The Souls of Black Girls

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 the rest. SOURCE OF THIS STORY