Jacqueline Bobo's "Black Women as Cultural Readers" (Book Note)

 

In "Black Women as Cultural Readers," Jacqueline Bobo contends that black women have historically played crucial roles as "cultural producers, critics, and members of an audience." These roles have empowered them to strategically shape the imaginative portrayal, critical interpretation, and societal status of black women (27). Bobo eschews the typical approach of relying solely on academic scholars to analyze literary texts. Instead, she turns to black women who form the natural readership for her research. Through this analysis, Bobo articulates how black women challenge conventional depictions of themselves, pushing back against stereotypes that pigeonhole them as either dependent single mothers or domineering matriarchs.

 

The book is organized into five interconnected chapters: "Black Women as Interpretive Community," "Text and Subtext: The Color Purple," "Watching The Color Purple: Two Interviews," "Daughters of the Dust," and "Black Women Reading Daughters of the Dust," followed by a conclusion. Bobo's insightful analysis is influenced by cultural and film critics such as John Fiske, Donald Bogle, Hazel Carby, and Barbara Christian. She incorporates a "hybrid" scholarship, blending academic analysis with community perspectives. Moreover, Bobo situates her cultural criticism within a vernacular critical tradition that seeks to reclaim the collective past for strength and inspiration.

 

The second chapter, "Text and Subtext: The Color Purple," provides a glimpse into Bobo's stance. Here, she argues that Alice Walker's novel and Steven Spielberg's film convey conflicting cultural values. One of Bobo's primary contentions is that Spielberg's cinematic adaptation not only diminishes the female characters but also sidelines them from the central narrative.

 

In the third chapter, "Watching The Color Purple: Two Interviews," Bobo effectively demonstrates her methodology. She examines the insights gained from two separate group interviews conducted as part of her research on the novel and film. Bobo finds that the women's interpretations of the film were deeply influenced by their own backgrounds, histories, and social and cultural experiences. This underscores that the observations of these women viewers were as diverse, astute, and well-informed as those of professional critics.

 

Bobo poses sharp and incisive questions, many of which stem from her personal investment in "bringing black women's cultural texts into the public discourse." However, she maintains a balance between critical scholarship and the authentic voices of women who prove themselves to be adept cultural interpreters. As Coco Fusco aptly notes, "cultural identity and values are politically and historically charged issues for communities in this country whose ability to wield power and control their symbolic representations has been limited within mainstream culture."