Title

The Black Aesthetic: Re-Directing the Gaze of the Culture to the Screen

Author

Zainab Williams, Ursinus CollegeFollow

Submission Date

7-24-2020

Document Type

Paper

Department

Media & Communication Studies

Second Department

English

Faculty Mentor

Lynne Edwards

Project Description

In my project I am researching the Black Aesthetic and examining how it’s African American literary techniques come into fruition on-screen in films written, produced, and directed by African Americans. The aesthetic was born and curated in the 1960s due to the dearth of critical approaches that existed that incorporated an understanding and purpose of black artist, as well as the style and form of which they worked in. The interpretation and value of black work could not be based on white standards since they were not always suitable for what African Americans produced, thus a methodology of recognizing the similar styles, forms, and uniqueness of black artists was needed. Hence, such interpretations came to be known as ‘the black aesthetic’. Furthermore, I am analyzing how these elements take form in the genre of Horror due to the immense marginalization and lack of representation of black characters and creators in this genre. Additionally, I am investigating if these black narratives all possess a common / recurring theme; further examining the Black Aesthetic application in black films.

Comments

Presented during the 22nd Annual Summer Fellows Symposium, July 24, 2020 at Ursinus College.

The downloadable file is a slide presentation with audio commentary in mp4 format. The presentation has a run time of 31:33.

A related presentation is available here.

Recommended Citation

Williams, Zainab, "The Black Aesthetic: Re-Directing the Gaze of the Culture to the Screen" (2020). Media and Communication Studies Summer Fellows. 18.
https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/media_com_sum/18