The Black Female Protagonist: Recent Episodes
Gabrielle Harris
AFRAS 260 Analytical Presentation #4
I did my final analytical presentation for this course on two themes found in the novel Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. The first theme i highlighted was teaching. I talked about how important it is to ask questions about why things are the way they are, and then decide if it makes sense. Decide if the people around you are just stuck in the system or a traditional mindset, or if there is valid reasoning behind the actions that they chose to do and the decisions they decide to make. Applying it to Kindred, Dana came in and was able to change and challenge what Rufus thought about slavery and the rights they don't have. He then pushed for education. This helped to alter the future, and it reminded me of the movements in the past that arrose due to people asking questions about their environment and why they're being oppressed. Like the Black people in the Civil Rights movement, Women in the Feminist waves, and Science in the evolution of theories. They've all had a hand in altering how we live today.
The second theme i talked about in this podcast was kindness. Specifically how being kind to someone, being a light in the dark could not only alter how they feel that day, but also how they make decisions moving forward. I used the example of school shooters in the podcast. How they often are bullied and have possibly grown up in households without car and with violence. This causes them to make decisions that choose death for others, I've heard stories of how people have been in dark times and contemplated taking their own lives, but someone did, or said something (without knowing their situation) that was kind and it helped them off the ledge. We're all stuck on earth together so we may as well make it easier for one another.
The biggest thing that i gathered form the Gilda Stories was that Gilda had a sense of community wherever she went. I then started to think about all the times my community has helped grow and evolve, maybe even grow out of. In my opinion, community is essential to live happy life. It's much harder to go through life alone, especially as long as Gilda lives, that would have been nearly impossible to bear. But to keep herself going she would surround herself with people that mean something to her, and people she can relate and empathize with. Someone once told me that you should surround yourself with people that are a little bit smarter than you and people that aren't quite as smart as you are. I always view that as people i can learn from, and people that can learn from me..otherwise what is the point of a community. As one grows older, its important to grow and change into something different that you were before, just so you know that you're growing up. And Gilda did that from the beginning to the end of the book.
In this podcast I speak about community and how author Jewell Gomez carries the theme throughout The Gilda Stories. More specifically through her identity and how it is synonymous with her communities. For example Gilda's gender (female), her sexuality (lesbian / queer), and her occupations ( these ones have sub communities of their own, but often times people can consider their work as a part of their identity ). I really enjoyed the way Jewelle Gomez created a feeling of "Home" for Gilda wherever she went, i think we all can take a piece of this theme for ourselves and apply it to our own lives.
In this podcast you will find that we analyzed the layers and dimensions of Nnedi Okorafor's Black Female Protagonist and how it compares the the fictional and "factual" experiences and characteristics of a black woman. We also spoke about the expectations of black women and how they go hand in hand with the expectations of the black female protagonist in Kabu Kabu. You will find that the main characteristics highlighted in the podcast are "The Abused Protecting Their Abuser" and "Strong Maternal Characters". Throughout Kabu Kabu. Okarafor shows the integrity and solidarity of the black female protagonist, and the black female in general by putting the characters in situations where their character is tested. For example in "The Winds of Harmattan" the main character, Asuquo was abused by her husband before fell ill. She had to choose whether to stay and help him regain his health and strength, or leave him for dead. There is a similar situation in both in "Spider the Artist" and "The Popular Mechanic". These female protagonists were forced to reason with the men that abused them repeatedly, just so that there would be no more lives lost. Okarafor also shows that women have the ability to find strength from within to fight the battles that are cast upon them. Specifically in "On the Road", the strong maternal figures in the household of the main character showed that you can have quiet strength. You don't need to share with everyone your plans to get where you need to go, you can just keep that information to yourself, then move accordingly. The Auntie and Grandma in "On the Road" knew exactly what they needed to do to save their niece/granddaughter, and they did so without letting her know what would happen. Because that would have made it even worse. Okarafor's complex female protagonists in Kabu Kabu have immense strength and care; and it parallels directly with the reality of many black women today.