Jillian Turner Blog # 3: We Laugh To Keep From Crying

Our exercise today, though entertaining brought up mixed emotions for me. On one hand, the actors and actresses played on stereotypes in the African American community that have comedic value, I couldn't help but think "this is so wrong." George C. Wolfe's The Colored Museum portrayed various layers of the African American culture and struggle.

In the opening scene, the juxtaposition of the Celebrity Slave Ship attendant, clad in all pink and a bright smile, described the violence and oppression of the transportation of slaves from Africa across the Atlantic. My initial reaction was nothing but shocked and appalled, but I soon came to the notion that we must laugh to keep from crying. I thought that her demeanor in the piece was almost more powerful because she did it with a smile. It symbolized how, over time, fake smiles have eclipsed the tears of oppression.

Later on in the film, scene with the man in the dumpster portrayed a similar eclipse of culture. He, throwing away his afro comb and dashiki, thought that throwing away his culture, past, and history, was the only way to be successful in a predominantly white world. I can't help but relate this to one of my favorite shows: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In the show, Will Smith constantly highlights the differences between his family in Philly and his family in Bel-Air whom, in his mind, have subscribed to a similar dismissal of their heritage. The Banks family portrays a similar focus on money and success.

The film also discusses hair in the black community. In the scene, Wolfe contrasts black women who wear their hair naturally with those who chose to relax it to be straight. As discussed in class, hair is incredibly important for most African American women because it is a job in itself. However, wells takes an interesting approach. In the scenes, the actress refers to Loretta Divine as a Barbie Doll Dipped in Chocolate because she choses to relax her hair. This called upon tensions that African American women have with their peers who chose to seemingly "whiten" themselves. Many racial prejudices held are between women: light skinned versus dark skinned and even straight hair versus curly hair. This issue reminded me of scenes from the movie Beauty Shop. In the film, a white woman works in an Atlanta beauty shop with all African American women. Throughout the film, the women put distance between themselves and the white woman simply on the basis of race. 

These films, along with our text and discussions in class have had led me to the question: What is power and how is it gained? Throughout the history of African Americans, power was taken from them through violence. In more modern times, however, how is it defined?