Visualizing Difference - Research Paper Example

Visualizing Difference Introduction: Art is form of expressing emotions and thoughts; the artists all over the world have an emotion to expresswith their works. The emotions can differ from a person to another; there can be emotions of happiness, pain, encroachment, exploitation and many more. These emotions can be expressed in the form of literature, music, films, music and photography. Different artists have different forms, genres and styles of expressing their feelings. They even use different forms of media to present their ideas. There is a difference in the visualization by each artist on the same subject. “I learn that the writer’s pen is a microphone help up to the mouth of ancestors and even stones of long ago” (Walker 1988, p144). In this paper we try to analyze and compare the works of three noted artists. Two authors, Bell Hooks & Gayatri Spivak and one filmmaker Spielberg whose work we would analyze based on his movie The Color Purple (1985). Bell Hooks is an African American woman who writes her views on the exploitation of the black women in the post colonial society. She emphasizes on the patriarchal nature of the society, her works are contemporary and reflect the condition and position of Black women in the modern world. Gyatri Spivak is an Indian theorist with her works based on the ideas of conditions of the citizens of the colonial countries after their freedom. Steven Spielberg is a well known producer- director, his movie ‘the color purple’ is based on the exploitation of a black woman by the male members of the society. In this analysis we would research about their works and present the emotions they express through their works. We would also try to identify the differences in the visualization of the same subject by these artists. Bell Hooks Bell Hooks a noted scholar of United States is famous for her write-ups on culture, gender and class politics etc. she is well known as a cultural critic. She is a professor of English and a well-known education theorist. Bell Hooks is also known as Gloria Watkins, she was born in Hopkinsville in the year 1952. She completed her M.A in the year 1976 from Stanford University. Further she did her PhD from University of California. Hooks describes herself as “black intellectual, revolutionary activist.” She had written on wide variety of topics including gender race, teachings, responsibility of media and so on. Bell hooks along with being an author, is a feminist and a social activist. Around thirty of her works have been published so far and most of in which she has written about oppressions, domination and feminism. Hooks is a postmodern writer who expresses her perspective in the fields of art, history, sexuality, and mass media through her works. She is an unconventional writer who never uses upper cases to write her name and quite often quotes “What’s in a name? The substance in my books not who is writing them that’s important.” (Daniela, January 2005). Her first book Aint I a Woman, was published in the year 1981 and it bought her widespread recognition. This book was based on the black women and feminism. This book covered the themes of feminism and exploitation of black women. Since her first book was published her works mainly foucused on politics of race, gender and culture. Few of her widely recognized works include “Aint I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism (1981), Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom (1994), Reel to Real: Race, Sex, and Class at the Movies (1996), Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics (2000) and Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope (2003).” (Bell Hooks Biography, n.d). Through her works she promotes leftist thoughts and appeals to a wide range of audience. The essence of her works her writings communicate the message of loving communities above the boundaries of class and gender. She had even written three books for children who emphasized on the development of healthy communities. The soul of all her works had the recurring theme of relationships that extended beyond class, race and gender inequalities. All her works show her strong feminist ideas; her works show the patriarchal nature of the society and the way the black women had to suffer due to the injustice done to them. “Despite feminist critiques of patriarchal narratives of race that suggest black men suffer the most vicious assaults of white supremacy and racism because they are not empowered to be "real" men (i.e. Patriarchal providers and protectors), most black people, along with the rest of the culture, continue to believe that a solid patriarchal family will heal the wounds inflicted by race and class.” Said Bell Hooks in a press meeting held in Shambhala Sun in the year 1991 for her book, “Ain’t she still a women.” she writes about the strengths and powers of the black women giving examples and narrating stories. She compares the lives of the black and white families to show the difference in their lives caused due to the caste and race discrimination. Through her works she reflects the economic and social conditions of the black women in the patriarchal society. She emphasizes that the black women are capable of being socially and economically free, but due to the social arena of racists and sexists they are kept behind the closed doors and are not allowed to progress. "Black women face a culture where practically everyone wants us to stay in our place (i.e. be content to accept life on the bottom of this societys economic and social totem pole)." (Hooks, January 1999). She gives examples from her own life of being treated partially in the society. Through her works she declares that the black women are devalued in the society. She gives examples of nationally recognized black women who even after there death were paid no media attention. There is no objection in the society if they are publically devalued. Through these examples she reconfirms her theory that the black women are not treated equally in the society. Her writings uncovered the anxiety and the fears of the black women of being regarded as dominating by the racist society. She further said that this fear stops black women from taking up a courageous responsibility. This consciousness makes them more conservative than their non-black counterparts. “Anti-feminist backlash, coupled with narrow forms of Black Nationalism which wholeheartedly embrace patriarchal thinking, has had a major impact on black females.” (Hooks, January 1999). Though she was a black feminist strongly believed in the feminist movement of 1960, unlike others she did not advocate a separate agenda for black feminist, instead she wanted equal treatment for the black women. Most of Bells works have been centered with the ideas of feminism and politics of race. In her book Art on My Mind (1995), Bell’s explores the questions regarding the style and commodity culture of the Black’s, the academic implications and impacts of multicultural classrooms in the today’s world, the book further explored the development of African American artists. With her book Remembered Rapture: the Writer at Work (1999), Bell’s joined the ranks of modern African American memoirists. Different books of Bells had different themes and plots but they all zeroed on the ideas of blacks in the society. Through her works she attempted to broadcast the lives of the black people before and after there liberation. “The writing of bell hooks is characterized by a concern with the ethics of criticism.” (Chay, n.d). Critics have accused Bells for using her text as quilt being an Afro-American woman. Gayatri Spivak Gayatri Chakravati Spivak is a literary critic and theorist. She is known for her use of contemporary culture and theories to write against colonialism and political issues. Gayatri Spivak portrays herself as a "para-disciplinary, ethical philosopher" (Kilburn, 1996). It was remarked that she belonged to the "first generation of Indian intellectuals after independence." (Kilburn, 1996.) Currently she works as a professor of humanities in the Avalon Foundation at the Colombia University. After completing her PhD from Cornell University, professor Spivak has thought in many universities throughout the world. In the year 1976 Spivak translated Derridas Of Grammatology, this book was influential in spreading the theories of deconstruction in America. Through her works Spivak advocates the methods of deconstruction. Her works are based on the ideas of Marxism and feminist perspectives. “Spivaks, original contribution to contemporary critical theory lies not only in her radical examination of the relationship between language, women, and culture, but also in her introduction of a pro-Third World perspective with an emphasis on the marginalized subject of cultural discourse.” (Gayatri Spivak biography, n.d.). Spivak’s works do not focus on a particular national literature. Most of her works represent postcolonial societies, and the lack of the social liberation in these societies. Her works reflect and describe how post independence many European countries failed to achieve and establish social liberation. How these conditions led to disempowerment of weaker sections of the society like the women, poor and the illiterate.” (Gayatri Spivak biography, n.d.). Spivak translated the works of write Mahasweta Devi, in her book imaginary maps (1995). Her works were not bound to a particular region or religion; her works had a universal appeal and attracted interests of people worldwide. She has also worked on a series of books which served as literary critiques of imperialism and international feminism. Few of her major works are Myself, I Must Remake: The Life and Poetry of W.B. Yeats (1974), Of Grammatology (translation, with critical introduction, of Derridas text) (1976), In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics (1987),Selected Subaltern Studies (edited with Ranajit Guha) (1988), The Post-Colonial Critic (1990), Outside in the Teaching Machine (1993), The Spivak Reader (1995), A Critique of Postcolonial Reason: Towards a History of the Vanishing Present (1999), Death of a Discipline (2003), Other Asias (2005). (Gayatri Spivak biography, n.d.). Her works basically focused on the post colonialism problems and she did not differentiate the sexes in her works. She focused and advocated that the atrocities on the women all over the world were results of colonialism and not sexism. Edward Said has noted that "She pioneered the study in literary theory of non-Western women and produced one of the earliest and most coherent accounts of that role available to us.” (Smith, 2002) In her book A Critique of Postcolonial Reason, published in 1999, she writes about the works of European writers who tend to exclude the "subaltern from their discussions." Spivaks works challenge the prevelant ideas of the modern world and voices the problems and lives of the minority groups. It has been discussed that Spivaks works have a definite style which is prevelant in all her works, without importance been given to the subsatnce of the work. “Yet this is not to suggest that her works lacks coherence or theoretical vigour”, (Morton, 2007, p.7) says Stephen Morton in his book on Gaytri Spivak. Belonging to a country like India, which has suffered colonialism for more than 200 hundred years, Sdpivak’s works had reflected the pain and the atrocities of the colonialism. Steven Spielberg and his movie “The colour purple” Steven Spielberg is one of the most influential filmmakers in the Industry. Born in 1946 in Ohio, Spielberg is a producer, writer and director. Spielberg dropped out of his university, California State University Long Beach, to follow his profession in entertainment. His first shot to fame was his movie Wagon train released in the year 1957; here he worked as an assistant editor. Spielberg is also known to be one of the richest filmmakers across the world with a number of critically acclaimed movies on his name. Spielberg’s major directorial debut was with the movie The Sugar Land Express in the year 1974. Some of Spielberg’s well-known movies are Jaws (1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. (The Extra Terrestrial) (1982), E.T. (The Extra Terrestrial) (1982)., Jurassic Park (1993) etc. (14 films directed by Steven Spielberg, n.d) Spielberg is known to experiment a lot with his works. He directed and produced movies of different genres. His works ranged from prehistoric creatures to works of art reflecting the society (Biography of Steven Spielberg, n.d). In the Year 1985 he directed a movie based on a famous literary work of Alice Walker. With this movie Spielberg broke away from his image of only making summer blockbusters. This movie was completely based on the Novel. The movie narrated the story of a black girl, who is bought up by her stepfather. It’s about the life of the black girl who faces several atrocities in life and finally makes her own cult in the society. The movie showcases the lives of the African American women with a central character. With a fiction Spielberg depicts the life story of African American women in the early years of 1900. He carefully showcases the struggle of these women through poverty, racism and sexism. Spielberg received his first award The Best Motion picture, for this movie. The movie was also nominated for various prestigious awards worldwide. The story depicts the life of a black woman who was forcefully married to a older man who treated her like a slave. Her exploitation by her husband and father is showcased in the movie. The movie through it central character tells the story of black women, and their lives. It depicts how they are treated in an inhuman manner in the society and this treatment was not from a stranger. This movie showed that the men in the society did not give the black women equal status. This movie depicts the patriarchal nature of the society. Some parts of the movie also try to showcase the feelings of the black women, the feelings of insults and revenge. It shows the bonds of friendship and love between people belonging to a completely different society and culture. The movie with an emotional story line tries to explore the serious and dark section of the society. The movie was criticized by few people for its fictitious plot and including humor in the serious topic of black exploitation. Some critics even clearly indicated that Spielberg was not able to handle the topic of feminism in a proper manner. “Whats more crucial are the films peculiar unevenness, and its way of combining such wild extremes. Some parts of it are rapturous and stirring, others hugely improbable, and the film moves unpredictably from one mode to another.” (Manslin, December 1985) In the movie the color purple Spielberg has weakly tried to showcase the black women, his ideas did not focus primarily on the patriarchal nature of the society. The movie did not carry messages of strong protest against the exploitation of the black women. There was no mention of the post colonialism atrocities on the black people. This movie basically showed the life of one black woman after colonialism, who was subject to exploitation from her own society members. The movie did show how the white people looked down the black women upon. “Shug initially insults Celie by saying, "you sure is ugly" on their first meeting”. (Manslin, December 1985). The movie does stir the emotion of sympathy for the African American women in the postcolonial era however could not act as a revolutionary project for the issue. Conclusion: In our attempt to study the works of the three well-known artists of the world, we came to an interesting conclusion that the various artists even if dealing with the same subject, have different perspective towards it. They define and find different reasons for the same subject. The scope of evaluation of different artist is different and they look at the subject from different frameworks, thus resulting ion different conclusions. The opinion varies and thus the results. In our research we studied works of three artists, two theorists and one filmmaker. We observe that Bell Hooks a noted theorist has based most of her works on the critiques of the patriarchal society. Through her works she depicts the viewpoints on feminism. She strongly advocates that the black women in the post colonialism era were forced face atrocities of the society. They were treated cruelly because of the society and were not able to hold important positions in the society. Citing examples from her own life she declares that the black women are treated differently even in the contemporary global world. She point at the current devaluation of the black women in the society. Gayatri Spivak, the second theorist we studied was a critic of feminism. Through her works she reflects the condition of the colonized countries. She works on the postcolonial conditions of the citizens. Her works do not differentiate between the sexes and declares that the sufferings of both the sexes due to colonization had been the same. She showcases that the patriarchal nature of the society is formed due to the colonization and upliftment of the entire class is required. Steven Spielberg a commercial director in his movie the color purple explores the life of the African American women. He depicts a typical case of a woman who is exploited by the men of the society. He narrates the story of the pains and insults the woman suffers from the male members. The story is based on the weak line of black exploitation. The three artists we studied have different viewpoint for the issue of postcolonial exploitation of the blacks. Though the issue is common the artist give different reasons and points for the exploitation. Each artist voices a different perspective to the African American exploitation. The works though target the same subject but provide different reason for them. Gayatri Spivak advocates on deconstruction theory for the colonized countries for their upliftment. Hooks denies that the modernization of the society would have affect on the lives of the Black women. The outlook of the people of the society needs to be altered. Spielberg by his movie the color purple calls in for pity at sufferings and to emphasize with the black women. Bell Hooks being more contemporary through the series of her works reflect both the past and the present conditions of the Black women in the society. The other two artists Gayatri Spivak and Steven Spielberg work on the past of the colonized societies and showcase their drawbacks. These conclusions drawn prove that there is a difference in visualization of the same topic by artists and workers of different backgrounds around the world. References: Bell Hooks Biography. (n.d). who2. Available at: http://www.who2.com/bellhooks.html (Accessed on June 4, 2010). Daniela, (January 28, 2005), Who is the Other? Analyzing bell hook’s reading through the San Pedro society, La Elbhara, Available at: http://laelbahara.blogspot.com/2005/01/who-is-other-analyzing-bell-hooks.html (Accessed on June 4, 2010) Hooks B. (January 1999). Ain’t she still a women. Shambhala Sun. Available at: http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/186.html (Accessed on June 4, 2010) Chay G. D. (n.d). Biography: Bell Hooks. answers.com. Available at: http://www.answers.com/topic/bell-hooks (Accessed on June 4, 2010) Gayatri Spivak biography (n.d.). jrank.org. Available at: http://www.jrank.org/literature/pages/5848/Gayatri-Chakravorty-Spivak.html (Accessed on June 4, 2010) Kilburn, M. (1996). Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, available at: http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Spivak.html (accessed on June 4, 2010) Morton S. (2007). Gayatri Spivak: ethics, subalternity and the critique of postcolonial reason. Polity Press, Cambridge Biography of Steven Spielberg. (n.d). IMDb. Available at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/bio (Accessed on June 4, 2010) Manslin J. (December 18, 1985). The Color purple (1985). The New York Times. Available at: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F06E5DC153BF93BA25751C1A963948260 (Accessed on June 4, 2010) 14 films directed by Steven Speilberg. (n.d). How stuff works. Available at: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/14-films-directed-by-steven-spielberg.htm (Accessed on June 4, 2010) Smith, D. (2002). Creating a Stir Wherever She Goes, The New York Times, available at: http://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/test1/2002-February/001145.html (accessed on June 4, 2010) Walker, A. (1998). “Everyday Use.” Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. McGraw Hill.New York. Read More