Filmmaker Daphne Valerius takes a stark look at the
relationship between media images and the self-esteem of African
American women in her moving documentary The Souls of Black Girls.
Here, she shares the purpose behind her passion, and thoughts on what
it takes for us all to start loving what we see in the mirror.
Q: What made you name your film, The Souls of Black Girls?
The title “The Souls of Black Girls” derives from the seminal book by
W.E.B Dubois “The Souls of Black Folks” where he discusses the
double-consciousness condition where there is a duality of being a
Negro and an American in the United States. I was inspired and
intrigued by this concept when I was first introduced to it and I was
inspired to name my piece, The Souls of Black Girls because I attempt
to expand upon the duality of people of color but I wanted to include
gender within that very same concept presented by Dubois. So I’ve
chosen to expand on the idea that as Black women we have a “triple
consciousness” condition where we have to be a Negro, a woman and an
American and within that identity we also struggle to define our own
standard of beauty.
Q: When did you find that film making could be your “voice” to speak out or express yourself?
This piece was done as a journalistic broadcast piece and so when given
the opportunity to focus and concentrate on one area to develop my
final master’s thesis I chose to focus on this topic and issue building
upon research that I conducted as a Ronald McNair Scholar on this very
same topic. So I found my “voice” by during my studies as a graduate
student of Broadcast Journalism at Emerson College.
Q: A documentary of this poignancy is much needed in today’s
oversaturated culture of bling and booty. When did you get to the point
where you decided to do something about what we see on the screen and
in the magazines?
This piece actually came about as a result of my own insecurities
growing up as a young black girl in our culture and society. For me I
was always very much “into” media images and entertainment as an
aspiring performer but I always felt very much invisible and uncertain
of myself as a result of not seeing a reflection of those who look like
me in magazines, advertisements, or television and of the women of
color that looked like me there were few. And in my youth I can say
that I felt very much like Pecola Breedlove of Toni Morrison’s “The
Bluest Eye” to a certain degree. So for me in putting together this
documentary, it was very much a selfish exploration of my own feelings
and understanding how and why I was influenced by media images. But
also realizing that this can’t just be me and so as I was in search of
trying to answer these questions of myself I was also hoping to foster
open and honest dialogue among women because I knew it wasn’t just “me.”
Q: The documentary includes interviews from some of the most
intelligent and passionate voices of our community; most
importantly—voices that work directly in the media in some form (film,
print, television, etc). How did you decide on who all to include
and/or interview?
I can honestly say that God decided for me who would be included in
this piece. But it also came as a result of relationships that I had
built over the years. Chuck D was the very first individual attached to
this piece. I had a relationship with both Chuck D and Regina King
prior to me putting together this piece and so I simply asked if they
would be interested in being a part of this piece and God took care of
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