Jamelia Woods’Black Girl Soldier (2016) strives to remind millennial black women of the intergenerational struggle for equality. Through the notion of song, Woods combines a militant drum beat and politically resistant lyrics to provoke action from the new generation of black women. The audience is urged to explore how oppression infects various aspects of black women’s lives. Woods explains how white patriarchy forgets missing black girls; it misrepresents and appropriates black women’s talent, all whilst killing their children. By revealing to her millennial audience black women have been marginalised, Woods exemplifies the fundamental reasons for awakening.
Optimistically, Woods destabilizes the oppressive stereotype of black women and turns it into an adoration for their resilience and strength, as exemplified by her inclusion of the 2013 movement ‘Black girl Magic’. This affirmation of black beauty and strength works to emphasise what millennial black women are fighting for. Self-love is crucial to understand as we have been so mercilessly exploited and dehumanised. This message is translated through Woods’ use of focusing camera techniques, diverse casting and black conscious hair and costume. As we are shown young black girls who walk in the footsteps of revolutionary black women, we are reminded of how far we have come, and how far we need to go.
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