The Quest for a Black Film Language: archives, sound and Black aesthetics in the context of The Black Radical Tradition

Like superheroes, Black people seem to have an origin story – the moment when they realized that they were Black. This points to the fact that Blackness is a construct. There is a gap between how we perceive, or know ourselves to be, and what society deems us to be, or to put it differently, how the world sees us. My research and practice for this PhD draw from the Black radical tradition, and its ongoing project for emancipation. This study and my film practice trace the genesis of the term “Black” to denote peoples of African origin, and interrogate its political, aesthetic and social consequences. My practice-based research explores and applies formal interventions in film, where memory, hidden histories and fragments of archives trouble the rigidity of the past and open up possibilities for the present and future. Five edited pieces and one pitch deck form the practical component of the thesis, and accompany the questions of what does a Black film language do? How can we see differently or what are the possibilities of new ways of seeing? And how can we move toward a Black Aesthetic? These are the points of analysis and research in the four subsequent chapters of this study. This PhD by practice endeavours to challenge the manner in which Blackness has been (mis)represented, and propose new ways of seeing and understanding the complexities of Black life.<p></p>

Author dc:creator

• Eva Njoki Munyiri (21040418)

• Blackness
• Film language
• Black Radical Tradition
• Emancipation
• Archives
• Sound

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Identifier

10779/exe.31981200.v1

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:figshare.com:article/31981200