Julie+Dash's+Daughters+of+the+Dust

Free write on your own in response to the film - 10 minutes.


 * I did not like this movie. It was so hard to follow, although the way the movie was directed was quite beautiful. I liked how they captured true African Culture, and even put a Bi-Racial couple in it. I felt this movie was really confusing but did have a lot of meaning within it. I also liked how they captured multiple generation within the family, and gave multiple views into what they wanted and what they believed in. **
 * -Jacqueline Johnson **

First thought is "The dialect they're speaking is hard to follow;" but with that being said I appreciate and respect the fact that there is some type of preserved culture from the African heritage interrupted so many decades ago. Thousands and probably millions of Africans lives changed because of slavery. The ones who stayed in Africa lost family, the ones who left lost almost everything. this shows that there can always be a flower growing in the cracks. -Tyre Miles

The fil Daughters of the dust was a very intresting film. It expressed many of afican culture. Family and friends were divided by times changing. The elder women didnt want to move foward. she didnt want change.The movie was confusing at time. carlos flores

The Daughters of the Dust film directed by Julie Dash captures family values and traditions bringing the Pezant family together and pushing members away. They bring the family together because they want to honor the ancestors that came before them. They choose to value, respect and believe those lessons and cultures that they brought from their homeland of Africa. Examples of this would be of the hanging bottles on the trees, and the items in the tin pot that belongs to Nanna Pezant. The traditions of the Pezants seem to be broken when a family member goes to the mainland or beyond. Such as Yellow Mary, and Viola. Yellow Mary went to traveled many places, and couldn't keep the values that she grew up with. Her family members call her "ruint". Viola became a Christian after leaving Ibo Landing. Viola especially doesn't want anything to do with the old ways, and fervently believes in her God. Culture preservation eventually will effect each person that leaves the Ibo landing. They will have to decide for themselves what they will choose to believe in. But, they should always remember where they come from and be proud of that because they are all connected to each other. -Michelle Hopson

The film we watched in class was called Daughters of the dust and it was directed by Julie captures. watching the movie i did see many ties and symbols to african culture in the movie. In the movie the family was divided between moving and growing into a new culture or staying behind and embracing thier family history and culture. I would say the only thing that confused, but I get now is the little girl with the blue ribbon in her hair. Nowing now that she is the spirit of an unborn child I the movie became more understanding to me. I thought it was good that she stayed behind to have her child, to bring her up how she was brought up. I felt the movie was really art because it was hard to understand, but once you understood it it was a very good movie. Aundrane Fletcher

The movie daughter of the dust which is directed by julie captures. we watched this movie in class. it was pretty interesting how they expand the story and learn how their is a language different between generations. Harpreet Sahtoa

After watching Daughters of the Dust I found that the movie is symbolizing the deteriorating relationship between generations of family members, but it also shows how family can come together in a time of need. The theme of African roots and ancestry plays a significant role throughout the film. The younger generations want to leave the island and make a break to the mainland where they believe they will have a better life and get away from the backwards traditions that Nana has been holding onto. The breaking of traditions can be found in all cultures. Many people believe that they will find a better life away from their homeland and start breaking with old traditions because it seems too “backwards” or primitive. I don’t believe in the word primitive as a way to describe a culture or the people within it. Primitive is just another word used to dehumanize a person and is mostly used as a way to somehow compare two things as on being inferior and the other superior. In this case the Gullah culture is inferior to Christianity. When Viola comes back to the island, she talks about being a sinner and not even knowing what it was until she found god. That reminded me of missionary work white conquers did in order to tame what they thought of as uncivil savage beasts. Here Viola is trying to convince everyone and possibly herself that letting go of old traditions and adapting to new ones will lead to a better life. In the end, she realizes that she can’t let go of her past because it’s apart of her identity and she knows that Nana will still accept her, even if she can’t except Nana’s decision to hold onto her beliefs. -Lolita Bounyavong

The film Daughters of the Dust was a great movie about an African American Family and their struggles to whether to go up north or stay put where they are at. This film contained a lot of African culture such as food, music and African religious beliefs. Overall, this film was not easy to follow due to Gullah dialect and lack of subtitles. It had a lot of confusing parts such as the little girl with the blue ribbon and the sculpture in the river. These confusing parts were later clarified by the professor. Annalisa Vang

Daughters of the Dust is a god film that about African American history and cultures. This film showed us many things about their lives, such as the way they believed in religion and their spirits and the way they used to communicate with god. Juan Gastelum

The film Daughters of the dust was a really good movie. Really showing how an African American family lives, and their struggles.It was a very confusing movie that you really had to pay attention to. The languages made it hard to coincide with as well, but al in all it was a great movie. The way a family can come together with so much going on. -Dwayne Wilson