Dark Girls (2011)

From my favorite movies..

Beautiful, moving film.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

This documentary about skin color and why many dark skin young girls don't think that they are beautiful almost had me in tears in a few spots. It is about the fact that skin color really matters to most people in the world; It allows people to be judgmental about different subjects: beauty for one. Many women and men (famous and non famous) are interviewed and speak from the heart about how they grew up with the stereo type that dark skin makes you unattractive. The film is very well produced and touches on many subjects about why people still see dark skin people as ugly, negative, dumb, or untrustworthy. The producer also gives psychologists, and other professionals a chance to speak on this matter. Explanations of why and how this awful stereo type stemmed from slavery and why it still exists today are offered. I really appreciate the producers for making a film like this and for giving these women of color a chance to tell their stories and face this ugly old world view of beauty and skin color. Everyone should see this film.

planktonrules says this is the type of film wishes s/he wishes they could "force children and teens to watch," and I wholeheartedly agree. I *will* be showing this film to my (college-level) literature classes in the near future. My primarily white students need to see this because they desperately need to see and hear people of color (in particular black folk in this film) as complex, deeply human humans, and my students of color need to see people like them/more like them, to hear their voices, recognize themselves, for their experiences to be legitimized on screen.This film interviews a variety of people--black men, white men, and especially "dark girls" of every complexion and body type, not shying away the uncomfortable and complicated facets of skin color, especially in the US, but also globally.

I love documentaries and they're among my favorite types of films. However, among the documentaries there are two types that really stand out for me—ones that have a strong emotional impact and those who are pushing for some sort of positive change. You'll see BOTH in Dark Girls —an exceptional film from D. Channsin Berry and Bill Duke.Dark Girls is a film about a worldwide phenomenon—the notion that the lighter the skin the better or more beautiful the person supposedly is. In particular, it focuses on black women—women who have been traditionally devalued because of insane perceptions by the prevailing culture. The roots of this nonsense are investigated by the film as well as how prevalent it is in most cultures around the globe. However, most of the film is made up of interviews—mostly with black women but black men, whites and Asians as well. Why so many different types of people? It's because apparently every group, to some extent, has bought into this superficial notion. By far the most hard-hitting of these interviews are by beautiful black women and girls who grew up hating their color and themselves simply because of nature—and this is where the Kleenex will probably come in handy. Seeing and hearing all these accomplished and lovely people who have despised their darker pigments is tough to watch without becoming at least a little misty-eyed. I just wanted to hug them all and tell them they were beautiful—and I am sure you'll also feel that way as you watch.Of all the documentaries I've recently seen, this is one that I wish I could force children and teens to watch. Then they, too, can see how cosmetic manufacturers, television and the culture STILL promote a notion that lighter is more beautiful instead of character being what makes someone beautiful. I know I'm sounding like I'm on a soapbox here —so I'll wrap it up quickly. The bottom line is that the film is very well made, intelligent and hard-hitting. And, if you want to see it, try Netflix—where it is currently streaming.

Documentary exploring the deep-seated biases and attitudes about skin color---particularly dark skinned women, outside of and within the Black American culture.This film is produced and directed by Bill Duke, perhaps best known for his acting roles in such films as "Predator". Great to see him moving into other areas of cinema.This is possibly the first time I have heard of the "paper bag test" determining who was beautiful and smart. Perhaps the most interesting part is not the white against black aspects but the light against dark parts. Racism is well-documented, but we rarely hear about the racism within the black community.I was also not aware of the skin bleaching phenomenon, either here or in Africa. Why? Nor had I heard "darker the berry, sweeter the juice", though it comes up more than once, so it must be a saying well known somewhere.I freely admit to being ignorant to many things that affect the black community. This documentary may be the first step of a long journey.