Reel Women: Black Women and Literacy in Feature Films focuses on black women and their roles in cinema. Joanne Kilgour Dowdy discusses in detail what it means to be literate. ”Being a Black woman who is literate in writing, acting, and videography, my interest in the literacy levels of Black women informs the way that I look at films and read novels and other literature that include the stories of Black women” (Dowdy 163). Reading this statement, I began think about what Dowdy was actually trying to say. After understanding it, I can see and agree with her point of view. Being literate makes you think about how women are being portrayed in all forms of art. It requires one to revaluate our roles in films and the level of education the women had.. Dowdy uses variations of movies that involve Black women to explore her thesis.
Movies help give perspectives of Black culture and traditions. “…movies provide an opportunity to witness the everyday experiences of literate Black women within certain sociocultural contexts” (Dowdy 164). The film “Losing Isaiah” with Halle Berry and Meryl Streep is an example that Dowdy uses to present the connection between Black women and literacy in movies. Although Halle Berry’s character cleans herself up, she is still illiterate. It makes you contemplate on how important literacy can be to not only a person, but also a family. Who should the child go with? The one that is his biological mother or the person that can encourage him to read and achieve in school?
I enjoyed this reading, because I had not fully explored how the education of Black women in films. Reading this made me realize that Black women should be depicted as intellectual and educated beings in some movies. Our roles should not have to conform to being in one box, it can be expanded.
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