I thought it would be a good idea to counter, and balance the over exhausted American narrative that has resurged with a vengeance; that is the lack of black agency. With the recent release of the film The Blind Side, and to a lesser extent the film Precious, the idea that many black folks are still incapable of pulling themselves out of their own tragic circumstances without the aid of some sort of support via Caucasians, is grossly reinforced in these films.
I remember as a young kid TV shows like Webster and Different Strokes overtly reinforcing this notion. Consequently, Webster provided a narrative for my peers, who didn’t understand my background. My white mother provided a logical explanation as to why I lived in the community I lived in, and an explanation for my teacher as to why I was a good student.
White folks being the agents of redemption for people of color plagued by their own seemingly genetic predisposition for self destruction, dangerously seems almost natural. Most see a story of a selfless upper middle class white woman in the film The Blindside, who welcomes a young black man into her home. This man later goes onto become a professional football player, and at some level his success is in large part due to her intervention in his previously dysfunctional life. A similar story line is reinforced in the film Precious, albeit without the aid of white people. The redeemers in this film are light skin black women, who help lift an extremely dark skinned adolescent girl out of the grips of black dysfunction.
These two films seem to generate the same discussion about race, but I think what’s often lacking is a measure of balance. There are films the offer this. The secret lives of bees presents a refreshing take on the exhaustive narrative of black agency. The agents of redemption in this film are all black women, who provide refuge for a young white girl. I admit that I haven’t seen the film, and I’m not even sure if it’s a good film, but I do think the premise is worthy a discourse.
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