The following review was written by Veronique Hester, a Chicago high school student, as part of Columbia College Chicago’s Columbia Links journalism program for high school students and Chicago Urban League. RogerEbert.com has partnered with the Chicago Urban League and Columbia Links to mentor these students and to give them a platform for their writing. Read more about the program here.
“Afraid of Dark”
Directed by Mya B.
4 stars
The
film “Afraid of Dark” by May B. shows how white people view black men. The film
seeks to explore why society is so afraid of dark, which represents black men.
White people view black men as a threat to society and often times, their view
is influenced by the notion that black men are aggressive and violent animals.
The film also tries to explain black men’s journey into manhood through topics
such as sexuality, responsibility and how they navigate life in general. Often times, the things that bring young boys
into manhood are used against black men. The overall premise of the film is
that white people are scared of black men because of their history of enslavement
and all the experiences that followed them in America.
Personally,
the film opened my eyes and made me realize how black men and black people are
perceived in general. The film also stresses how raising African-American boys
is a struggle. There are differences between children, especially young African-American boys who are raised by a single parent and those who are raised in a
two parent household. Those differences cause positive or negative impacts on a
child’s life. Parents try to teach their children how to obey authority. But even
then some white people still perceive some young black males as a threat.
Recently,
there has been a trend of police brutality on black men. For instance, Eric
Garner was put in an illegal choke hold by a white police officer in New York
City even after saying “I can’t breathe” eleven times. The
police officers viewed Eric as a threat because he was outside selling loose
cigarettes. Since Eric was a big person and a black man, they wrongly assumed
that he was a bad guy. And then there are the stories of Trayvon Martin from
Florida, Michael Brown from Missouri, John Crawford III from Ohio, Oscar Grant
from California and 12-year-old Tamir Rice from Cleveland. All of the
names that were just mentioned were African-American males who were murdered by
people from a different race who were afraid of their dark skin.
Many of the
events that took place back during slavery times are still being carried on in
today’s world. People have started being
more creative with their prejudices but the fear of “dark” things, people and
places is still very much real. White people have instilled the perception that
black men are inferior to everyone else and these terrible thoughts cause
stereotypical perceptions about black men. These perceptions have proven deathly in many cases, so many that there
is not enough space to include all of the names. I am grateful for the
opportunity that I received to view the film “Afraid of Dark” by Mya B., but
more importantly to be offered the chance to be a part of the conversation
surrounding society’s fear of the “dark.”
