Black Women and Literacy in Feature Films

The reading “Black Women and Literacy in Feature Films” by Joanne Kilgour Dowdy is a passage about Black leading actresses and the roles that they portray in different feature films. Dowdy examined several movies and noticed somewhat of a trend. The actresses in the movies portrayed Black women who were facing different social and economic issues. Some of these issues were caused by the Black woman having a low literacy level. While in others, the women were shown to have high literacy levels yet it seems that they can do nothing to change their situation.

In the film “Losing Isaiah” Halle Berry played a drug addict who left her new born child in a dumpster in an alleyway. Eventually she cleaned herself up and wanted to take responsibility for her actions and reclaim her child. Her literacy level becomes a major road block for her. Because she was illiterate, it was hard not only for her to prove to everyone that stood between her and reclaiming her son that she was capable of caring for him but it was also hard for her to connect with Isaiah and his foster family and gain their trust. In the movie “Music from the Heart”, Angela Basset plays an educated Black woman, working as a principal who is struggling to help the children in her school by integrating programs into the curriculum that will broaden their horizons i.e. a classical music program. Regardless to being not only literate, but also intelligent, Basset’s character cannot reach her goal. Just as her hopelessness begins to settle in a white female helps her achieve her goal, making her the heroine of the movie.

Overall this reading is discouraging. Many readings that we have read this semester have tried to encourage young Black Women to take power into their own hands and become educated. Though I do not believe Kilgour intended to write it this way, this particular reading has an underlying tone of hopelessness to me. It almost seems as if no matter what one does and no matter how strong of an education they obtain, as a Black women were meant to struggle. Thoughts like these are detrimental to the growth of educated Black females in the world today.