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THE DARKER SIDE OF BLACK

Intro

Isaac Julien’s The Darker Side Of Black (1994, U.K.) is a documentary that seeks to discuss the attitudes and open prejudice that are indoctrinated by hip-hop and dancehall music culture, which are genres that heavily reflect and express Black people’s perspective. The film takes a close look at how these musical styles seem to include a common theme of nihilism, which supports the ideal that life is inherently meaningless and thus morality is simply a socially constructed concept. British director, Isaac Julien takes his audience members on a thorough tour through the lives and music influenced by specific controversial artists, as well as the history and social context of hip-hop, dancehall, and reggae cultures. Some of the most prominent topics that become focal points of this documentary, including homophobia, sexism, gun glorification, and virility, are frequently illustrated and addressed in the aforementioned genres of contemporary Black music. As a Black gay man exploring this topic, Julien is able to accomplish a valuable narrative that concerns his own misguided brethren, while also indicating how outside observers may misperceive the ongoing prejudice and violence that goes hand-in-hand with popular Black music culture.

Content And Form

The Darker Side Of Black is a shorter documentary, running only 55 minutes, but rich in content and shot on 16mm color film stock to be eventually converted to digital video. Throughout the film, director Isaac Julien personally conducts a number of interviews with many, almost all Black, individuals, mainly hip-hop and dancehall music artists, homosexual victims, scholars from various national backgrounds, religious figures, fans and critics of each music culture, as well as the former prime minister of Jamaica, Michael Manly. In addition, Julien provides his own understanding and perception toward the subjects he is exploring by including his own occasional voice-over, which in turn amplifies the primary issues highlighted by this work, and also makes this film partially operate in the participatory mode of documentaries. The film also intercuts original captured footage of dancehall and hip-hop club scenes, where participants dance and majorly respond to the music in both Jamaica and the U.S. Some of the other footage Julien obtains in the construction of this documentary includes homosexuals’ reactions to aggressive homophobic sentiments embedded in music, intercut snippets of recognizable but controversial dancehall and hip-hop videos, as well as re-appropriated footage that offers the depiction of Christian imagery to pair with religious insight or discussion. Julien does an incredible job of giving the film a natural flow by editing all of this aforementioned visual material in a cohesive and smooth format. One of the best examples of this the transition occurs from 4:30-6:00, when Isaac reveals a perfect example showcasing his direct involvement in shaping the film’s connection between Jamaican social culture, especially dancehall music and the United States’ hip-hop culture mostly originated in New York City.

At the start of this seamless transition, Julien is using a well-composed voice-over to explain how the sounds and loops attributed to dancehall completely reflect the sense of powerlessness that largely affects the lower-class communities, which thus lead to an overcompensating bodily reaction expressed through intense dance. The audience then sees frames that show dancehall fanatics emphatically dancing in a nightclub scene, as the music permeates the film space, overriding Julien’s need to further narrate. Then, the film sound drifts back into voice-over as Julien makes a connection between dancehall and hip-hop by commenting on the migration of innovative Jamaican sound systems to America, in which Black communities would create hip-hop. As Julien provides the voiceover, the audience also sees the footage cut from Jamaican dancehall clubs to the streets of Harlem, New York, to transition into hip-hop and make connections about the ideals of nihilism that embody both music genres. The film continues by cutting smoothly into an interview that Julien conducts with two Black women in a record store, discussing the undesirable effects hip-hop has on the youth and how they claim it alters the mindset of young Black people. The numerous visual and audible transitions that occur between 4:30-6:00 perfectly showcase the basic formula that Julien follows to connect the dancehall community and hip-hop culture.

Political and Social Context

At the time that this film was made, there were extremely prevalent political and social contexts that heavily influenced the attitudes and mindsets of a widespread group of individuals as well as shaping the majority of this film’s overarching commentary. In fact, one could write an entire paper about how the political climate of both countries directly informs the Black nihilist sentiments that then become transformed and reflected in dancehall and hip-hop music. The film basically discusses how in Jamaica, society has accepted the fact that they can’t dictate their nations progress, which then gives them a sense of hopelessness and a need to express themselves in ways other than the mind. Former prime minister, Michael Manly, tells viewers that drug trade in Jamaica has also heavily affected the culture because the selling of ganja and cocaine has gone hand-in-hand with the multiplication of firearms and the desensitization of gun use, which is heavily represented in dancehall. Another important aspect of Jamaican society to note is that homosexuality is criminalized and made to be seen as repulsive and against the will of God. This anti-gay legal system also fosters an open opposition and intolerance toward homosexuals that may go as far as to utilize the desensitized gun to resolve the issue. DJ Buju Banton, one of the dancehall artists that Julien bravely interviews, elaborates on this societal willingness to use the gun, because he personally acts as one of the advocates for homophobic violence in his famous song, “Boom Bye Bye,” which also becomes subject to major scrutiny in Julien’s film. The director almost makes it his duty to depict the context of Jamaica in a way that makes the openly homophobic and violent attitudes of his brethren understandable, but obviously not in a way that supports any form of their misguided homophobia. In addition, Julien makes a similar effort, when he travels to the U.S., to make sense of the political and social climate that directly informs the violent, elitist, sexist, and homophobic lyrical content sometimes found in hip-hop. Essentially, the film argues that the content in hip-hop comes down to African-Americans also being a product of their complex environment and their naturally aggravated response to being shown that their views and presence doesn’t matter to the progression of the U.S. That sense of worthlessness and helplessness is responded to through hip-hop, by verbally reflecting on the violence that goes on in lower-class communities while also creating a persona of an able-bodied and minded alpha male, who can overcome their obstacles. In turn, by creating this image of a hard, strong-willed macho man, homosexuals become that much more outcast. Homosexuals especially find themselves at the brunt of aggressively charged hip-hop lyrics because many individuals in the Black community find homosexuality to be ungodly and not conducive to the continual procreation of the human species or in solidifying the strong machismo image found in hip-hop. Julien makes it clear that these controversial issues are heavily embedded in Black communities found in Jamaica and the U.S. because they mirror the content found in both of their music styles. As the director, he is able to create a strong bond between these diverse Black social spheres by connecting their similarities in not only the content, but also in the form and structure, by editing juxtaposed frames of both societies and linking them through his hardly intrusive, but necessary narration. It is also important to acknowledge that Isaac Julien is a homosexual Black-British director and therefore has a personal bias and heartfelt interest in using his film to explain why Black communities, especially in Jamaica and the U.S., have constructed this outspoken intolerance for homosexuals, with such violent undertones.

Scene Analysis

One of the most vivid and quintessential sequence of shots found in The Darker Side Of Black occurs from 17:00-20:15, in which the film makes a strong statement about homophobia and gun glorification reflected in Jamaican dancehall music. Julien begins this scene by showing spectators a snippet from a music video of DJ Buju Banton’s hateful hit “Boom Bye Bye.”

Julien begins the segment with the music video to give a context to the intriguing discussion to follow. Buju Banton’s lyrics are outright horrendous and speak openly about using guns against anybody that is perceived or known to be homosexual. The film then transitions to a talking-head interview with a legal aid from Kingston, Jamaica named Florizelle O'Connor with a quick interjecting gunshot clip. She talks about how Buju’s song is representing the dominant homophobic perspective shared in the Jamaican community. Not only that, but she argues that the song influences and shapes the direct societal response against gay individuals. Julien has a clear agenda in including her input because he too is horrified by the homophobic violence prevalent in Black communities and wants to offer scholars a platform to intellectually bash Buju’s ignorance. After Julien edits in this snippet of O'Connor’s interview, he intercuts an inter-title that reads, ‘sex culture’ accompanied by ominous rhythmic tones to further discuss the utter disregard and misguided hate many people have for those that lead deviant sexual lifestyles.

The audience then hears Julien participate overtly in the film by going into a somewhat poetic voice-over piece to enhance the viewers’ understanding of how homosexual individuals have become physical victims of dancehall and its listeners. As the film transitions into frames that aesthetically resemble paintings, which illustrate the bond of like genders and the immediate societal response with firearms, Julien states that “bad dreams are turning into violent realities for some, but most, don’t seem to care. The lyrical gun has now identified a new enemy taboo, queers” (18:04). However, Isaac Julien is no coward and decides to confront the victimization stemming from “Boom Bye Bye” by interrogating its homophobic creator himself, DJ Buju Banton. The director decides to precede the talking-head interview with Buju with a disclaimer concerning his open disregard and insensitivity toward equal and fair treatment of all humans.

This does overtly shape the film’s sentiment and director’s obvious attitude that homophobia is inherently wrong and should have no justified place in society. I, as an open-minded viewer and one that prides himself on treating people with respect, had no problem in aligning with the film’s argument but could see how a homophobic spectator would be displeased. Overall, I think that Julien is absolutely right in advocating for fairness and equality for homosexual people in Jamaica, because their lifestyle has been criminalized and therefore eliminates their voice and makes them often victims of unprovoked assault. Buju Banton’s interview goes as expected as he talks about his homophobia comfortably and sees no problem in it because it is the majority sentiment of almost everyone surrounding him. He doesn’t see any problems in his hit song’s message because it conveys the mutual attitude of Jamaica and it postures him as an alpha in popular culture. The film then appropriately cuts to another talking-head interview with gay musician Karl Fraizer who gives the victim’s perspective on the situation. I like that Julien gave so many sides to the issue because it effectively offered a platform for all the ridiculous, but absolutely essential counter-arguments to the film, which illustrate the homophobic consensus in Jamaica that is perpetuated by dancehall artists such as Buju Banton or Shabba Ranks. Karl Fraizer shares his valuable insight, which sees Buju’s song as an absolute threat to him and his lifestyle and argues that it completely advocates blind gun use toward any homosexual. I think it is also important to note Julien’s unique camera technique that he employs throughout all of these interviews by utilizing an almost fisheye lens distortion. In fact, Bruce Morrow questioned Julien’s use of this visual effect in the film in an extensive interview to which Julien replied, “We wanted to use a special lens to give the interviewees a sort of tableau, stylized, imagistic feeling, to get them to move away from being this sort of realist talking-head representation. Sometimes it worked- and sometimes not” (Morrow, p.413). Julien’s explanation of this camera use is completely understandable and shows the very deliberate experimentation that the director decided to fiddle with in this film. I’m not sure how affective this visual manipulation was, but in first watching the documentary I know that the interviews visually put me at ease and did give a sort of roundness to each film subject. Meaning that I felt that I could understand the ideals and mindsets that each subject represented without placing blame, because I acknowledged each person’s environments and societal upbringing. I think that this understanding, in part, comes with the painterly camera aesthetics and sensations that accompany these interviews. To complete this scene, Julien rhetorically asks the audience to give a final consideration of whether or not Buju’s “Boom Bye Bye” advocates the hateful bashing and physical abuse of perceived homosexuals. Then, to give the audience context and to wrap up the argument, Julien gives a final intercut of Buju’s music video which chants that he “won’t promote no Batty (Gay) Boy, they must be dead” (20:05).

In these just three minutes, Julien has made an impressively impactful statement about the wrongness behind homophobia in Jamaica and how its become solidified with support in popular dancehall culture. The culmination of film techniques, documentary structure, and the director’s personal relation to the film topic gives The Darker Side Of Black a resonating effect on its viewers.

Conclusion

Overall, I have high admiration for Isaac Julien’s creation of this work because he makes a bold statement about his brethren and has the right to be displeased with the treatment of fellow Black homosexuals. As far as the film’s critical reception went, Julien decided to shed some light on that in his interview with Bruce Morrow. The director stated that, “Since its screening in Berlin, Darker Side has now been shown in film festivals all over Europe, North America and Australia. It’s even been shown in South Africa, at the first lesbian and gay film festival. I really wouldn’t call Darker Side of Black a cinematic experience. It’s more televisual, really, which was correct for the subject matter to me. Sometimes one makes a film for more important reasons than the 'good review’ in the New York Times- though, of course, it’s nice if you get one! -or for the mere winning of a prize at a film festival” (Morrow, p.413). This shows that Julien’s film has reached the hearts and minds of diverse groups of people. One could hope that the film has raised further awareness about the unjustified social construction of homophobia in Black communities and has begun chiseling away at this perpetuation by informing spectators. Due to the fact that there is such a strong movement in support of homophobia it is valiant to see Julien break through barriers and reveal the context of a complicated situation. The film makes a distinct argument that the violent homophobic macho misogynist attitudes fostered in Black communities is a response to continually feeling useless, hated and undervalued in society. I think that the title The Darker Side Of Black has two important meanings because of that context. First of all, the more obvious meaning to the title to be derived is that all of these negative attitudes and violence spawning in Black communities is a darker aspect to all of the comparative success of hip-hop and dancehall artists. In addition, I think that the “darker side” also refers to the unnoticed oppression that acts as the foundation to all of this disrespect and negativity seen in the ideals of Black communities. Nihilism, or the sense or meaningless that has infected the minds of many Black individuals had come hand-in hand with the glorification of firearms as well as the constant hating of those perceived to be of lesser utility or worth. The Darker Side Of Black, is real quite an ingenious title because it is reflexive in itself. At a first glance, on a surface level, that title perfectly reflects what the media and popular culture wants the mass community to see, which is the negativity and hate multiplying in Black culture and music. However, if one takes a closer look at the title, it really has to do with the unnoticed elements or aspects that are hidden in the shadows about the context and background behind Black communities in both Jamaica and the U.S. and how people’s environments lead to their negative, misguided frames of reference.

Works Cited:

Morrow, Bruce and Isaac Julien. “An Interview with Isaac Julien.” Callaloo 18.2 (Spring 1995), 406-415.

The Darker Side Of Black. Dir. Isaac Julien. BBC. 1994. Film.

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