition of one pose. First, Troy is pictured in her father’s lap. She has just been physically sick, because she is completely overwhelmed by the shock of losing her mother. Her father holds her, wipes her lips clean, and comforts her. In this scene, Troy is a child who has lost her mother and needs her father.

Yet, even in this scene, she comes to terms with her mother’s death by recognizing her mother’s suffering and interpreting her mother’s death as a release from pain. This very adult observation may signal the moment when Troy becomes an adult.

Indeed, in the very next scene,  Troy holds her brother in her own lap. She is no longer the child; she has taken on the role of caretaker and substitute parent. She will now help, love, and care for her younger brother as though she were a mother.

As Troy transforms from the child in the parent’s lap to a ‘parent’ with a child in her lap, this contrast takes on particular significance. The first scene is particularly sad in this light, because the viewer may feel that Troy is too young to lose her childhood. The second scene is particularly inspiring, as the viewer appreciates the importance of the role Troy has taken on.

http://sljoints2.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/troy-the-caretaker/

ON NOT WANTING TO BE ALONE TONIGHT

After leaving class on Thursday, the scarily childlike voices of Jane Toussaint and her homecoming court singing “I Don’t Wanna Be Alone Tonight” resonated in my head for countless hours, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was internally re-creating their embodiment of submissive femininity every time the lyrics rolled through my head. Their voices were still stuck in my head this morning while I was at work, and when the 2004 Destiny’s Child song titled “Cater 2 U” came up on shuffle on my iPod. In listening to the lyrics of the song, and remembering the clips of their performance at that year’s BET Awards ceremony, some striking similarities between the two performances and their representations of femininity began to arise.

What is most striking coming into this comparison is the ways that the two groups are seemingly different. Jane and the Gamma Rays largely represent themes of passive, bourgeois femininity–they are functional servants to the brothers of Gamma Phi Gamma, and they believe so strongly in serving the bourgeois aims of Black Greek social organizations that Jane is willing to sacrifice what little of her body remains un-objectified in order to uplift Half-Pint in the eyes of his brothers. Destiny’s Child, on the other hand, seems to break out of that role. They were often depicted as being much more accessible to their working class audience base, and they found empowerment not in sacrificing themselves for men, but in their independence–after all, this is directly after the massive success of their singles “Independent Woman, pt. 1″ and “Survivor”. Where the Gamma Rays transition from girls to women by allowing their objectification, gaining power from being the object of the male desirous gaze (in line with French feminist ideologies, interestingly enough), Destiny’s Child finds their womanhood in their financial and emotional independence from men. I mean this quite literally–when their album Survivor came out, Kelly and Beyoncé were 19, and Michelle was 20, approximately the same age as the Gamma Rays were supposed to be.

My major points of comparison between the two performances are the movements/costuming, and the audience of the shows. Concerning movement and costumes, Destiny’s Child furthers the embodiment of their brand of femininity in a way that is still submissive. They may have picked members of the audience to come from the stage, and may have been physically in command of the stage during their performance, but they are still giving lapdances–their movements accentuate their hips and their breasts, but in a more forceful and powerful way than the soft and feathery movements of Jane and her court. Destiny’s Child’s performance embodies the strength and independence that is part of their womanhood, even while presenting themselves for objectification. Their costumes do some of this work for them. As we have seen in recent years, neither Kelly nor Beyoncé are adverse to showing off their legs during performances, yet here all three ladies are wearing long dresses similar to the dresses worn by Jane and her court. All of them are mermaid cut; this serves to create a skin-tight silhouette around the hips, and severely limits the movement of the Wannabees. All of the dresses feature low cut necklines, which accentuates (or in the case of the Gamma Rays, creates the illusion of) their breasts, and all are very low cut in the back. Some aspects of Jane’s costume differs from those of her court, in that the design on her dress further creates the illusion of curves and allows the eye to travel directly from her breasts to her hips and thus her vagina, and her dress like those worn by Destiny’s Child is slit to the knee, offering a titillating peek of her legs. Thus the costumes worn by the performers helps to accentuate their movements, which are physical manifestations of their femininity.

This would all be meaningless, however, without the presence of the male gaze. It is clear that both groups not only invite but demand the gaze and thus their objectification–such is the purpose of the pedestal created by the stage. It is even clearer that the gaze demanded is that of two distinct groups:envious women, whose gaze doesn’t seem to be restricted by the rules governing male homoeroticism, and overwhelmingly men. Before Jane and her court perform, the camera cuts to the pledge line of Gamma Phi Gamma as well as the president of the school and the trustee. At multiple points in the Destiny’s Child video, the camera pans over the audience, which is nothing but male. One could think that the entire viewing population of the BET Awards that year was male, but what is worse is that it seems as though hordes of men were driven towards the stage in order to be selected for a lapdance, or at least be that much closer to the objects of their lustful gazes. Destiny’s Child’s objectification in the male gaze is not an accident–like the performance by the Wannabees, it was completely intentional and calculated. They may not subscribe to the bourgeois respectable femininity of Jane and her court, but it is clear that they don’t want to be alone tonight either.

What defines Womanhood?

What defines womanhood? Does it involve domesticity? Sexuality? The gaze of a man? In the posts “Aunt Song as a Role Model for Troy” and “Troy, the Caretaker”, Troy is spoken about in relation to womanhood. It is made clear that she is not seen as a woman because of her age and lack of sexual development but that her actions and reasoning compensate for this by providing her with a level of maturity high enough to be considered in the realm of womanhood. In this context, womanhood is defined in terms of motherhood and one’s ability to care for another, more specifically a child. Because women have the ability to carry life, motherhood is often thought of as an essential component of womanhood. This describes Troy’s entrance into womanhood once her mother dies. She was forced to take on the responsibilities of a mother at a young age.

In the blog post “On Not Wanting To Be Alone Tonight”, womanhood is defined through a different perspective. It is defined through the comparison of the coming into womanhood of the Gamma Rays in School Daze and the coming into womanhood of Destiny’s Child. This is an excerpt from the post:

Where the Gamma Rays transition from girls to women by allowing their objectification, gaining power from being the object of the male desirous gaze (in line with French feminist ideologies, interestingly enough), Destiny’s Child finds their womanhood in their financial and emotional independence from men.

Even though the coming into womanhood of Destiny’s Child is seen as having manifested through financial and emotional independence from men, later in her post Liz makes the argument that they are still dependent upon the male gaze. Once a female becomes an object of the male gaze, she goes from female to girl to woman. Thus, in this society, a girl’s entrance into womanhood is reliant on her becoming an object of the gaze, in other words, her objectification. The question then arises, “Is it possible for a woman to own her own womanhood?

In the context of Troy’s coming to womanhood, womanhood depends on a girl being able to care for someone else and being able to fall into that role of domesticity when necessary. In the context of the Gamma Rays and Destiny’s Child, coming into womanhood is contingent upon the male gaze. In society, there is no space for a woman to own her own womanhood because womanhood has only been defined in relation to other things. Hence, when asked what defines womanhood, the answer is everything but women.

Spike Lee’s Conception of Black Womanhood Through the Use of Physical Markers: Hair as a Reflection of Womanhood

Within School Daze, Spike Lee, through the use of Rachel and Jane, offers two complimentary dialogues regarding black womanhood. With Rachel, femininity and blackness is preserved by way of her darker complexion and natural hair. Conversely, Jane’s beauty, which relies on an European foundation, aids in providing a distinctive narrative that strengthens Rachel as a marker of black female strength. As reflected in the Good and Bad Hair Scene, darker-skinned females possessing nappy hair become Lee’s epitome for black womanhood and racial empowerment, while the lighter-complexioned women with chemically altered hair not only are unable to represent this ideal, but also refuse to embrace it. For instance, in the Salon scene the Jigaboos argue with the following lyrics: “My hair is so strong It can break the teeth out of a comb” meaning that their “untamed and unmanageable” locks provide not only authentic hair texture, but also serve as a symbol of their black female pride in their race as well which makes them superior over the altered hair Wannabees. In response, the Wannabees say, “Your hair ain’t no longer than (finger snap) So you’ll never fling it all back”—this shows the Wannabee’s conflation of a “beautiful” black femininity as only coming from characteristics of white ideals. “Good” and “bad” hair is ultimately an expression of each of the black women’s worth.

As evidenced through Jane’s character, with her blonde fake hair and blue contacts, Lee posits that any desire and attempt towards a white standard of beauty results in a deflated, inferior, and non-existant female voice. Jane’s womanhood is quited throughout the film as she transitions from a role of being a desired  commodity to becoming nothing more than an object to the men. It’s also important to realize that Lee shows the Wannabees in the same physical space being ignored.

Jane’s dismissal and Muteness; Jane is seen only in the background as the MEN talk

However, the clearest example of Lee vehemently rejecting white feminine ideals as a marker of black beauty, femininity, and womanhood is depicted when Jane is given to Half-Pint. Jane’s sexual mistreatment by the fraternity brothers serves as Lee’s belittlement of Jane as a marker of desired black womanhood. The fact that Jane is literally “raped” (which is synonymous with the word “degradation”) with none of the other males contesting her treatment further shows the “degrading” nature of placing white womanhood and ideals of femininity as synonymous to black ones as problematic. Julian’s abuse of Jane is also Lee’s commentary of refusal of white womanhood as depicted through a black woman.

Jane and Rachel’s Sexuality

      Lee also advances Rachel as an example of a “respectable” black woman by his contrasting displays of Rachel and Dap’s romantic encounter as compared to Jane and Julian’s. Rachel is depicted with restraint, gentleness, and admiration from Dap’s eyes can clearly be seen. Their encounter is private, as evidenced by the darker lighting and covers, and the audience’s gaze is never fully on the private union of Dap and Rachel. Conversely, Jane and Julian’s encounter takes place in brighter lighting and the audience gets a full-fledged viewing of Julian’s lust for Jane. In other words, Jane is put on display for gazing.

Characterized by romance and privacy

Public Viewing and Lust

   Conclusions

   In the context of School Daze, Lee does have commentary on black womanhood. In his eyes, physical markers such as hair and skin complexion notably define black womanhood. However, this becomes problematic because it supposes that black womanhood is solely connected to a black man’s preferences and a woman’s physical attributes. Therefore, in this regard black womanhood befalls the same issues that womanhood typically does in that it becomes solely defined by a male’s gaze.

 

To Praise or to Punish?

It is no secret that Spike Lee has been critiqued quite often for his depiction of women in his films.  When thinking in terms of Spike Lee films that stand out for their depictions of womanhood movies like She’s Gotta Have It, School Daze, and Crooklyn come to mind.  What’s interesting though is the different perspectives that these films take on women.  In outside reviews many looked at She’s Gotta Have It as a sort of Indie film challenging societal notions of what it means to be a female, while on the other hand as we saw in class many had a problem with his decisions for the females in School Daze.  Overall it becomes confusing when one tries to conceptualize what Spike Lee is attempting to achieve with the ideas of womanhood in his films.

In an article entitled Do the Right Thing @ 20: Spike’s Woman Problem, Teresa Wiltz takes a look at many of his films and discusses the contradictory and problematic depictions of womanhood in his films.  She describes Spike Lee’s confusion by pointing out that “when it comes to his female characters, it’s as though Lee can’t decide whether to worship them or punish them” going even further to say that he has his saints and his sinners.

It is safe to say that depictions of womanhood is where Spike Lee falls short and he even went so far to say it himself cited in this article from an interview in which he stated “that he’s allowed ‘unreconstructed male chauvinism’ to play a big role in his films.”  He stated this in 2005 so the question than remains whether Lee is choosing to be complacent about this or will we see things change in the films to come.  Could this have played a role in his decision to make Nola into a Jehovah’s Witness in his most recent film Red Hook Summer?

Check out the article here http://www.theroot.com/views/spikes-woman-problem?page=0,0