Daughters of the Dust by Julie Das Journal Entry 22 Xiongyue Yu

Daughters of the Dust – Julie Dash

 

Daughters of the Dust is a 1991 independent film and the first feature film directed by an African-American woman. As a female director, Julie Dash creates a soft and languid cinematic rhythm, and puts more detail and clever design into the picture to construct a compelling visual aesthetic. Although this disagrees with the conventional pace and narrative structure of the film, which may make the audience fall into a stream-of-consciousness incomprehension in some moments, it will still let the audience indulge in the poetic visual feast presented by the film.

 

The plot uses a circular narrative structure to represent the past, present and future of three generations of Gullah women, women of African descent, most of whom are about to embark on the mainland for a more modern, "civilized" way of life. Finding the island's ancient spirituality and localism backward, they couldn't wait to leave for a more modern society with educational and economic opportunities. But will it really work out that way? They are faced with the pressures and burdens of tradition, and the difficulties and complications of a new environment and world. Although the film as a whole present and deals with its heavy subject matter with lovely visuals and light, poetic strokes, it still leaves one with a deep sense of insight and contemplation on social and racial issues.

 

Such a film, full of black female characters, action and emotion, is a work that can be judged through feminism even today. The focus on relationships between families and the delicate emotions and stoicism in love portrayed from the perspective of a girls' school. Ultimately Daughters of the Dust takes an original and fascinating look at a largely unexplored corner of American culture.