CHAPTER § Grammar Lessons: Dying and Difference In the broadest tems, how 4 character die im maimsrcam file — by ‘whose hand or what hg, whether a murderer or siti, nth «gad for bad death ~ i iniluence i na detertine, by the gender, se ity OF race of this character 4 mame the al sigpecte ot the hat fpenonal speciation. From gunshot ot a hinptl tole, a sped or probomged, with dignity or decreptude, cinematic dying i shaped bs the “cal make-up ofthe woman or man im question. Hy wil mean those recognisable vial, phyweal ve cultural markers tha disingunh ‘ne peru tom anor. Gere crcl bet mt crucial enough: though determines the function and frequenc). if not method. of death in nthe Hood fest spurring our main mat om to greater hein othe ‘war film we dhe ‘monster ont crulice carnage im horror ~ Aen bs a stromger force. So, for example, Hello ima sci lm, the ‘murderer is arming the gathered cred but wil mo be the bach charac- ter, ad onl white pope, it seers and waely men othe working, oF non-working. pair, succumb 40 termina illo Though genre, oF subgenre, willbe spoken of ent of wha flows ics utd beyond, es Mode oF classiest. The relationship (etween dvi and ier ence ts pre=rather than posi- genre, for the seafoling it stems from ame lng bine the moving image Hugh at would nd «natural home ‘ere To this chapter I shall map the snp, een eras relatomhip betwee ying amd sociocultaral diflerence im mainstream cinema Filling i the aps of the prceding chapter's conclusions unfokimg thei fll lagi {he Adcologcal weight of the gon death wil be revealed. Hut the main ‘omcern of this chapter stl Seth hats death that is ad, a bad in tow bey ways: intl, a dying characterised hy pity or pcmatiy, tn the inverse ofall those aspirational threads to termina ines oot lined inthe last chaptce, especially the inesiabl hay tsmaty of sarap tetterment and futurivm, sccm, and mint importa, a making padbs Dearie asi me waviNe 1 lah ha, pling ack he cura and reveaig his deaths vii as ott alan Cid ath yoo adi his ay caus eed dein is politics areal kinds of ackccriamic amd isto cveria and davon: {ist mo tha thi, a ranmar of dying preci anl predetermining ‘he impact hat ifrence or dct aso ath lr bas been elt alrcaly and thrwoghout tha hook. Natnalty (Ameicannes) gender (emits) and cokimiality (baler) have either infised framed ‘he arguments Pat 11 the ast chapter, pies, though hep at a, 2 plpable presence al the same. add, 3t proved impasse to Sore the dottinal charge of the sil cnrdinats of the cinematic Lanwae of dsing reteratd, a they were 0 the point af persuasion, oF rather Mucmcy Tite hemi ha iim ein, the essere ‘lumps tha brated digs a a ah ne wel we ‘ty an ridden with oil asap ‘wreciude and Weenie enony arteotncios pak te canes fot the [bx] peace of breakdown onc fraught with pita tn delogial shericance, A banc, ad pedapoically scl, way of approschig the relationship ‘etwcen dsing and cogs ihm would be wo comade the following. Simple questions and the patter thes reveal Who dies! Who sles fc survives! Wha reconers? Whe saves? Who bill? Who watches What ‘elit sstems are being challenged. confirmed or enforced thro the image narrative ding, and what audience it targeting? These ques thon wll be addressed, at east rod, what follows but ater than trae ly a crude leaf om, sa, meas meanings death piahen coil and pain free expiration rewards mobili, of how gor it Eto heaven and had girl go everywhere eae in Hyon, Iwan ited to chatla mace complex mor inerecinal cor Sch cue Wacks he {eoependnt) exchanges between the peri) and pits, the aby th and iene, that characters eprecttations dying mamta fi but also etween the stractraland asthe or the sexual andr, mensions of cinema's natural or unnatural deaths. Te ctiw-crowesy i ‘ther words bth thematic and mctvliclapprohes 0 and, in 50 doin, Uhope, provides something wore ental accented, ‘hereby ising the comply Hie am death, in flys ve Let's return bts to the termina ills il etre opening nt the dnc, tepond this gene The Holy Trinity: Triumph, Betterment, Futurisen (ak a ‘Whiteness, Rightness and Compulsory Heteronormativity) Inerent inthe holy tenity of ramp, bettrment, and fata, the bey ‘lems inthe lesen of cinematic ding emit) Revisiting the ter ‘nina ll lis no eval how soitltral voninates are feinfored and promulgated with its iealiations. [shal then espa this discussion into mainstream fl more boas ‘he cinematic language of dying is clearly yendete, and Was with it When Jas, im Dark ory, tres all more lish ways, her prize was ‘hush an falent ot utr, a husband a alloca. * Her rte jump red that of dhe Frew sumption of correct and mature fennints, one wot cerned onthe self (turbans, clitoral inclined) but on the male partner (marital, penetative ancl proxeative if a porns). The presence a promise of chiklren underwrite this cores, ‘corrected, femininity inthe ermina linn fl ad the maternal melodrama, the woes glory is accemtted thug saciie° Joy Villy (Beach) Jackie (Sepmm), and Aan (Safe without Mel were ll enderedor conned a od by relinguinhing, and psig on, ater ial to another weran. In this wa), the mutesal coterminous with femininity, am! the ietchangeatl of women, ae rected. W he ne ook to cerminall lle in mainstream i of whorn here are fur fewer amples ~ the ory is very differen bin My fe dees the oppesite ‘of relinguishing his parctl old he clings 041 Hee, remaining alive init even after death, His glory i dup with the maintnance of is psi av the father ever hevond the grave. So single is man father, so esteme, coms, the uncaseatcnding is biological par ttc an legacy, that hens sursive even the greatest breach, Mp Lafe eieheeae rt peck seas toes wedectee se peeing ty Se hac fathers 199% Amerkan sce. This wa, alter all 4 pio ‘ignicane change in the cultural discwsion of fatherhon! and ams towing, among ner tng the dramatic erase vere ats nce thermi-19N Here nthe termina les il, he wp of ater Iho imply avoided: Using mend ave chee ye Thangs Fall Apart they remain of-crccn (ris Some) Children ate moth ober swords, sina ink men these ns. Mascity or worth is miter proven no Airengh parenting. Life Pease sands apart here, rang Ws power from ts precise opanition to this orm ba ater and san ate redken tough i akcrmative isn bina” There i mare to than this tn the case of A Phngs Fil pr, teack male protagonist dest cven havea relationship. Hs attainment ‘sinters imo lingual mantic bonds and bec “kserwalised Mion (80 cent) cats off hs macho viriy en rote to sale fiom, As wit Jan (WhonptGulerg) i Beye the Se this eter ff 4 conta blick character appears obligatory 0 verminal ime lms Something ilar happens The Bucket Lit (Rob Reine, 2007) which Teapore at length belo gain, though Carter (Mogan Freer) as ‘adult chien ana oving ite of twenty-eight yeas, the mae of Sevually gctive and samy black min cimnor be acimmodated Jack Nien’ character, Pavan, has a female prostate ryt seduce hin ut there is no saying the sage fhe Caree, What is mare, Carter’ relapse incite shon he has reconciled with his fs andi just 0 the serge of ing scx with is wife she emerges frm the Bahra sing lied ino something noe cts and has alle 0 the fhe The terms of triumph ate not nly gendered but raised. Dion's decline and departure are se sited, his timp wi Beached. Maio Vm black authored ales of ‘Mack ei drawn (rom African American trations im iterate and ining and eve il, bt from white a female melodramatic history.” Dan's brace feat bears corelation toehe sie mh petesed Aico wachisesicdeoner bondage as we saw it Chapter 2,0 tthe ver ‘ncaa cular hse" oe incre of Mack spits" tha or Pal n mpemoriased the saves’ expetcmee (and a an alternative each toga frame Yo moderns)" In adition, according to Hollywad, iran American wemen da na safer far eel illness, either it Shaul be mentioned, da they, or Mian American men treat it, Wher, 4 Robert Clark saps Stem isthe ons canes fil with «Hack (omni) ancoigae (Que Laas sal oe se» paianie-cae mune 1m My Life speaks ie othe “man” conventon than anything Sia whete ain Hedy (Wayne Wang, 2006) nally shows Back, ‘wonram with a ermal ines ~ Quen Lanta as Gouri - remarkably, her diagnosis turns out wo have on a ere. This fake doing hm repeats the gene's ces nevertheless, Geni reise her drums though her preons tt, He Annie i tation of Efe before er and Carter jus after she haar veda feof hard graft and eee tinted, all hone around the terminally il buck character whe are bettered and rele tog et sailacace an, mute prec. shrug er enn sacrifice Inerstngs,thaagh Gori is characterised as both passion sean sexu and fai olay is 4 romantic ced, she remains chusteand her man mostly absent dheoughout Sensial delight and carl OANSMINK LESSONS: OVINE AND DIVRENCE ——IBL pleasure are indulged in the moxie but through foo and coking, more ‘than innvenda, and explicitly not tough scx. Where the saintiness of the dng Hck character requis dese sation, the white character diagnos ca incorporate romance Ines, their romantic attachment ually works t foment ther bev oF allo, sel- acceptance ad enhanced worth, Thi iso th sme a the pulling ‘through pit” principle employed in 50/97 Jonathan Levine, 2011) where ‘Adar Jeneplt Gandon-Lvit) convinced hs etter that he a et the girls by dropping his having cancer iin conversation. Rather, Jus fn Dark ictory, Robin ney Amie in My af ithe? Me and Gorge in Life 4 House wil havea pare post prgnons whether oe wot thie lover knows af thai illnew Key here ihetermenits,howeser When ‘he terminal il haructer is gay an there was a sew oF Hs abut AIDSin the 180, especially pasion is wrtemable Indeed, mainstream ‘incr’ relationship tay men ding of AIDS bay bem one of accep and rederspti sia varius form. of sanitation. ‘his was Best ilatrated in Phifadephi’sbamanising of the ener and NIDS bt foretl in fs such as Longine Compara (Nonta Ree, 198?) atl Prscr's Bend: (Keoeth Branagh, 1992) of which chide sexual displays of gay ntact, she emeing New Queer Ciera of ‘hc eaey 19% du ils as The Live Fad (Cte Nab, 102), Zor annie Jon Cireyan, 193) and. Sreon (Ym Kalin, 192) hep pasion ‘entre trane as they detanly entangled haresexual desire and dea ele by gay and lesbian dirctors, sich authoral emits, Bower, no euarunce of radii here or ehehere, or af orm many OF sever form The tr of triumph and btermcot inthe termina ines lm ee ako, en, eteronoemative, Returning to our siraght white woman Swooning into suimhond, s mist be remembered that the premise ot promise of chile inherent ner journey not onl shor up ber worth fy martyr/mater but als nsates a compulsory moraine fur imo the termina illnw fla ina reprducivefturisma in which, as Lee Tein auc, the Child Us} the embler of futuni’s ungustoned talue!!" This fy normatvity rather than heteronormatvity oF betero- estat because the emphasis up chr as a fate, upon thet redcenpive per, isnot simp a straight thing oF bound 10 pervenal pprcteation, Reproductive fara i elise for gay characters or se tins twat Ianto einsrcam film. "This is pion by the ending of ‘Plaelpioa, 4s { mentoned in the last chapter, wich rectes An full through its emphasis up children but umderis other Heras isons tha brig gay parenting ino the fame, ch as The Ob of My ition(Nicholas Hytner, 198) and The Nest Met Thine John Seesinge, "he humansaton, ater than slrificaton, characterising yay charac fers dying in shoe 0 mane termina inca is squares with the tolerance proket and “AIDS activi’ of pont Reagan America tot also nth accession to various hts Fallon their entry nto Stonewall love, death, marrage, tans This amanistion, however. voles the depiction of suffering ax pesca and meals orough aman uncommon the largely faints dclines chewhere. Andy Hechets (Tow Has) prosressng Iralty on Phisdtps, his Breathing dials and diminishing {acu tio, cmtrast sharp with the extravedinars capaci ita even. of his ‘traightcumerpar’ demise. "Thi 8 mat ont question ofthe dntortion ‘fillns for he tons hl as Talla Murs ass of Pe Back Last in the Fonct Onley what cect it they're string from” — but of the Went determonarlaerahipot salfcrng and eas to ederaption andsshation This tlaoeship is prestuctued, depends on a geamnar ft dsing moulded bs rae but ab seqult, an FF retue (th below Teale should be noted, hough can't purse this ere, tha it spas oa Ie cla tors of pat sec lane then medica jetty “ance thecightcemh century Signing punter! or ater rear, an then the efficacy uf meicne sel, pain, an Seve Heal lary, can nevct he underotond outside its culture’ ar aK. D. Craig sugerts, 28 totally outside ehinoculra dieters’ = The mapping of iemi-infected worth om to Using operates fa Ieyond the termina illness Gm. ta the baie universe of ainaeam ‘inca hal character dhe Hut ad, of course, shaded term Women tho, for example, ae seta aucrive, unduly power independ et ee apm le ef car mts Sees hotrr lms The femme fatal ofthe 190 and 1980, ins ike Dawe Indemnsy (Villy Wider, WA). The Kiley (Robert Sioa, 1G) (Out of the Past aces Toa, 187). ell ctr to her ow ambitions and plu appropnation. In more comtemporary versions ofthe 'Kenre ‘he eve thriller of the home entertainment er this conchion was wt always guaranteed. Ln Basi tnt (Pal Verbocyen, 1992), The Last Sedation Gon Dahl 1944) and Bound (Andy and Gary Wachowski, 1996), a, ane bred femme ft coud get away with t,he appeal ‘of the threat that she represented tothe viewers, now at full Gillan outshone the need to punish her The privatisation of the pleases ‘fered bythe vdeo asete recorder expanded the caveat of the mora ‘universe an mad this open ending more than OK MLESNONS: OVING AND DITTERENGE 133 Ween who “actually” Lill in maintreary cic, eahcr, tha is sha ting prime suspects of grooming men tourer for them, ae always pathoogised as perverse, Indeed, the vi of wonran is invariably sxe alse: the mot world merges female sewality with ft comgucnse Where thir ery ieresistiblitycaned the poor fois wh lane them the dee inthe laters, sex sf could il Sharon Stone's Catherine ‘Trammell in as: Fst! stab he lover during loe-mking:leping with Madonna isso overenciting im Mody of sdeme (UI Fadel, 192) that Rebecca Caron’ lover has a fatal heart attach Fen when women il fll, for jst cause o alrwnm, her remain vealed in thet es There's mo more perfect spmbel of this th persed [Lara Crot bu there ae other examples” erversity hasan onerdctermned teatonship to marr sm mantra film. Theresa direct nk betwcen excewe o inappropriate sevus ‘ion and murder and death. That Haic Jnr! Catherine esl and ‘Body of Exudene's Rebecca ino sadomanochina shoul ve a 0 9 [prise Where the former i tecuperae (chrgh heteroneal coupling) fn Catherine surises, the later n't When ten to honest itlt, there wan no reprieve, not leant historical. Sereemurter Athar Laurent, speaking of lac Holy ema, ptt hast you're a woman whe commmtsadultery you're unl put wat ath tion It yurte a woman ‘who has another woman, sou better go hang yoursel. I's a guestion of shgree: And certain if you're gay, yo have wd real penance ie oruncusahty was punished repeat) and iiahly by Holly wma iene a time again the gay or lesbian character gets ile off bythe fils comchision, either murdered subjet to some freak an masts acexlent. Vite Rewo's necrolagy” atthe buck of hi American sors (ay film makes this cane well, of the ineitable demise of the gas Gharater" Suicide often serves a the necesatY Penalty fot Gene ‘Ac distinguished im Chapter 2, this bind of dishonourable suicide i 4 popular trope of punitive cinema, and a result of cowardice and ad Som of wrongding lid with broader iologs of punishment, When Martha (Shirley MacLaine) hangs herself at the end of Te Chlden’s ‘Hoar (Walia Wsler, 1961) its the inevitable pect of her admission ‘of gulf her confession of lesbian tendocies We din’ sce er tab het low hf nae we sce her dca bo Itc, hee dy remains moving Karen (Audrey Hepburn) breaks down upon finding i but, mre than this the shadow, hich eal we ate shown, says. "This fosters a certain arbiguity surrounding her guilt tis as indicative ofthe shifts within ‘American scits inthe late 1980. and 1d wo think of hosinceuaity ax 4 souece of pity rather than simply punishment and of the relaxation of‘he pronation oa which allowed omnes ener emo, abt {nwhepers. At the same time, the prety young Halls wood actos a far {ty trom Ro Siigr lens repre character who commis suicide fn The Sergeant ob Psa, 1968) Hormel rename shorthand fr villain, ts binding to xin fay an death unre he depiction of rere. Een in te pst Soneall ovina the Mt, pervert met eacesine punishment Tachi any aay a terms iy castization fe, de raves’ timial in Prec aul the Bean (Richa Rush, 1974) gets what ‘he’ has ‘ming in an everstoaing revvery of weer Detective Precbie ares ‘Caan is paris doublsdisarn both by haying emer the Las and hang lat his gn by the ihc of the stilt wiki (Chrtper Morey). The tranvesite’ a he alle the cast Hs has the upper han ard she ght work of repeatedly kicking the hero 0 the grou unl Lncke of alae. Freee reine his a and shoo, an shots and shots, The repeated show il the sransestite sil ut ep rearanating his bay: a aniratatona frcnry of the vse, am ‘orgasmic ace nf death a not onl punishment bu ao enttaien The ete, and rei, with which Hellywond equated honesty ality an oui by oe, well Lot Fa the ile ‘who-kl of the mi-190y, the sexually pe ser maken the ieal and even photogenic py copa” When we turn race hing re far bat dierent ‘The emia ‘atom of een national otherness in Hols wun cinema has been well State and history and abinorcllycmtextlinsd, Disneys dupii- os ‘rita’ for csample, 1M, and ly 10s, action cinemas preieton fit Russian baddies join wth the Arab ili of rae Lact (ance Cameron, 199) on The See (edward Zk, 98), who dp ear post-/11, am one san of his riinaian.* arms of Am Ameria imagery, there fs sonsthing more complicated ing In many wass, Hollywood, of beter sil “white Hellswond” where is ‘sed rail consciousness doesnot go without saying has spent the Tastcontas tying to cit off is rack hry and ts pimal scene uf G's sheath in ith of Naan (D.W. Grit, 1915) Far Cle aston, this fk and its terretation entrenched the pasa rack of ins us’ Racal stereotype fife inthe depiction of rican Americans {in Hail oon, albet precisely not as murderers ded there fader ‘of imaery of Black murderets until ne get Baypltaton and then the swrclled new black wave ofthe 1990 where we finda moe stereotypical cmbrace a eine and hoenicide MIAH LESSONS DYING ASO DHFNEIENCH 138 here is, then, a particular relationship between ding snl African American identity in Hollywood, This can be undertones intr lated ways: through stereotype; dhnough sole rity and roa si tus. The st two ways have Bren dcussed with sind T don't wan o ad fomncet and ens ‘ates of inferiority Hut, i the blac-autred un il of the 1s, {ina f black death, ofthe ie expectancy sil penis acing Mean American sour in iner-iy “ghettos, ws contre fm rape ‘these hood ke, a thet saccen, Fl hooks dared ul ‘ack doth sit a ho chet’ She was tespondingw the lamorsation of silence in thse fle an tthe rcs pity of mbar ‘broadly bu pointing, alimately, wo the lack of fears a ome ise ‘lack characters’ deaths ever by Makan American film-makers This sense ofthe cheapness, of lea! meat’, of lack Me wl tena im what falloms Ther are oscars, however, and amincreaing umf, where the mageay of black doth and dying. apas wo be reckoned With, he ‘vents de, ( ig here that the ssmbolim of African American death und ‘sinc is mnt cxpicc but otha it becomes very mocha otc. eis to the popularity’ an symm of Gack dying that Uno We, and 6 to fils tha represent what cul be een as high pots in ells mo's ‘The Grammar of Dying White Redemption and Black Death While iy feat the ition of Helly wos termina nes gene, Roky Reiners The Baker Lit (207) scm to nea with i one sth Ing way the crater wl acs sneer yo Boal ir whe Avil become cear below, bow ever, this in emai characterise y nite trim wo (nrmaive) Funan More ra this aa spe is medi conmrtmcnt, Pang that utes pial sateen the incriwining of Hollywoes, American culture and rail pics, ome chat {sth oot i ad potenti by death The film combines many ofthe existing tropes f the termina less fon tm secs unaowl set-p. 9 men, advance in years ne Aigamined with ponemilly terminal cancer: Onc swe, the thee ac, fond they mectin the rom thy share in hospital, «oni that the white man ovns, Retninding us thatthe ternal lle lis tequent a Try km am that she hls ins foro romance Meche, Hite, aul Jacke, Mays om the Sue), and often sn interracial ane, Basket Li)B60 DEATH AND TH MOVING IMAGE {otlons the developing relationship betwen Fwd (Jack Nienkow) and (Canter Morgan Fen) Hesh et fnd thems, though wo ciflerent extn, ehraugh the illus an especialy through shir bond. Wha Str, asin Let Fld, My fe witout Me, an even Mra, dying thors working elas and ny many nays previous censtrained, prota fists the oppurtunity and rice co Jo samething important in what ef ‘fibres Hers, the bucket st Bs of things achieve or dreams tw ease hefite death, befor “hcking the bucket" Funded by Edwards tills, the two me work shir way through aft of alventres and experiences tr ay ving to visting the pyramids, Where Laan’ fanaa benevolence will serve Carter well i 6 he lates spiritual Irenevotence that wll save Blah Canc wl Kar fram is experiences and be tesored 40 his ole as vd Husband ad father He et alive agai, alt bre, and econ ‘le him! his dream his ces acl ultimately, his death. AS with ther dearly departing African American character, howevet, namely Anica finan of Hfe and Georgia in Laut Holiday, Carter doesnot rc sas hoa sing, he is alteady a won ee, ever enanced through cimtran to Edwards decadence Insead itis Edward who (uly liscrners and ftters him tough his ends dying. Carter ses aes ‘alnh carpe fr Faward anid pases hi to reconnect with is dah Ukimatels, the black rns wring and Jeath save the white man, ft jst om his ite ur a from the cathe of eth isl. Ear ‘survives aint the ods of his lines, though mot against sat of Wis rae ‘White redemption through black suring aml deat sa od but ot unspoken sor and ome hat has particular tlaonship to vn cure fn the United States, Cruel pt, there ae two sis 40 On one ide fe theanniiatry ousting ot ck ‘etl in racist cule epitmined ‘Grihih’s Bic of « Nation 1918) andthe talim sching phorap hs ‘har [ran] pratt history of Aereanphxraphs® dome zat at the tare ofthe nineteenth cemury" I these, the white fs sv through desing the black threat. ‘This se extends to ‘ong teres ping, narrative continment or simple aking insite of rican Americans an well of oter other, On the alla sie is the ara ctery a, and se of, sch images i gar support fo, !am-hnching, sil reform, and ii hts rvement, I these ce, fetiist whiten wore fee from the eras of ie through a diferent {ind of wimessing f these spectackes his eo Fim of respon ‘ete to the ani oF pesttacit representation of African Americans in contemporary Holly nova a enables of white falfient os ETRE OTIS SHE OUREOEHEE = ‘inet Lin weve and exon revels in this ater category. Whe Robe her's review ofthe ilo was conscious of tn rail politi it mas aie ‘only 0 sme of iT thinking, jst once, couldn't a mae ape ith ‘he voisover tli what a reat uy the Morgan Freeman chaacer |S insta of extolling the saints virtues of 4 white pers who deserves fur reverence’ Hacer Fat hing it, metatenuals a enepiicals, American history, Haste Li's repetition of clkural mores aba a, however, is very telling not only ofits centaity to Holly wolmaeais tbat de plac fil in tis pr se (Carter's i an earthy godncte— nel Gist mest ims, iy fingsted snd over, ander the bortet of a car ~ yet ho apna propo tins are bath invitable and preexisting, ‘The siiness of his dkms i lame with dhe farnaty holy rhetoric othe sera ics lin ba nium, beterment, and fur ae et fae hn, When Cate dis the en ofthe fin, his sicecver hich in aad cir bar his death ad bis golly self shag this smn of wm alle. Ha his award and teal Carter's se, indeed soul, purene a redcmning his white fiend, ‘Though the vuige-oner will Taide the array of Gna scenes, including Pawar: eulogy at Carter's fiscal th images subariate Gt venience, the ther authority of dhe vice from Beyond the gave yikes resonant with ei import chat Eward' sa mere pint of plot More csi pt, Fabwaed’s praising of Carter anont elective heap prtive on hinell- As ‘Cartes minimised, removed fom tel ite, svar is masimised. More than thi that ne voce ane repeats precy the vaio accompa ing the opening scones, Precman/Carer's supernatural and rempive role wate son as predeteriing the le, Tt no tat that pering ‘ae fs mie rescaled sonnel by Carter it vas aay regal ae Freeman —bur that is revealed a having bron deal or mug al aking Ta th way, Le tempo was always alent guaranoed by black saath ‘Various writer have identified the noble magical nro’ ava Mock character within "progressive anti-racist” contemporary inca ftom Cis (etry Zucker, 10) 0 the Grow Mle (Frank Daron, 1999)" Such a character, av Michael Hughey fas sore rece summaries, ten ‘ice-overhonots the vet, ‘rer len anced Mah pra wh mice i eral emLs OF STHE St HIE MOTINE NeAUE he rece international hit, Pan hals (Over Nakache and Hie olan 2011 repeats his vey formula. Though i Carters earth tne, Hck Lai senha differnt tram the ks Hughes Ios at (Gig nctuke Monga Vremanytartarm a Go i rae hy and eum tight) ssa characterised by “sia Hlindnes For Whe ‘hem, Reiner’ fin panes a st acit as ben such debates con etm, and like them and nt ironical, his form of clon ras ill eeamaate se lelogs of bite upwemacy and norma bat in a Sul, mom an pe way” fm Mkt Fe his ras. his fas and normative coloar Mlindnes s especially potent through pre ‘hth ts inpc and deathly cwndinate. ‘Cerise Glenn and andra Cunringhar in their discussion of he tend ‘of mel tet? ls, cstinguished between those where befits ‘ver felt by the black a well a the white character and tone where they swereny where the ater imbalance in romarde escent ™ Grom Mile Etonic ha attr sxnarh et ack at, Hold wget ft fa aay, Nov only teense offers such clear cae of the "Maste's House ‘Gree Nblc’sstate poeta treplac by Fads oenerhip a he Iunptlin Racket Lint ut alc ofthe ns deaths coins, ade, ese con think of Hater List as Green Ne mec Grumpy Ol! on Donald Pets, 1998), The stakes are the same: Sead mun walling s replaced with deadaleads man dsing he magical near filn otjus, ut sercots eat the to of racinut abt the deathly mani between race and representation as played out by Hollywood.” This ull’ be clearer im ck Lis in which the cermin ness formal Tends tcl wo this fa more commnan sry ‘acket Fit, he ies rans othr Bs, makes clear» restructure, ‘orantologs, of dsng which needs the Blackman to diet sve the white ‘man This nr the alvin ofthe white man’s conscience, the redemption fthe Western spectator as we aw in Chapter 3 the mre “advanced” fnerationalse and ps-9/11 version if he ant-rac parative bat, fn some way hac sor, something more intearal, more primary. to American Miso, and to cncr ll ‘Backs Ls sk metacinemat: it des mot eval the ecology of ity ‘own mamutetane a constructed of experiene a8. My Lafe does. tis however, beset with a cinematic, rather cinephib,se-consciousnes, Tnsinee an pratesttallasions to Hall oa work similarly to aga isthe medi ad natalie tions truth Tac this a mum fof mays Fist it os this throweh ts ne of the stare Mngun Freeman tnd Jack Nicholw. Hoth play to type, thet persnas in fll Hur ‘Nichakon a deviish white, Ango-Savon, Protestant (WASP) pastor, RAMMAK LESSONS: DYING AND OUNERENCE 19 ‘Preeman as African American sage, tn the famarity oftheir les, and fof the actos themselves, oil pleasures are guaran! and renewed. OF ‘ourse these two sar personae could easly be renamed: Freemans 3 ‘magical negro and Nicholwon's asthe magical egret bet rend, the tg with a heart of gold” (BLIG) a5 Christopher Farley calls hi? Fr Varley, the BIG ‘ers the pouty of grace t all he bigots inthe audience Secondly, a einephibicrferetiaity i codent im roca! ‘Ganer's comments the in-jkes of the fi, Wh he says to Flward ‘that hs soumge seis ucket list included bing the fest black president and making amulion dla, we kw both of thee have een realise by Freeman through Hollywood He played Tom Heck the United States president in Deep fap (Miri Leet V9) and some of the highest ‘earning actors" 'That Freemans real son (Aon Freeman) thes the role af hiss i the fil furthers this sl conscnincne ‘In Xan trails’ review of the fk, she remarks ow “Freee asin finds himself mstaled ay the ad-cyed cme of American ices but itis the racial pic underarting thie American sinters that kes here, though the fm works hurd ty hide this” While Freeman's dest tones. whch launch th il, ae fair and pug asin a metacnemaie ‘aamsciousnes, there i are to this American step tha ete the ‘ar Notonks Freemuan/Carter awasy abcady dead tthe sar of the fim tut that we do mit reaine ths until the words are sepeated at thee undscores the shcer durability or ens cycle of Wack death oud subject Carters particular dead-alreay-now feels hong 9 off ym he sublet slave's of Chapter 2 lnstead. sere the won ‘cinema itself it capacous immorality oF the supernatural of amp lated time. Indeed de dea-already ew of ve wee-ove martes sith the grandeur of Hollywood. The fi starts the wnt cinematic and frandine af comleat pening instinct of theta of mtn find withthe words, Vdward Perma Cae ed in May, it was 3 Sunday afieroom and there wasn't cloud in the aby" We assure the vice nat that f the dead character oof somcoe who bas di The dscmbodicd ‘ce and sublime ation give a Co-likequalits but a me this wo the {ete proportions and proper of cinema As well athe majesty of the spectacle, those mountains hear 4 graphic corration othe Paramount Dieures loom — thee opening studio erat hereby easing such Somer back it dhe inde el The fry makes anvil rail diference even as it elaborates the ‘nial cont etecen the twin men, Clas and characee mark the share divide between Faward and Carter Yet, the terms af their confit are ride with exactly the aca consciousness that the i wants to gore0 evra aso THE MOVES HENGE Fatwa’: argane droga fr others has hin regulary calling people tne whatever anc ces ind For Carter, and Carter ale, however fracallned he Duke He s'Ray". Phowah no demotan exact tnd Frecman might bea there with Fingtom and Charles as Mian ‘ncrcan greats his dos reiterate the cmon le racism of this ‘ind ot slippage” And here ako “Zeb Hn, Eas fist mami of Carrer A mid lay a Canes more advanced sate of illness and nt pethaps (ihoagh tm nly Tawar we se ith yup but the dend-already save" ff frm te this conten Fa all of Friar’ ina hey ane ai ot the ik for ou psa ~ rai int met bt eof them, Lode "cour Hines, like fogs that ha an aren of rhetorical The rpradtve futur inthe lm shone as Carters ding cases J dward revert with his daughter and tact hi rand the emcative frome Fly cvideed by that Lat adn of an extra ge ‘atm. More than this the empha white children at he expense of Hac ives a expels hlck chiens ses, minates the al power ‘ofthe mara sterespe which, a argue belo, ed tthe deat, figurative and era of black dees In this ay, we start to understand the roar sdcoogial weigh of repaetve fri. Tauren Berant ‘esures towards tm er remarks on he ack coer of Edelman’ ok, She writes of hae cular “es the bebe of fats to dntact fm ‘he mgr work ui aca lence and death’ * Where Fiman doesnot reveal the racial coundiate of th, Fanti the next sexton to Heri pone fly the dynamic betecem blak death and the mite ttre, tewec the bnhe an is diteactons The Grammar o Inwood’s Unconsei Dying tt: Ho is and Black Progenivide The forgoing reaing of Ma ket La therefore estabihes om might sa, the base ramimar of Using how black dving an dead-already sess fel ehiteredempsion but, mre than thi, perhaps, how Hollywad sine celebrate itself it wate ad protectin -thrngh the epi ‘out simultaneous repression, of ths grammar Tis grammar sn vient in progresses rather in the quest fr post-race thatthe repetition of thi struct, the trae of rach tere, is mot insous, or where, as Frank Wilersom pts i, the ‘Sete Master’ sinews are mnt resin There eo be no greater cai RAMMUN LESSONS: DYING AND OWFFYEESCE HT the suppose! benign of such pot-ract prot, o forthe rippers ‘pression, than that made by camel. "There is however, another forum forthe grammar lesan. In aition to the funy calourhiindnes of (Northern) camedies, like Gh, Brace mich and Ean Achy. Mack Lit aad om, there the fn ‘equilibeating of Southern dramas like Grien Able or Motor? all ot more recently The Hep Where the first et assumes a pos-racit wor smile revealing ts mplawshy, the econd comronts and cure rac Incad-n, ultimately rendering whites and Macks cua, but only supe cially The price nd process are the sae: the erase of Mack ew guar lantee white ubjetity and redemption The srpt however, rent polite, Hiht-hearted postr i replaced withthe eplict return of the repressed. Goal death given was to a. Seti the South, thei of ‘the Ute States’ at Sharm Hila calls tthe dramas mabe race and rach highly vile order 1 mane evn thers bt in ding, thes Inca the grammar of dst firs iv Americ’ mational and historia ‘ancomeioun "Inde, they emgage tha anima 2 pt et allt that 46 demonstrate blow, thi ives a further repro ‘OF couse and as crite race theorists argue, Americas national and Istrical uncinscios iealuass at fake in the representation of lak fering For Dehea Walker King. “blackpain'~ ans caependent ae race sn sulfering ww America culture tha for her the wor callie alas ‘Servs the larger, atonal, project, aa sign representing America sete for 4 pain-free existence’ * Ulackpuin precy wht gusantecs whi elem, fori ‘defines and ceansc the white ation’ i ‘ver the wounds of te Atricam American compatrio, wounds which wile consoling self ith ne corm Taumanis ‘The expicimes of these wounds vac, a5 m9 180 tums forthe grant owen ipl and the analgece ofthe Northern comedies smoke cvcot. In contrast, the wppurating Southern dramas — with their {armore vival mpran of avery provi ures nce of Using for there Bay Aime Carlo Rowe demonstrates, ot fer enw hes Tnild nw mance Inthe Green Mir’ death roof the 1950, the magical ogee faction overbonn: the hang stereotspe, Coffey (Micha ClarkeMaa DEATH AND THE MOVING 1M 46 ‘mca lel abu the ite character’ pin. Bebe Keg reminds ‘otha the black ‘characters of pain, acting, and daca ~ makes cleat his usefulness 09 ‘he nation stale me iberal”seting, of the 1s foe The Hele (ate Tago, 2011) and! for Meme ull, the grasear of back suffering. and its promt ofthe new white Southerner, proves mone Copley tiation in thse ests mega The un consconsteals in more nimd ways, Neither magic nor stereotype ned be quite s0 raza in these Hn, The ater eral and easels, present, ‘nth the mins and Fevbel figures conta respectively, w each The Imag, however, ais ins emp hans fo the spernatuna antics ofthe Nira American character tothe sbcer wonder of the slbation s/he ime" Uhowgh Mente’ Mall and The Help, We Haste Hi show twit lack a white prvagonits beneiing fom she hare jour, ‘nana Vangel, this alters the ganar mot tall iste ‘reveals the all weight o its deal coordinates, In chat follows | ceplve the enue f black fife within he rational uxt Wsoricalun/onncious of Measer' tall atl the flac fresh arto which the fi Lay aim. ‘This moch-laide! Southern drama ttves its cman accolades ww silent and highly stated ses ‘tthe grammar of ding. The white ean is saved, fromm himself a is ‘As pst, through #marative abounding in bal deaths state exsetion ‘cide and prance, the cath of uci ‘The imi bee hy the South's racial and sie history its wor Cniggers asc o ow thei lac’), des (capt punish ean black his of white and with 1 shongun) and images (te cle’ ander Souther abies)" I ll eee. ‘hem al ts patagni, Hank otowsks (Hil ob hrnion), wil ict hisraci ater from his home, change his nays and joh ad give hire ‘over w is interracial lationship with Leticia (lle Beer), Dit his Personal redemption, the cae of capital punishment remain of couse, ot ony because he erection stem caries om without Hank but as ecaine the icnography, as well a the Lo fetibied inconacinm, of Souther and slave history endures. ‘The film bespeaks timeless ‘rhich is uponding of expectations seeks to fnestall In other word, acim nit sem to be rejected but the Lrg picture eosin intact. [9 Tac, even on the ma level, Fl arg the ‘eure’ of recalibration is ise Hank and Letcn's dynamic remains ridden with rails imbalance The films post-racst pursuit of equivalence, is eguibrating, i ws be revealed, then, a the ballat keeping the yramma n place. It the wind Dench its wings eather than tht which Blows amas ‘Sil cervealsing, serving and saving white comsccnecs, ad corre racic talent one he une occ sceral white GHAMMAM LESSONS! DYING AND DIFEERENGE 43, ing the historical record with cammpasion, Monier’ al, my facus ete reveal this more aanced, but no Fs ama, racial rama of ding ‘his grammar is embedded in and fulled bo, but never neutralised ‘hough, the hn’ attenprs to ve ts hey characters! experience: the ‘equilitvacing of the fn Eguilibating, as parative stats, provides ry rain senso here hut the lm contends with ts racist wth repression athe conscious, waterways, which Isl abo ade. "The (pseudo) disinterest ofthe camera for example, mill be shown to tadereot white authority Obsessed th pattern etm bd mae tive and ile, te oo, how the ks neonates comin an Jess consul, the imprint al echoes the past x striving tomar & ‘estracis frre Finally, sing my dacunsiom back che ha nits ‘inating, shall end this chapter by arguing that bw he bana find gramar of dang in Holy wo il at eas, pen ton the dey ‘ot the bach character sone but om the dea of de bck hkl andthe Future this hid promis. this ay, the relatos cscs ant Aiferencs iv is Fill peoenicdal due quilibea Inv Mowver’s Ball, prison guaris Hank gn Sonny (leah Lesues) Grotowakd awiat with the execution of Lawrence: Musgrove (Sea Coma) Sonn afer, Sonny, Hank's son, commits sole and Ht noutrs Lat (Halle Derry), Eawrenie’s cxranged wife They bein 2 rcatansbip, ols dhe death of Tell (Corn Calhoun) Leticia find Lastence’s son, ina hitand-run, When Leticia ets Buck (eter Hoe), Hank’ race father, the relationships cated. Having moved into Hank's house (once Huck his een mine ut) Leticia scorers Taverne’ sete of his wis icra relies Hank's ole i the execution, The im eri with Leticia accepting cong acto this disturbing knowledge ‘On the surface Mander’ all esc bth is hey che Acute an dicontent: (Polish American) “white” Hank and (ight ‘ined /mived race “lack Fetii, heir eation stretches ben race {ind racial epitome by their relationship and the fin's haps ‘riding of them siting tet et on the perch dir now hare hore Post-racvn or colour blines doce’t bik-start redemption here but marks its endpoint. ‘The redempaive stajectory depen, sta om the sruwing equivalence of lank ad Lie, and hei comm jour xy htrapment trea ad from riscry to contentment, Ths the H's squlaing potter yous level Ri journey 0 unin wae‘cored by telat! and repeated evens. Where atthe fil’s sort, Hank find Leticia are pore is end they ae side by side Hetwecn, thir ‘Sores experiences and desis caerge increasingly. They experince ngrone's eaccutio for pou carps: Hank rans the procedure at the corctin ais; Fetch anc Tyrell wait a bom fora lst phone ‘ll rom Lavrence which Tank Joe's pernt They bath punish dir ese ling Sonny Just poet his suicide, Latics gil palpable Indeed, her marative Fourney illinsolve an ever quite containing of her distre, "he deaths ‘oftheir children io dierent tes a places, draw then gether, ant their convergence ad coupling ate complete onuter hal appears conscious os racial tage, specifically of the ineviable sociation of black sbjcetiits with pan and death, The exe ‘ation of Lantence Masgtove, which preeupies the ist forty minutes ‘the i, character tal an foregone conclusion. Jus pes ‘he butt are Lawrence's lst word, Where he fad gone got him ectrcute, scocding w his wile as he's periemel to spe, 0 sas overnight Tyrell’, thet son's, death ina hit-and-run, somebow inescapable “Lid aoe want my tubs tbe fat ie that’ Latics," [ow a black mani Ametica, yo ean’ like ha bath ease, ad ft eat fo tics, what happens athe Back mak wm wating to happen tu him, Mach subjectivity i Monies Mul is anally, bu ao expli: ily, deathcboand, Despite thin rial, oF grammatical, comciowsess, however, the ls equating frames Tank with he Frege a wll Hank's petal interaction with death tal ~ inthis cane Wis i's hhrial~ caso marked by muterof fat ss, jst ant 4 heat the ‘arth hic the can’ he says ina manner that betrays ie coldness but ‘ant help bat echo a resignation to the inevitable, The deaths of both Utii's aid Hank's sons equate theie experiences but ale proce repeated mers. Hank wll cl Fe aT ye anon his hands, for both: destin thease of Sonny whom be lied, ani ines, he fi sugges, fr vel. Yet, where Sonny's sce ‘oun’ he more mest, surrourded by his ly fail and ny his ont room, Tyrell’ ould't he mite pubic (at state execution perbaps) ‘Knocked dwn onthe street, he ies ina strangers car. he rape inevita- Fay of sel dah nies Sem eptiio of is mth’ ate his inheritance. Sonny's deaths characterise ay his predctermined mater nal Fevac, hwteer, his iexorable repetition of her neaknes in camming swe. His fav sre in Kinship, poronalcitcunstance and agen) ‘or cha, rather than in the natuel order of things, "The black mal’s sei fr their weaknewne where Hank att ORAS LESSONS: DYING AND DIVERENEE 1S ‘waded to death, contrast relies up far more wnierentatd trope: a history, in particular, Southern ave ior. Tyres stride demise, lke Lawrence's execution, cannot help but reference lynching and the endurance and veimscription of the Souths “strange ft Far allits pretensions, disruption of his old stor scm shone pare oF this “progressive in ai "The continuum of images of murdered, and expecially Southern, Back sen fas been well noted. Hella pointed ti thus "asl sobjog tion ges hand hand with capital punish’ in the sour scrip [Ie carries a ertain negative history that connects it in the minds ‘of death penalty sbelitionsts, to prevent practices" This continu, this Tong history of racial subjapaio'sdeath-bound lags, and is ne ropolitial place in culture, reached new hohe with Horricane Katrina, nits alays-alreay “eath-world of southern Fauisane Wikre, Arawing pon David Marin’ woth ds Monto’ Ba ynching Alecompose al deuanse the dave yet silanes the cai) for ‘ompition and recomponiion of White sbctivity is acsrmpliaed by the White b's meron int and exchange of his "rote Fails bu of Mach es We're reminded of the reloreiication of wbce Subjectivity theough the crasue uf bse ie but of othce elements to Firatly, mt ony able lves aerate as apr, thin the (euring narrative of avery but black death swell (hist the same a saying that blacks aralwaywaleady slaved, bt to seh ding ard death function in «parila way even a hey confi the late. Thi i for those puepine, 4 crucial distinction) Where lynching pita Tata oh posal antirait spect, Mtr al peas inlay othe white appetite for the Blac da.” Send, as Mowters Bal ard ies groengue fais album’ make must leat ii the death af the black henge 2 fuer hat al here nites Hal! 9 any ways Anos ths continuum, this prehistory ranma, an sn to Intersene nt © pt oe of the preaructaing frack death. The exten od! intent of thi Analg, howes ct, har discern ay there ivabeays a ef fulilling eget t, When we first eet fuer grandfather Tick, the est now exdeath-ow guard, he sit with his macabre setapbook of executions. We ae initiated in this “grote fay album’ early Hank pases him the newspaper that tes ‘of Musgrove’ fate Huck cuts ut the iem and sticks it the awaiting Space The neitblity oF thi ct, of filing inthe yap, cermpeting the "ating scalfol, ds not stance us fom the authority fea ond Inge but evinces te pretrmination, Th fil’ alibating i proud the conv eruence aa leveling ofHak and Leticia tines but it operates less thematically to, Ii forged Fig 52 Vien ; ‘hough thr paraictd, then share, experinces but a thragh na ? P ness hich is far more apparent, more fully bait, elsewhere. Mem 1 sues, to afled its rupture. Not any are words, act and ieagsry Ball always secrs tobe saying two times at once Ie dosnt och repeated, but particular sts es of shot oo, Mone alls pater retexts Racin, reprewed and utherwie, Te echoned with w that pont The fini sequcmce sw, Hank asleep in bed «cling fan casting the acl grammar of dying, between the nescapablity of racist imbulan Te rserat the ath hourd-m Race frivstones and through wagon wheel cea meaphy ofthe rene and the homestead, within an American fh repetition fof course a marative device bat, here imbalance. The dificulties between Leticia and Tank are, lima ge white characters’ deaths * Wet I obincaing wiht ofthis privileging wil the end of the sences herself and repress het the fl's hhashand’s death. The him sal about the return ofthe reprewed and th investment in blurnng cams and unconscious realms. Mower als ets op fetoeies) Bestia tts bsioige tose whine coaster scd mages, als, om caer, sill satin, locate the Grotomski the atrial Leticia’. ‘The film start with Hark dreaming and thro nes within asern- made sc (ot unlike Hac’ in page” crap and enna with Latic's acquiescence, Whete she wat and wants, book) As props rather than scene. sites rather than sentence, the Hank watts She slaps her thigh lsuhing and he fgets wncorafora fall ton, othe hare of fiction a lent, fs undone ‘Thin metacinemati fed coals tet eidetan't hase shad Ui coring tae Bop ee fuses the authority f the anf, the Herardinel celebrated the ln a amas reality beyond the set—isindica fully the tive of what we might thik ofthe K's pt or even Ths betranl of x picere imcronal charry bgt AND TE MOVING BMG ‘he lim poss ceriain shows aml fn 9 doing, grow ts aesthetic in aterm: Seen are relay aot Gum a sarity of angles and often include obutractins 0 sexing. The cameras poitioned behind curtain, ters, windns i moves from straight-am shes to igh ages oF es sinay tothe distance Tt pills fics Co fevel these obstructions, forther funderuitiny the veracity and privilege of what gen The camer ain Aisincrest (ubich the marae’ pate sre up, to, i emphasising ‘sleorsurace) sees, with ts sifu eof sreen space, to denounce fin! deeente the ttn vison of the ave, dhe singularity or fst of perspective, Whete the frame mas hold tact unten, he fk ming, ‘vem frm the it, pets elf again its ator The scenes following the title sequence pede 4 useful example of this ‘The camera fats Hank's belo wind wateing hi she an them inside hs room. Fakes ap & positon in the empey all fis Insc aiding fs bang eab, les Hank rin rman wo arwther. Then inictsting and contentions example 0 first se seene whet Leticia, drunk with just wanes hi make er Yel pox. The scene intermeayesentapment sind eles, with simi hot a hand reaching tear cage i ‘motion and repeated viewing its Leica ding the teaching and, pr ‘sumably releasing ofthe caged bird W hile the ditestor has sigaested his allsion vo Masa Angel's autobingnphy, Krew Why the Card Bid Sigs the far ire rewiman erro tthe caged Lawrence The imtetent eanmat he Angcou's when the internal ad exteralreferencon to lick incarceration ae so pcrvane, Farsters gc intentions ae again ‘overwhelmed by the beer pctre’s bu ath a, 4s Melissa Angie sy fev Forr iso the vin here nsead he whe wneinking ‘nhone prejudices come Iromcenturen of negative imagers internalized by the white male audience of which he part." ine, sciments an actions are repeated in the im, Hank vill tl Sony's wea ike his mother; Buck will sy the ame to Hank whe he resins from his job, Pairs are revealed in pus acto tothe secie of the mfethe suede ofthe son. The mt bus patterning and comtinity ‘me fe the milkipke generations ofthe Grorowsk fara who all hl ‘he sae jb, ponte, residence ar resting place * The fi reste and favour these smeral oe puters ithe hope of is igo rather splocing, the ger structure shifts atention from black to white experience and, ins dng, phases she rederprion of the later Ft alho moves from the histone tothe lal, fram pattcen to contingent event, from ching being beyond ante inital, ong mance. tov having ven Though hard co dace, except i som GRAMMAR LESSONS: DYING ASD DITHPRENEE 19 anh isa ereature of habit His rips tothe diner, wih his favourite eat anu same order of chocolate ice cream with 4 pasties ‘bat point both obsessive compo and his taste ong his father will ant Leticia ast cu in he fam. When, he final scene, Leteiashaes the ie crear with Tan, pres woul! em hase tort mae, and the racist allusions eft hehind, o he aeuienence tabs ‘oman ever more troubling cle. As Wier makes clea, the chosclte fee cream i one of many symptom of the consumptive am differen eath-bound sakes of Hank and Leticia alway acalised dynamic ie “cunnilingus, sign-guzing, body garing, strip searching, heud saving cleetocuton’, i i for him one af the fll’s repeated =ncerophiic act ‘what we might thik of a repeated spectates of whive appetite for lak subjugation” The sexual nature of his apps yey cha in tems etic, a it was in terms of Ichi ans redemption doe’ simply depend upon the erinure of Black tives fut Feed of ther. The Bins curating of Hank a Lise ‘masks this but i emai the case. Ar, while Leica will nk Hank “rae her fee go the fil is dedicated making Hank (am the a sce) fel yan, to redeeming ther. or Wilders hic am ier ‘annibalistie or varpitic dgmanic, ground in the veyitalisng of white subyetnity through draining black subjects i contrast tou fn confit, with this, Rowe speaks of eh act slightly dierent. Her feminist reading mphasscs the yenerat ve capacity of Let's hs {icing an) barn he hice rab tot er be Ma Fant ay ete rare tin par mor he mt a7 In this way, the vomiting f the opening seeneforetlls(eith as well ta the return of the fepeesed. at, wha 6 apposite inthis How i tanphasnes white rebirth thru the black bay. Redemption a white reproductive futuro he excason ofthe black eld. Reproctive futur a8 the haps ending, melaama’suldimate and ons close, depends onthe displacement and erase of a only Hck ie ba, poi tally of blak proyen This ccf emphasis on legacy is attache! v the white experience alone, Im sriking contrast, the Msgoves are Gemls denied legats Kinship and community As Kwabiut Orcher makes cer:uppens. nd Sonny ois the other graves inthe garden, Lawrence and Tyrell’ dead bade ceive al deserved, it sce, no such formality or rital or acknowledgement The treader implications ofall thee manecuvres ate car. As Rome ‘the Sutera white man oxeasoned dhrough ates: The eer 2 form of rational redemption dinariclated fom oat edese~ 0 this se, sie roparations Ha’ pont-tacst ebith inves bor tli iment unl making artends But these "Yeparations” ate hep highly iy, he dad, and carving hi shotgun, ad he oni Latics with w cat, Site redemption as compassion at blaekpain 4 notional reparation for indivi sen The narrative’ strategies of equation aim to redecon Hank and 0 wth a black woman, sm ream even bunness. We move frm Sack slfring 2 ne ibral action b ‘vase and fat, neutralise diflernce. As 'se suggested, this equi rating succes lyon super evel The film's unconscious as ance of railed pattern incite Willer speaks of something sla sggesting that Monsters Mul narrative Strategies democtatile the perwnal pronoun we’ 'The fim works 1o universe the ep repress racan Morconer, [the iapieation of me ea form of ite We papers oer any contemplation of ioknce 4 a suturing mattis ~ and weds us 0 the notion of vnkoce asa coningent even’ The shi from the hist alt the personal, fom sate to stimate reparations reiterates thi, The Potion ofthe gchosals neresting in thi ear. ewan Hranigan notes how Jean Pere Oulart, im his seminal work om suture, “uses the winic smetaphoe “cho” fourteen times an his ema im ard t cus, Helv, this notion of ance 4 sng shot (eho sigs the intangible invisible, and yorhapsinaginary)” Suture isthe mechanism whersby the spectator tains omnipetence, and echo the technique that hecps that poten resenting The m eships wo ageney and to death, however, are very ferent. Where Hank redecorate, Leticia evicted Where ak resins, Lisi sacked, Whee Sonny micisibls) murdered ‘The porch thats st upon the ce cream shared the patterns repeated are all ahs este the levelling of the two ch nce into "we, to daavow ets wide, yell acter pit i the il fat seme acianed imbalance is sustained: thas bee firmly remove um the centre of the frame but remains in unconscious Tete’ eat soning silence, her, gunecerice tthe lage sthiteredempeon, an the fil’ ultimate eprenon. This ia acquiescence horn of poverty and itl cke She acguiects Hn ‘entity she is give testimony to Has baling of her and her had fess. That the fllm ends with compliance and teprosiun suggests that the terme ofthe ied. ‘The terms of recnery are continued white ‘ownership and black subriion| precast lima A the tame ime, the tw charac’ side-by-se- new manks or covers ner, ail. centred Tank, farther fetishisng interracial unio, Fur Ree Hank and Leticia union stands} mctonsmeal | for en ind race elas in the US. displacing the cultural work f racial healing rom histor and politic [and placing tare within the real interne. sonal conta" This nanoeusre from the wate wo the home, fu rca to domestic pits, tm drama to race, tom srcture to fet, Mas teen variously described. For 4 productive toa maciasistic empathy, The formar can prove kindof rca healing. the attr to individualised ie up i “te login of ibrar plural’. For Wikderon, the shift operates for am ‘analytic’ wan empathetic’ fin aesthetic, and this is 4 similarly umporerised func sin for the Bm, * Empaths, which comes under a ‘haptc, important herein generating neces) felis al Faamamiy br ep things lal, nda and contingent ag than pr inal, though this wxne smb the (stra “new begin that the narrative hasbeen working towards, docs throagh enshrin ing the imprint of the pst and is nbertance.Leticialoks aut actos be of inaitutions ar ors12 pew ard fom the porch to the granestones ofthe Grotoshi fail: at on is inheritance, andthe lin'sccho- laden rmphasin on Teas, the white ‘man's but the haunting presence of history, ad of death, remains White Futur Black Progenicide? Monier’ Rallis gro ie fille sith death, the most horrendous deaths, and he whole gamet of them (enecitio, suicide, manslaughter) and vet ina lme stor: witha apps ending. The charge of this happy ang the further or reerated entrenchment of the race crimes of the Unite States hat thi ln abu the past, and so cemented i history is evident mot ny ih re wh Sth bs te rs el the nanan characters lve decide This des nore the tase but further libs the ‘aloof fit. As Kwak Dreher bn" Monts Ball purposful and eeresious marsinlia tom and anniation. To clear dhe rad for the Whive mew co-opt the Toyatics of ack other the Hlck child hast be extinguished fro the mother's ite, This etinguishing of the Mack child i an uncommon symptom of the death-boundnes of blak eet in cinema, Td mo rca that fnfrequemt it fc, fe figurative if not tera, terms but that it ddeseres singular mote not east because W950 oneronked As Fv ills trated in this chap, the eisai ak futur the pide a fc of Seite atari in Halon. be act Lstand Moers Ball he process ‘white redemption depends upon the htra rfgueative death of ack ‘tuten and emphasis om white hinship and legacy This dynamic 6 not testricted, however, tothe terranes film or Southcrn melodrama, The erase of ak chien underpins the pb Black th rho (and Mack fatherhood!) elsewhere. The “mums ubiquitous in the endaring visions of black women rasing white chk, rather than their awn, or marturing ther to ete hve, all dhe way fromm Cone with he Hind (Vitor Fleming. 1959) to Girl Intrrapted James Mangold, 199) “Ths imponst underpins the oustanding fle owtstanding cause ofthe sheer abence of black mothers cewhere ~ af the two adaptations ‘of Fannie Hurst's dation of Life John M. Stahl, 1934 and Douglas Sick, 1989) "In these, he saint black housekeeper mothers both a white and ber own chikl, yet her om childs, telling, ‘malate’ — "concrete ‘evidence of white exploitation’ ~ and spurns her resulting, 4 sccm her death an impossible fans indeed.” In this seminal ext, the lac, smother Hrs, ana etary “whe” characters yet again Hack morhershave me more of an appearance in the list two decades” ORAMIMAR LESSONS! DYING AND OIEFH HENCE ISS films. "The compulry death of «black wa, and concomitant patholo sation or demonsation of black mothers and failure of Mack pater, ‘underpinned the Hack authored hod fm uf the atl {FAs and pene ‘sere, atleast igratvely, i mare rcesomis fare sich a Set OFF (F Gary Gray, 1996) This gente contrasts with all ther file dics Freres mt just in terms of thet re lly wona's rhetorical whiteness to. Much ie Monster’ all the howd ‘suggests that “Black women cannot raise health, strong, ands suiicient Black men, and tht if 9 father present, the noms wil fa {in ife and pethapy even end up dea™ At the sme time, lack women ‘remain peripheral vib, here a they ‘broadly and public narratives of urban gang culture which these le “amoellad'®!"Thowgh heroic Back mths appear inthe same pris sc has, lke Sivnge Days (Kathryn Biche, 1995), Star Trek Pit (Contact Gosthan Frakes, 196) ot The Mains (Wachwrbs tr, M4), ‘they to have ben identi ultimately as mains to white maturation despite thet groundreabing roles ™ Tessin the ment celchrated ur vigor pont ania mara of contemporary mca that Ye dane ety ce we futur an ack ‘progentie expecially heightened or oterdctemined hut starts ‘lar neverthclw tthe porntlly pontcolomal Cid of Mes, West ‘African Kee the only fertile woman on Farth, Though scteoy pi ‘arm, this lack morher holds the promise of reproatctve generation or the entire planet. She aT argued in Chaper 3, sil fared ona whit ‘teatro, ot eat in terms ofthe redemption of bite en. he ‘whose son's mame her baby gas. A far more pat post spoeay po fn ‘spon this pronounced “nosing fom’ the West's act history wi its formative stat, the transatlantic slave trade 2712 (Roland Limeich 20%) Arica, the nly land above the water, becomes the site for the es. ‘omorro where the moll poplitions a the” Nes hat escape the ‘onal wl go forth a multiply ts perhaps ite surprise that seience fetion asa voncept should prove rst actly progressive, with all he ‘aveas that shi tern has em shown eta Hach with the Souter fclruma, nothing much has changes. Regardless of the emotive and Corrective efforts ofthe rent award-winning fi, Thr Hip lac pe ‘enicide, the computor erase ofthe black ci, hes again and a ever encath white sation The road to equivalence, wo pnt-raciam, ont peppered with potholes tout imponity. His a culleae panuring a 3 motorway, tered ‘vith the bis of mame’ and maga! neprons” dead chien. These hikren are telly dead, ax in Menser’s Rall and Phe Hep, ard /oe19 HEATH AND THE MOVING AEAG Figurativly cad 35am cxery fil ~ and the Uist long ~ in which black characters murtare white children (or the childlike athe expense of having or being with, their [cea King his catered that Swhen the representation of the Black way ts tno cancly tod ta history of terror, sulfering, torture, and rational wounded, cannot break fee" Fe argued ere that the representation of the bck bly is aways to clone Hd to this isto, fen when blchpain 6 repressed or displaced oF soothed om sere, Ftonding Wikltsn’s tighter fos, Tse suggeted thit one doesn have tok onl to mekramas af race, but wo eases and eyo, lcarth this logs. While he argue, and so persuasively, for ove white ily "ets omalopcally a4 potion of hfe i relation tthe lack, tr Save ponion, fas one of death? Ive waned, theough examining lang, dath- bund ess und futur in manstecam Bl, to tase bt St further complcstes of ths dynamic andthe grammar it determines, Tn this chapter we have secn haw the cinematic language of death aout dving i gendered, raced, normative. The Memtity-dctermined Felons of suflering and frais to redemption and salaton pee stractred. Tis, in other wor, dependent an 3 grammar of Sng that recedes amd predctermines she racial caedinates of this grammar ove the richest diet in Hollywood: the mont consciously nl erable despite seemingly drama ails sacl ino. "The moral ‘cmos of Part I then, combine here withthe aol gram a the death umdnews of black charters, 4 coher the fs of mainstream film. In che ext chapter we shall consider how the medurn might resi