Wh ose Cryi n g G a m e ?
O n e W o m a n o f C o l o r ' s Reflect i o n o n
Representat i o n s o f M en o f C o l o r i n
Contem porary Fi l m
M a r i a n M . S c i a c h itano
Was h i ngton State U n ivers ity
This film review of The Crying Game critically interrogates the
politics of representation and domination which "spectacle­
ize" Black male bodies. Working out of her location as an Asian
American woman who is sensitive to the cinematic and every­
day politics of exoticization , this cultu ral critic provides an
analysis of the dynamic relations of power at work in the racial
and heterosexual p roduction and exploitation of Black gays in
contemporary film. D rawing on the work of such critics as bell
hooks ,
R obert R eid- Pharr,
Koben a Merce r , a n d J u dith
B utler,she challenges us not to simply perpetuate the imperial
gaze.
I n the s p ri n g of 1 993, a s m a l l i ndependent I rish f i l m began
rece ivi n g rave revi ews i n the U . S . and a ro u n d the worl d . This f i l m
eventually garnered s i x Academy Award n o m i nat i o n s fo r Best P ictu re ,
Best Acto r, and Best S u pport i n g Acto r, t o n a m e b u t a few . The Crying
Game, d i rected by I ri s h m a n N e i l J o rd a n , focuses o n a s m a l l band of I ri s h
R e p u b l ican Army terrorists ( I RA) , o r cou nter-te rro rists, depe n d i n g u po n
yo u r p o i n t of view, who are a part o f an armed stru g g le that h a s been
o n g o i n g i n N o rthern I reland for nearly a q u arter of a centu ry . M ost of the
enterta i n m e nt med i a i n d u stry- Siskel & Ebert, Charlie Rose, Entertain­
ment Tonight, and eve n the ABC and C B S news prog rams-have given
The Crying Game a "thumbs u p . " Contrary to popular as we l l as
acad e m i c o p i n i o n , these reviews h ave n ot concentrated o n how this f i l m
Explorations in Ethnic Studies V o l . 1 7 , N o . 1 (Jan uary 1 994) : 1 03-
111.
E x p l o rations i n Eth n i c Stu d ies
helps us, as U . S . vi ewe rs , to g a i n any better understa n d i n g of either the
I RA , the l o n g stan d i n g I ri s h - E n g l i s h cris i s , o r the i m pact of colo n i a l i s m and
civil war on N o rth I re l a n d ' s co m m u n ities. O n the contra ry, these concerns
mere ly u nd e rly the s u rface of the f i l m-they serve as i ntrig u i n g , tho u g h
s u perficial , bac kd rops t o t h e actual plot. If f i l m vi ewe rs we re t o beg i n
seriously t h i n k i n g t h ro u g h the complexities of nationa l i s m , co l o n i a l i s m ,
w a r a n d terrori s m , m u c h o f The Crying Game 's plot wo u l d appear p retty
s i m p l i stic-eve n n o n s e n s ical .
The m e d i a and eve n the f i l m's lead i n g I ri s h actor, Ste p h e n Rea,
have comme nted that The Crying Game 's acclaim has been d u e i n l a rg e
part t o i t s s u rp ri s i n g , even s hocki n g , co nclusi on-a concl u s i o n w h i c h h a s
b e e n kept ve ry much u nd e rw raps b y i nd u stry watchers , f i l m reviewe rs ,
a n d f i l m goers . A n d t h o u g h a l l t h e i n d u stry's " h u s h - h u s h ness" h a s been
exc it i n g and sed uctive , at the same time, it is crucial to critica l l y i nte rro­
gate j ust exactly why and how "th i s secret" excites and seduces a u d i ­
ences. A s o n e confere nce attendee correctly poi nted o u t t o m e , " W h e n
t h e d o m i nant cu ltu re l i kes somet h i n g , i t ' s suspect-and you've g o t to
wonder why? "
I wo u l d l i ke to b riefly reflect o n watc h i n g The Crying Game fro m
a woman o f color's standpoint, a n d m y be i n g shocked not so m u c h b y the
f i l m 's concl u s io n , but by the film's rep rese ntations of race, g e n d e r,
sexual ity, and to a ce rtain exte nt, class. M o re specifica l ly, I want to raise
what I see are c rucial q uest i o n s : " H ow do the men of color i n t h i s film get
re p rese nted o r positio ned ? " and "What are some of the i m p l icat i o n s , or
c ritical alte rnatives , for women of color as we l l as othe rs who view t h i s
film?"
I n t h e i ntroduction t o be l l hooks ' most recent co l l ecti o n o f critical
essays, entitled Black L ooks: Race and Representation, s h e o b s e rves
that,
The e m p has i s on film is so ce ntral because it, more than
any ot h e r med ia experience, determi nes how b l ackness
and b lack people are seen and how oth e r g ro u p s w i l l
res pond t o u s based o n t h e i r re lation t o these con­
st ructed and co n s u med i mages . 1
L i ke most folks, I l i ke to take i n an occas ional f i l m , re lax, eat hot butte red
po p-co rn , and j ust p l a i n escape f rom my eve ryday worries about f i ­
nances , teac h i n g , and f i g u ri n g out what's fo r d i n ne r. Howeve r, as I have
become i ncreas i n g ly awa re of how i mages-f i l m i mages-p lay a ro le i n
dete rm i n i n g " not o n ly how oth e r people t h i n k about u s b u t how w e t h i n k
about o u rselves , ,, 2 I c a n n o l o n g e r j ust look at a f i l m-partic ularly a f i l m
featuring peoples o f color-without b e i n g effected . When I th i n k about it,
I now feel ashamed a n d a n g ry sometimes for havi ng consu med cou ntless
films like the futu ristic t h ri l l e r Blade Runner, the colonial epic A Passage
1 04
Sciachitano- Whose Crying Game ?
to India, an American western fantasy l i ke Dances With Wolves, o r say,
a more recent fem i n ist f i l m l i ke The Piano-a nd either " n ot see n " that
there were peoples of co l o r--eve n e nti re co m m u n ities of co l o r i n the f i l m­
o r o n l y half-real ized how me n , wo m e n , and c h i l d ren of co l o r were be i n g
dep icted o r marg i nal ized . This is a l l the more tro u b l i n g to me when I t h i n k
about m y u nconscious participat i o n i n the consu mption o f these c i n ­
ematic i m ages. As a w o m a n who is ma rried to a man o f co lor and who
acknowl edges that "the reco nstruction and transformation of male be­
havi or, masc u l i n ity , is [also] a necessary and essential part of [fe m i n ist
stru g g l e] , " 3 I am very u ncomfortable and deeply pained when I see f i l m
re prese ntations wh ich e i t h e r trivi alize, i g n o re , b ruta l i z e , o r exoticize men
of co l o r i n terms of t h e i r looks , speec h , hab its , p hysical and inte l l ectual
abi l ities, beliefs (cu lt u ra l , s p i ritua l , o r pol itical) , class, o r sexual d iffer­
ences.
As my h usband and I sat wait i n g fo r The Crying Game to beg i n ,
I could sense that t h e theatre was g o i n g t o be packed with peop le. A t least
two of the i r staff members paraded up and down the aisle co u nting how
many seats were sti l l avai lable and as k i n g f o l ks if those seats next to them
were take n . I ro n ically, perhaps , j ust as the movie was about to beg i n , a
yo u n g couple with a baby took the seats right i n front of u s . I could not help
s m i l i n g to myself that t h e re m i g ht be two c ry i n g games to co nte nd with
to n i g ht. For the most part the audie nce was pred o m i nantly wh ite ,
college-edu cated , m i d d l e-to-upper m i d d l e class, i n t h e i r l ate twe nties,
t h i rties, and up.
Because I am a b i racial woman of color in her t h i rties, I te nd to
be extra sens itive about my c u ltu ral and racial identity-my speec h , my
body, my i ntel lect-how others a re perce iving m e . A n d i n sp ite of bei ng
born and raised i n the U . S . , I have had many c u ri o u s strangers as k me
"what national ity I am" or "what co u nt ry I am fro m . " They a re usually
s u rprised to hear than I am ha lf- Ita l i a n . It is n ot what they a re expecting
me to say. E v e n as a s m a l l c h i ld I can d istinctly re member strangers be i n g
considerably m o re c u ri o u s about my "oth e r half"-my J apanese half. I
a m now beg i n n i n g to u n d e rstand why it is that my J apanese half is so
i ntri g u i n g-so exotic to many E u ropean Ame rica n s . I s h a re this bit of
h i story and memory with you p recisely beca use they are apart of my
stru g g le to u n d e rstand how I am co nstantly b e i n g position ed-by the
gaze of strangers , by i nstitut i o n s , by med ia such as fi l m , telev i s i o n , and
theatre. Eve n as I speak about t h i s , I am aware that everyt h i n g in my
c u l t u ral and g e n d e red u p b ri n g i n g tells me to re m a i n s i l ent-i nvi s i b l e .
Reflect i n g o n my l ived experiences f r o m the stand-point o f a b i racial
Asian American woman has caused me to g rad u a l ly rea l i ze t h at , i n fact,
I do s hare a g reat deal i n common with men of color and t h e i r stru g g l e s .
Now, I wo u l d l i ke to focus o n a few of the d isturb i n g f i l m i mages
which forced me to ask these q uest i o n s : "Whose C ry i n g Game i s b e i n g
p l ayed a t the expense of what 'Ot h e rs ' ? " If t hi s f i l m ' s s u ccess is because,
1 05
E x p l o rations i n Eth n i c Studies
�
as lead actor Stephen Rea s s , " It's a modern l ove sto ry, and there a re
few e n o u g h of those aro u nd , " then I wonder, " H ow far have men of co l o r
c o m e i n terms o f eithe r transfo rm i n g t h e i r i mages o r ac h ievi n g any rea l
powe r when it comes t o gender, race , class, o r (hete ro)sexual rel at i o ns ? "
T h e fi rst t h i rd o f The Crying Game centers on t h e s m a l l b a n d of
I RA te rro ri sts , two men and one wo man , who take a yo u n g , B lack B ritish
sold i e r-ca l l ed Jody-as t h e i r hostage . They hold him captive-as we l l
a s hooded a n d restrai ned t h ro u g h o ut most o f h i s co nfinement i n a re mote
g reenhouse. From the beg i n n i ng of Jody's capt u re , I was d istu rbed by the
I RA's strategy of using sexual seduction as the means of l u ri n g him i nto
a v u l n e rable position where he co u l d be seized as a hostage . W h i l e t h i s
m a y be a c o m m o n p l o y i n m a n y action f i l m na rratives , what most alarmed
me as I was watch i n g this ope n i n g scene with a p redo m i n antly wh ite
a u d i e nce, was that the violent act of taki n g t hi s B l ack man as a h ostage
became seco n d a ry to the "s pectac l e " of a B lack man seduced by a wh ite
woman--the exoticizati o n of Jody's l a rge b l ack body-his sexual ity and
masc u l i n ity. As c u ltu ral c ritic Robert R e i d - P harr obse rves , t h e re has
been " this te ndency to spectacleize B lack bodies, to read race as a type
of ephemeral s u rface narrative which need not be u n d e rstood in the
context of Ame rican h i story o r cu ltu re . " S It has bee n j u st as much an
aspect of mainstream heterosexual c u l t u ral pol itics as it has been of
" Iesbian and gay identity pol itics . ,, 6 Wh i l e the i mage of the "woman as
seductress , " util ized i n the open i n g scene as a sexual object by the I RA
to trap Jody, g oes way back to b i b l ical and class ical times, it is more
i m po rtant to u n d e rstand that i n the co ntext of U . S . h i story and c u lt u re ,
African A m e rican m e n were often falsely acc used o f rap i n g wh ite women
a n d ro u t i n e ly lynched by wh ite male v i g i lante g ro u ps such as the Ku Klux
Klan . ?
N ot o n l y i s Jody's large B lack body exoticized with i n the f i rst few
m i n utes of the f i l m , but a pattern of exoticizati o n and violence em erg e s .
J ust as soon a s the I RA nab J o d y i n a co m p rom i s i n g pos iti o n , t h e y shove
a b u rlap hood ove r h i s head and tie h i s w rists u p . As I watc h these i mages,
oth e r i mages flashed in my m i nd-hau nti n g i m ages of lynch i n g s and
beat i n g s I have seen repeated o n television news . T h ro u g h o ut Jody's
captivity, I am acute ly awa re of how hot, confi n e d , and u nco mfo rtab l e he
i s . Jody sweats p rofusely and has d ifficu lty breat h i n g u nd e r the hood.
A n d altho u g h the film shi fts its e m p hasis here to Ferg i s , the wh ite
I ri s h man (Stephen Rae) who is Jody's caretaker/g u a rd , and the most
em pathetic of the th ree I RA sold i e rs , I f i n d myself identifyi n g , on some
leve l , with Jody's si l e nt outrage and confus i o n ove r be i n g take n as a
hostage . And though Ferg i s is respo n s i b l e for part i a l ly rai s i n g the hood
so Jody can b reathe and speak more easily, it is Jody's soft-spoken voice,
congenial bante r, and h u man ity that I concentrate on. In sp ite of h is being
held as an I RA hostage, Jody s hows s u rp ri s i n g h u mo r and eve n sympa­
thy towa rds Ferg is' I RA cause. To a certa i n exte nt, I acknowl edge the
1 06
Sciachitano- Whose Crying Game ?
complexity of s u bjective pos itions these two men occu py-o ne I ri s h and
o n e Briti s h , o n e w h ite and o n e Black, who have c o m p l i cated h isto ries,
s u bjectivities, and re l ations not o n l y i n terms of each other, but in terms
of the i r re lations to I reland and E n g l and-and those d i sco u rses of powe r.
How have each of these men been positioned with i n t h e i r respective
cou ntries? H ow i s the f i l m 's d i rector and screenw riter, N e i l J o rd a n ,
positio n i n g them? A n d what a b o u t u s , a s N o rth Ame rican viewers who
know ve ry l ittle about the complexities of the I ri s h - E n g l i s h confl ict, let
alone about race re lat i o n s in I reland and E n g la n d , how a re we partici pat­
i n g in mainta i n i n g a n d pe rpetuat i n g certa i n raci a l and cu ltu ra l stereo­
types? As a B l ac k British s o l d i e r who has been sent on a " peacekee p i n g
m i s s i o n " t o N o rt h e rn I re l a n d , h o w i n fact i s J o d y be i n g pos itioned b y those
in power?
At one point in The Crying Game, Jody's face i s brutually beaten
by one of the I RA m e m be rs , al most as if he were a w i l d a n i ma l that needed
tam i n g . I rec a l l be i n g ve ry u ncomfo rtable as the camera s h ot zoomed in
fo r a close- u p of Jody's swo l l e n , bruised, and b leed i n g l i ps , part i c u l arly as
he tried to speak. O nce agai n I as k, "Whose C ry i n g Game i s be i n g p l ayed
at the expense of what Others ? " C u lt u ral C ritic J o h n Fiske, i n h i s analys i s
o f M ichel Foucault's Discipline and Punish, 8 re m i nds us that,
Foucau lt has revealed in deta i l the ways in which west­
ern societies h ave made the body i nto the s ite where
social powe r is most compe l l i ng ly exe rted . The body i s
where the powe r-beari n g defi n itions o f s o c i a l and sexual
n o rmal ity are, l iterally, e mbod i e d , and i s co nseq u e ntly
the site of d isci p l i ne and p u n i s h ment for deviat i o n from
those n o rms. 9
The c u rious th i n g about t h i s spectac le of " d isci p l i ne and p u n i s h ment" i s
that it h a s l ittle t o do w ith t h e actual p l ot. T h e i mage o f J ody's captu re and
beat i n g occ u r wit h i n the f i rst fifteen m i n utes o r so of the f i l m . M eanwh i l e ,
t h e re are a conti n ual stri n g o f "o/Other" i mages i n t h i s f i l m which
spectacle-ize and exoticize Black male sexual ity, the body, and B l ack
c u l t u re-i mages w h i c h cause the a u d i e n ce to g aze and gape, and eve n
l a u g h . Desp ite i n s i ste nce by some that t h i s fi l m i s actually about a
" h ostage crisis , " how a low-ra n k i n g B lack B ritish sold i e r could s e rve as a
serious pol itical bargai n i n g c h i p i n g a i n i n g conces s i o n s from t h e British
i s m o re a p o i nt of abs u rd ity, than myste ry .
Sti l l oth e rs i n s i st that The Crying Game i s an i m portant f i l m
because it sympathetically portrays , a t least a t the l e v e l o f f ri e n d s h i p
betwee n Ferg i s a n d J o d y and l ater between Ferg i s and Jody's B l ack g ay
lover, how the wh ite I ri s h m i n o rity have much i n co m m o n with B ritish
B l acks, even Black g ays , and need to be p rotected as s u c h . While this
p o i nt s h o u l d not be i g n o red o r d i s m issed , there i s also concern that an
1 07
E x p l o rations i n Eth n i c Stu d ies
i m po rtant critique invo l v i n g race and powe r re lations s h o u l d not be so
easily ove rlooked . There is n o q u est i o n that we s h o u l d u n d e rstan d the
I ri s h - E n g l is h conf l i ct and p rotect I ri s h as a m i n o rity g ro u p ; howeve r, in t h e
context o f U . S . racial pol itics and recent events such a s the Rodney K i n g
beat i n g , ve rd ict , and e n s u i n g L . A . rebe l l i o n , it is j ust a s i m po rtant to
advance c ritical i nte rrogati ons of med ia and c i n e matic uses of the B l ac k
body as a s ite where socia l , c u l t u ral , eco n o m i c , and hete rosexual forces
are be i n g exe rted . 1 0 How then is Jody's body util ized as a titil lati n g l ead
in to a su pposedly "m ode rn ro mance" fo r a mai nstream, and most l i kely,
heterosexual a u d i e nce?
Perhaps this f i l m s h o u l d be re -titled "The C ry i n g Shame" be­
cause what it s ucceeds i n doing is d i recti ng our gaze to a more exotic or
fet i s h i zed image of B lacks 1 1 -a n image w h i c h is hard ly "modern " for the
n i n eties. The Crying Game is a s h a me because it real l y does noth i n g
m o re t h a n re-c reate t h e heterosexual gaze/voye u rism o f another k i n d of
body port rayed in this f i l m-the B lack body of Jody's lover, O i l . After Jody
te l l s Ferg is of h i s lover Oil and soo n after d i es in a truck accide nt/escap e ,
the f i l m ' s foc us s h ifts and ends u p exoticiz i n g O i l as we l l a s Ferg is ' n e w
fas c i n ation (and o u rs) w i t h O i l . It is now O i l ' s Black body, which o n o n e
leve l is the body o f a B l a c k woman made "othe r" by race and g e n d e r , a n d
o n another, the body o f a B lac k transvestite m a d e " other" b y race a n d
sexual ity . For m a n y mai nstream f i l m goers , who are most l i kely hete ro­
sexua l , the c i n e matic voye u ri s m of watc h i n g Ferg i s ' att racti o n to a n
" i mage" o f a seduct ive B l a c k w o m a n who tu rns o ut t o be a transvestite
c a n n ot and s h o u l d not be m i staken or d i s m issed by serious c ritics . It is
p e rhaps too easy and conve n i e nt to foc us o n Ferg i s ' brotherly compas­
sion towards Jody and now this transference of h is new love (i nte rraci a l
and homoerotic des i re ? ) f o r O i l . A s a hete rosex ua l , t h o u g h I f e e l the
te n s i o n and l i m itations of my c u l t u ral critique h e re , I am sti l l ve ry m u c h
awa re that t h i s f i l m d e picts a c o m p l e x powe r d y n a m i c e n meshed w i t h
race, c u l t u re , and sexual pol itics. be l l hooks , i n h e r critiq ue of the f i l m
Paris is Burning, makes t h i s h e l pf u l and poi nted observation about
heterosexual pol itics of d o m i n ati o n :
Wit h i n wh ite s u p re m acist, capital ist patriarchy t h e expe­
rience of men d ress i n g as wome n , appeari n g in d rag,
has always been regarded by the do mi nant heterosexist
c u l t u ral gaze as a s i g n that o n e is symbol ically c rossing
ove r from a rea l m of powe r i nto a rea l m of powe rless­
ness . 1 2
For N e i l J o rda n , a white heterosexual scree nwriter/d i rector, to focus o n
O i l , the B lack transvestite , reasserts t h e perogative o f t h e wh ite , male
colo n i ze r q u ite l ite ra l ly t h ro u g h the characte r of Ferg i s . The pol itics of
heterosexual p h a l l ocentric d o m i nat i o n at work here is even more com1 08
Sciachitano- Whose Crying Gam e ?
p l ex and en meshed g iven t h e fact that i n the U . S . "[h]eterosexual ity as a
form of oppression has also bee n s h aped by the h i story of racis m . ', 1 3
H i sto rical ly "[r]acist ste reotypes of B l ack people [wo m e n and men] as
primord i a l l y sexual have p rovided wh ite m e n with a way of deflecting
responsi b i l ity for racial sexual abuse and exploitatio n . . . ,, 1 4 Altho u g h
Ferg i s is perce ived a s the kind caretake r/peacekeeper, it is h i s hete ro­
sexual gaze which constructs O i l as an object of h i s (and o u r) d e s i re ; O i l ' s
body beco mes the s ite o f sexual a n d c o l o n i a l d o m i nati o n . She is n o t o n l y
positioned a s exotic and e rotic, but is eve n f u rt h e r marg i nal ized a s a Black
gay who has no agency. At the end of the f i l m , it i s i ro n ically Oil who has
the gun i n her han d , n ot F e rg i s . It is Oil who must c o m m it an act of
violence towa rds a wh ite woman w h o is Fe rg i s ' former I RA comrad e . And
yet, i n the f i n a l e , it is Ferg i s-the g reat wh ite I ri s h h e ro/savior-who takes
the m u rd e r rap for O i l . W h i l e o n one level it appears that O i l exe rcises
powe r because s h e wields the g u n-a n i n stru ment of power usual ly h e l d
b y hete rosexual me n-o n a n o t her , there i s somet h i n g very d istu rb i n g
about this ro le reversal h e re . F ro m h e r f i rst encounter w i t h Ferg i s , O i l is
actually i n a ve ry powe rless posit i o n . She has no idea who Ferg i s i s or
what h i s assoc iations a re . Oil c e rta i n ly does n ot have the faintest idea of
Ferg i s ' re lati o n s h i p to Jody eve n u nt i l the end. F e rg is actually with holds
this i nformat i o n . J u st as h e cannot b r i n g h i mself to tell Oil of Jody's death
or his complicity, he also can n ot acknowledge his homoerotic des i res and
accept the fact that Oil is gay. Upon real i z i n g the shocki ng truth , Ferg is '
reacti o n is a p hysical o n e : h e vo m its. By complyi n g w i t h the f i l m i nd ustry's
req u est " not to t e l l "-not to reveal the s hocki n g conc l u s i o n [shocki ng to
whom ?]-we , as hete rosex u a l s , p a rt i c i p ate in and pe rpet uate the
exoticizat i on of B lack gays . It is c ritical to u n d e rstand that whether we are
watching The Crying Game, repeated i mages of Rod ney K i n g ' s beati n g ,
or t h e 1 99 1 L.A. rebe l l i o n , " [t] h is is n o t a s i m p l e see i n g , an act o f d i rect
percept i o n , but the rac i a l p ro d u ct i o n of the vi s i b l e , the wo rki ngs of racial
con-strai nts o n what it means to 'see, 1 5 Tran sfo rm i n g i mages and
creat i n g c ritical alte rnatives means we m ust take the risk of b reaki n g the
silence -a s i lence i m posed by a d o m i n ant c u lt u ral d isco u rse which
i n scribes , commod ifies , and c o n s u mes "the Othe r. "
S i m i larly, be l l hooks c h a l l e n g e s u s to "transform i mages of
b l ackness, of black peo p l e , o u r ways of looking and o u r ways of b e i n g
seen . ,, 1 6 She argu es that :
It is not an issue o f ' u s ' and 'the m . " The issue i s really one
of sta n dpo i nt . Fro m w h at pol itical perspective d o we
d rea m , look, c reate , and take actio n ? For those of us
who d a re to des i re d iffe re ntly, who seek to look away
from the convent i o n a l ways of seek i n g blackness and
o u rse lves , the issue of race and re p rese ntation is not
j u st a q uestion of critiq u i n g the "status q u o " . It is also
1 09
E x p l o rations in Eth n i c Stu d ies
about transfo rm i n g the i mage, creat i n g alte rnatives ,
as k i n g o u rse lves q uestions about what types of i mages
s u bvert , pose critical a lte rnatives, and transform o u r
worldviews a n d move us away from d ual istic t h i n ki n g
about good a n d bad . 1 7
U n less we become c ritical citizens who see o u r task as q u estio n i n g these
i mages, these na rratives and perspect ives , we are b o u n d , as hooks
conc l u d e s , to " s i mply re-c reate the i m pe rial gaze-the look that seeks to
d o m i n ate , s u bj u g ate, and colon ize. ,, 1 8 This is obvio usly a c h a l l e n g e
w h i c h i nvolves us al l-whethe r we are f i l m-makers o r f i l m goers , teachers
o r students, co m m u n ity wo rke rs or res ide nts , h ete rosexuals o r gays/
l e s b i a n s/ bisexuals-we can tra nsform these i mages of men and women
of color by how we look, how we t h i n k , how we tal k , and ho pefu l ly, by how
we fee l .
NOTES
1 be l l hooks , Black Looks: Race and Representation (Bosto n : South End
P ress, 1 992) , 5.
2 p rati b h a Parmar, Black Looks, 5.
3 be l l hooks, Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black (Bosto n :
South E n d P ress, 1 989) , 1 27 .
4 USA Today, 1 8 February 1 993.
5 R o b e rt F . R e i d - P harr, "The Spectacle of B l ackness , " Radical A merica
24 (Apri l 1 993) : 60.
6 R e i d - P ha rr.
7 See P a u l a G i d d i ng s , When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black
Women on Race and Sex in America ( N ew York: Banta m , 1 984 ) , 26-31 .
8 M ichel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (New
York: Vi ntage Books , 1 979) .
9 J o h n Fiske, Television Culture (Lo n d o n : Routled g e , 1 987) , 248 .
1 10
Sciachitano- Whose Crying Game ?
1 0 For a powe rf u l analysis of how R od n ey King's body became " red uced
to a phantasm of wh ite racist agg ress i o n , " see J u d ith Butler' s " E ndan­
g e red/E ndangeri n g : Schematic Rac i s m and Wh ite P a ranoia , " i n Reading
Rodney King/Reading Urban Uprising, ed. by R o b e rt G o od i n g -W i l l iams
( N ew York: R o utled g e , 1 993) , 20.
1 1 For an excel le nt analys is of the fetis h i s m of B l ack bodies a n d the
construction of wh ite identity, see Kobe na M e rcer's " S k i n H ead Sex
Thing: Racial D iffe re nce and the Homoerotic I ma g i n a ry, " i n How Do I
Look?, e d . by Bad O bject-Cho ices (Seatt l e : Bay P ress, 1 99 1 ) , 1 7 1 - 1 75 ,
1 89-206.
1 2 hooks, Black Looks, 1 46 .
1 3 Diane Richardson , " Sexual ity and M a l e D o m i nance , " i n Thinking
Feminist: Key Concepts in Women 's Studies, ed ited by Diane R i c h a rdson
and Victoria Robinson ( N ew York: The G u i lford P ress, 1 993) , 92 . See
also Ba rbara Omo lade's " H ea rts of Da rkness , " in Desire: The Politics of
Sexuality, ed ited by A n n S n itow, C h risti ne Stanse l l , and S h aro n Thomp­
son (Londo n : V i rago, 1 984) .
1 4 Rich ardso n , and Omolade. See also Kobe n a M e rcer, " S k i n Head Sex
Th i n g , " 206 , and espec i a l ly F rantz Fanon's Black Skin, White Masks,
trans l ated by C h a rles Lam M a rkman n ( N ew York: G rove Weidenfe l d ,
1 967) , 1 70 ; 1 77 - 1 80.
1 5 B utler, " E n d a n g e red/E n da n ge ri n g , " 1 6 .
1 6 hooks, Black Looks, 7.
1 7 hooks.
1 8 hooks .
111