Shades of Love: Black Homosexuality Volume 1
(Click here)
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
DVD: Region Code 0Format: NTSC
DVD Release Date: 2007-12-27
Studio: Ijaba Films
DVD Reviews of Shades of Love: Black Homosexuality Volume 1
DVD Review: I suppose I have a different take...
Summary: 5 Stars
I cannot quibble with what another reviewer has said though the final word is hardly in. You know, this isn't the kind of thing where even the participants are entirely clear about what they think, no matter how articulate all of them might be. View this as a bit of history still bubbling and coming to fruition. Curiously, I found myself recognizing the people presented, identifying especially with those who were searching, wanting to hear more. Somehow I suspect that when we do get a better idea about sex and race that it will appear obvious, even though, as this movie documents, it was not.DVD Review: Talking Heads
Summary: 4 Stars
It's a sad fact of life that the twin evils of racism and homophobia are still very much around and thriving. It's also a sad fact of life, in my view, that these forms of bigotry render many of us invisible and our voices unheard. As black homosexuals - men and women - we very often find themselves and the issues we face largely ignored. Being both black and gay - often described as the "double-whammy" - often separates us from the wider society we inhabit. The same racism the black general population experiences on a daily basis is almost magnified in the LGBT community against black LGBT people. At the same time, homophobia within the black community pushes black LGBT people to the margins of their communities, pushing them into making choices that are not always to their benefit or, as it happens, to the benefit of the very communities that judge, question, harass and oppress them.
Produced and directed by Tressa Sanders and lasting just 52mins and 53secs, this is the first volume in a trilogy of documentaries that attempts to take a closer look at black homosexuality. It's in three parts: "Homosexuality in pre-colonial Africa", "Racism in the gay community" and "In Closing". The documentary is stark, no-frills and low budget. It's also very crudely edited but that doesn't take anything away from the power of the talking heads telling their stories.
The documentary starts by looking at pre-colonial and present day Africa; challenging the popular fallacy that homosexuality is something that the white man brought to the continent. The eleven participants - men, women, scholars, intellectuals and community workers - are all well versed on the issue, especially as they pertain to Africa. Some had actually met with indigenous Africans. Some had travelled to Ghana and one had actually lived in there but I feel this first part of the documentary would've been a lot more powerful if it had included participation from Africans themselves, even if it was Africans who have emigrated to the US and are now residents or citizens.
But then maybe the documentary maker asked but no one was prepared to speak on camera. There was one participant of Caribbean origin, thankfully.
The participants seemed to me to have a very romanticised, rose-tinted view of what homophobia in Africa is like though (which is why it would've been invaluable to have input from some gay people from Africa, even if they didn't want to appear on camera) and I was reminded of the fact that people who visit a place do not necessarily experience it in the same way as people who actually live there.
Some of the issues explored include the theory that homosexuality has always existed in Africa but that it's just not as institutionalised as it is in the US (and in the west as a whole); that it was the white man and Christianity that introduced the notion of homophobia and anti-gay legislation to Africa; that in Africa, community is given priority over the individual whereas in the US, the individual is more important than the community.
The whole idea of labels and the preference for the term "single gender loving" over "gay" or "lesbian" is also talked about.
The documentary goes on in the second part, to look at racism in the gay community and looks at, for instance, the "great myth" and objectification of black men by their white counterparts, the difficulties often encountered when black and white men try to work together towards achieving a certain goal (race always gets in the way, we're told), power structures within interracial relationships and how power and money interact with race.
There's a lot more to this piece but it would be impossible - not to mention counterproductive - to go into all of it here. I got a definite feeling of affirmation from watching the documentary but I didn't feel I learned much from it - apart from the shocking realisation that some of the very issues black gay men here in Leeds are grappling with as I write this, are being grappled with by their counterparts in places like Albany and Washington, D.C. I used to think the US was streets ahead of us in certain respects but now I'm not so sure. A colleague and I are actually writing an article on this very subject for a national magazine and it doesn't make comfortable reading, even from our point of view.
Whether said publication will actually have the stones to go ahead and publish the article without taking an editorial scalpel to its soul though - or indeed, go ahead and publish it at all - still remains to be seen.
But I digress. I definitely found it interesting to watch and I definitely feel it would be an excellent accompanying educational tool if I were facilitating any discussions or presenting any workshops in the future, on the issues faced by black gay men and lesbians, especially in a white dominated society. A surprisingly large number of people still have no idea. I look forward to ordering and watching Volumes 2 and 3.
Description of Shades of Love: Black Homosexuality Volume 1
Shades of Love: Black Homosexuality is a trilogy of documentaries that express the experiences and problems of black homosexuals. Volume one dispels the myth about the origin of homosexuality among those of African descent. It exposes the many misconceptions that there was no homosexuality in pre-colonial Africa and that homosexuality was introduced to Africans by Europeans. This volume also brings into the open the rampant racism within the LGBT communities. It exposes the hypocrisy among those invoking the spirit of the civil rights movement in an effort to obtain gay rights, who, while doing so, are ferociously practicing the same racism that sparked the civil rights movement of days past.This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.
General DVDs
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Bestsellers in General DVDs
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Full-Screen Edition)Release date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
![Quantum of Solace [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Quantum-of-Solace-Blu-ray-B001PPLIFU-X.jpg)
Quantum of Solace [Blu-ray]MGM HOME VIDEO (UNDER FOX); Release date: 2009-03-24; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
Lost: The Complete Fifth SeasonRelease date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $36.99
Price in other shops:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Single-Disc Edition)PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2009-10-20; DVD
Best price: $12.25
Price in other shops:
Terminator Salvation (Widescreen Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-12-01; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
![G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Two-Disc Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/G-I-Joe-The-Rise-of-Cobra-Two-Disc-Edition-Digital-Copy-Blu-ray-B002NXSRX4-X.jpg)
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Two-Disc Edition + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray]PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $18.90
Price in other shops:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Two-Disc Limited Special Edition + Digital Copy)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Widescreen Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $9.99
Price in other shops:
![Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy & BD-Live) [Blu-ray] Image](/images/Harry-Potter-and-the-Half-Blood-Prince-Blu-ray-DVD-Combo-Digital-Copy-BD-Live-Blu-ray-B000ZELISO-X.jpg)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Blu-ray/ DVD Combo + Digital Copy & BD-Live) [Blu-ray]Warner Brothers; Release date: 2009-12-08; DVD
Best price: $15.99
Price in other shops:
Star Trek (Single-Disc Edition)PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO; Release date: 2009-11-17; DVD
Best price: $8.49
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Boy CultureMAGYAR,DEREK; Release date: 2007-08-14; DVD
Best price: $11.60
Price in other shops:
Noah's Arc - The Complete Second SeasonPar; Release date: 2007-06-12; DVD
Best price: $29.75
Price in other shops:
Dirty LaundryDUNBAR,ROCKMOND; Release date: 2008-02-12; DVD
Best price: $8.46
Price in other shops:
Noah's Arc: Jumping the BroomSTEPHENS,DARRYL; Release date: 2009-02-03; DVD
Best price: $16.77
Price in other shops:
On the DownlowIMAGE ENT.; Release date: 2007-01-09; DVD
Best price: $8.70
Price in other shops:
CoverFOX,VIVICA A.; Release date: 2008-05-13; DVD
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops:
On the Down 'N LowRelease date: 2003-11-04; DVD
Best price: $13.13
Price in other shops:
Parallel SonsRelease date: 2005-09-06; DVD
Best price: $19.50
Price in other shops:
The DL Chronicles: The Complete First SeasonRYKODISC; Release date: 2008-02-05; DVD
Best price: $13.66
Price in other shops:
Tongues UntiedRelease date: 2008-03-18; DVD
Best price: $13.70
Price in other shops: