bell hooks - Laughing Gas
In her work on the oppositional gaze, author bell hooks discusses the idea of a totalizing representation of the black body by white filmmakers. This is clearly present in the Minstrel type show by Edwin Porter, Laughing Gas, the female character is initially very scared of the dentist and then acts wild for the rest of the show. Her representation alone is totalizing as, in the beginning of the film, she is the only black character. The people the viewer is supposed to identify with are the white spectators on screen who laugh at the simple mindedly portrayed black woman. Then it goes a step further by depicting a black male counter to the female who exhibits the same traits while not under nitrous oxide. This shows that she is not behaving this way because she is a boisterous woman on laughing gas, rather because she is black. This is point is even further driven home with the all black church, they all become erratic and start acting like her as well.
The main difference, as both white and black spectators in the film are laughing because of her, is that the white spectators are laughing at the spectacle whereas the black people are joining in on the behavior. Taking this totalizing representation into account, what is your take on black representation in, Monster’s Ball? Is it another totalizing representation because of the black family who struggles due to the father’s incarceration? Is it sexist because the black female falls apart without a man in her life? Is it a forward representation of the struggle of being black in a country that is designed to oppress you? Is the romance a tribute to the intrinsic equality of man in matters of love, or another moment of heteronormative white patriarchy using the difficulties of oppression to his advantage? Why, or why not, for any of these? Can opposing points be true at the same time? How would bell hooks see this representation and how would she recommend we use the oppositional way of looking to challenge it if it is in fact problematic?
