BERRY DUKE AND DARK GIRLS

Usually when we think of the name Berry, we see the face of Halle however this Berry, first name, D. Channsin, nickname Chann, is the Producer/Executive Producer who is partnered with Actor, writer, Producer/Executive/Producer, Bill Duke on the riveting documentary, Dark Girls. Berry in his discussion with USC Cinematic Arts Society’s audience hosted by Alex Algo,  told of how he came up with the Dark Girl concept after being called by Duke. He heard Duke’s idea of how he wanted to explore more deeply the subject of color and race, pride and prejudice, basically the plight of the African American woman, the dark African American woman.

The big lipped, big booty, under educated, over educated one. The one that we sneer at cuz she wears her hair wash and wig wear style, the pressed hair one, the natural one, the dark one, the light one, the paper bag matched one and oh yeh, the white one with the straight hair that can nap up if left uncombed.  If one goes down South, white folks got lips and buts. If one steps into some of the Australian Aborigine cultures some Aborigines’ are very white skinned with very textured hair, even dreadlocks in some cases.  Dark Girls, covers and accurately accounts for the deeply etched wounds of all dark women from around the world, who have suffered the blows of misfortune due to the color of their skin.  The film starts off with a beautiful young girl, around the age of 7-8.  This girl is beyond stunning by any measure of beauty, yet she projects a lowered esteem, which reflects the idea that she is unattractive.

We later discover that this young girl has been, and is being taunted, by the fact that people identify her color with something negative, the dark color, that African black, blue black, blue green black, the black that’s darker than all of the Arabian nights put together.  Black, “something devoid of color” a color that lacks all things human. A subliminal diagram, drawn in real live time, exists on the mental screens of America, which distinguishes human beings by color, not by content.  The documentary addresses psychological boundaries set forth by experts on the subject who also suffer from these same absurdities, although conscious and aware enough to do research on their own. All of the players in the film have a wealth of vigor and personal know how, when it comes to their particular viewpoints on the subject.  Comedienne Michael Colyar, laughs it up while discussing this very disturbing and disturbing subject.  How did we allow this to happen? Who ordained another human now charged with a sanctified gift of deliverance to all things wo/man? This includes, skin color, eye color, booty size and of course gender description?  How does one describe those of us who don’t fit the syndrome, the domino effect?  We be human first, skin color last.  Is it not true that in times of crisis, man as mammals instinctively flock together and naturally fight to defend themselves against natural disasters.  What deranged person started the paper bag test?  Ask any of the victims of 911 did death care about their family members color or gender.

Oscar nominated actress, Viola Davis says it best in the film when describing her personal healing process.  Ms. Davis finally had to realize and seek therapy in order to know how to better take responsibility for her own actions and reactions”. We all do. How this question of color vs non-color has now been defined by a certain culture’s characteristics is beyond belief in a vast technical age.  The accountable memories of each person interviewed is a tearful barrier of truth laid out in a fillet styled menu of hurt and pain, suffered at the caring hands of European marketing. Cosmetic and bleaching creams being the forerunners of it’s new world order.  Emily Yang, a Korean talked about her own life experience in her culture wherein, she was the darkest in her family and her family had skins fairer than fair. Whoa! how about that revelation. Korea, China and Japan all hold respectively their personal racial liberties when it comes to color and caste.   Who keeps the vicious cycle going, spreading infection likened to the movie, 28 Days.  The air is wreaking of the smell of anger, hate and outrage. Which GODS of the many revered and respected ones, set up the rule that stated, In a loud crescendo”All men and women are not created equal”, if one is of a different color then cast them out with stones.  Then Mr or Ms. whomever, why not take the rest of the kingdom’s varieties and cast them out as well? You know, our group of sustainable life supporters, the fruits, trees, animals, stones, minerals, etc.

Why can all of creation have differences, even some to the extreme and be in harmony? What happened to his-manity, with all of his outdated wisdom?  All we can say is that in the case of Dark Girls, we have to put them in a rare stone bag of their own.   You see these particular stones have been trampled on for centuries, walked on top of without notice, dug up but not sorted out. These rare stones upon polishing and looking through a very fine microscope, are recognizably rare, they are black and as we all know, black stones aren’t found that often.    There is an ancient Buddhist phrase which says, “A person’s body neither falls from the heavens nor springs from the earth.  It is composed of the fleshly bodies of his father and mother. If one harms his own body, he harms the bodies of his father and mother.”   On The Benefit of Taking the Tonsure.