Educational Media Reviews Online

Daughters of the Dust is standard material for any academic or public library collection. This film was the first film directed by an African American woman that was commercially distributed, is a moving piece of cinematography about a unique African American culture, and provides a distinctive look at African American women’s roles in family and society. Daughters of the Dust is a recognized classic of African American women’s historical cinema—almost as well-known as The Color Purple—and many scholars and movie critics have written about the importance of this film in broadening the definition of the African American cinematic landscape.

The film tells the story of an African American family, the Peazants, who are planning to leave their home on the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia and move to the mainland. The members of the Peazant family are the descendents of slaves and part of the distinctive Gullah culture in this region. Set in 1902, the film evokes a strong sense of connection with the past – a past rooted in West Africa and in American slavery, but also in a hopeful future. Julie Dash expertly ties narratives of past, present, and future together in the film with strong female characters, symbolic representations, and Gullah customs. In order to accurately portray the Gullah culture, Dash completed in-depth research, including oral history interviews with the Gullah people. She received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to accomplish this research and create the film.

One of the primary strengths of Daughters of the Dust lies in the variety of roles that the film reveals for African American women, both as individuals and as members of a complex, evolving, and dynamic family. The matriarch of the family, Nana Peazant, played by Cora Lee Day, is deeply connected to the family’s departed ancestors and West African traditions. Barbara-O plays Yellow Mary, a woman who has returned home from Cuba with her lesbian lover in to commemorate the Peazant family’s departure from their home at Ibo Landing. Trula, Yellow Mary’s lover, is depicted as a quiet outcast to the family’s introspective reunion. Other characters include Eula, who has been raped by a white landowner; Viola, who is also returning from the mainland, but who has converted to Christianity; and Iona, who has fallen in love with an American Indian. Tension between the Peazant family’s male and female members is primarily evident in the character of Eli, Eula’s husband, who is unable to accept his wife’s unborn child as his own.

The 1999 Special Deluxe Edition includes several special features which enhance the DVD. The audio commentary by director Julie Dash assists in explaining the various distinct cultural practices, folklore, and symbolism illustrated in the film. The documentary Touching Our Own Spirit: The Making of Daughters of the Dust includes an interview with director Dash and also proves helpful in defining context and her detailed vision for the film. Dash has also written a novel based on the film which instructors may find beneficial as a companion to the movie. The supplementary interview with historian Robert Farris Thompson, a prominent history professor at Yale University and a specialist in African art, does not significantly augment the film. New editions of this release should include other scholars in African American women’s history in order to broaden and update outside historical and critical perspectives of Dash’s work.

The lack of subtitles in Daughters of the Dust makes it difficult for audiences to understand the dialogue, which is often presented in Gullah patois. The cinematography is visually stunning, but the storyline is often difficult to follow because of the non-linear narrative that develops very gradually. This narrative style lends a dream-like quality to the film, but can also cause confusion and frustration for the modern viewer. Undergraduates would benefit from in-depth contextual explanation and discussion before viewing the film. Since this is a visual masterpiece and a breakthrough for the African American women’s cinema, the film certainly warrants digital re-mastering for picture quality and audio and, in the process, would also greatly benefit from the inclusion of subtitles. Overall, the film continues to be relevant to contemporary audiences and will remain a classic historical drama.

Awards

• Cinematography Award, 1991 Sundance Film Festival
• Selected for the National Film Registry, 2004