Daughters of the Dust | WOMXN OF THE WXXK
Daughters of the Dust
Set in 1902 on St. Helena (an island off the coast of South Carolina), Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust” allows you a privileged peek into the life of an African-American family. The Peazant family — hell, the entire village — is set to be photographed as they depart from the island towards the north to embark on a new journey of freedom and christianity.
At the heart of the family, we find Nana Peazant (Cora Lee Day) who is starkly against the move, as she has grown her roots into the soil of the island. The Peazant family practice a unique and undistinguished tradition, deriving from their African ancestors and kept alive through word of mouth.
There are many themes in the movie that I would find irresponsible not to warn (black) viewers of; such as slavery, racism, rape (by a white man). There are no imagery of the rape, but it’s more than alluded to. The impregnation of Eula Peazant (Alva Rogers) starts a rift between her and her husband, Eli Peazant (Adisa Anderson), who believes the child isn’t his.
One can argue that there is very little plot in this movie but it is more than made up for by beautiful vignettes, masterful storytelling and moving narration by Eula’s unborn daughter (Kai-Lynne Warren).
WOMXN OF THE WXXK
Woman of the week is the director of “Daughters of the Dust,” Julie Dash. Julie Dash is a UCLA Film School graduate and a member of the L.A. Rebellion, a group of the first African and African-American students who studied film at UCLA. Also, a shoutout to Kaycee Moore and Barbara O. Jones whose performances especially moved me.
Next week’s will be “Whip It” by Drew Barrymore (recommended by my dear Tasha).
