COMM 363 Black Female Sexuality in Film
This course examines the interrelationship between film and society as well as cultural stereotypes of gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. Cinema influences social norms of sexuality prescribed for women who are routinely coded on screen as sex objects, and this coding restricts women’s free sexual expression in everyday life. The course will explore how the grouping of all women under the label “women,” obscures the negative filmic treatment of Black women in particular. For example, Black women often occupy the role of the “sexually-charged” filmic figure. The focus is on two historical moments: the 1970s Blaxploitation era and the present emerging commercially-driven Black film culture. Students will read literature on the topics mentioned above, view films, give presentations, and participate in class discussions on the socio-cultural factors that help drive women’s filmic coding. Additional lab fee applies.