Womanist thought can be expressed as an aesthetic depicted in popular cinematography to convey cultural worldviews and lived experiences of survival amid oppressive systems. Whether imaged through drama or satirical comedy, these papers examine messaging that engages the theo-ethical praxis of resilient resistance, cultural creativity, as well as empowerment.
In December 2021, *Abbott Elementary*, a comedy series created by and starring Quinta Brunson, began airing on ABC. While filmed as a “mockumentary,” the show’s comedy, particularly in the first season, seems inspired by stereotypical tropes, particularly of Black women. However, there appears to be a shift in the second season that has Womanist implications. Using the works of Tamura Lomax (*Jezebel Unhinged*), Angela Sims (*Walking Through the Valley*), Delores Williams (*Sisters in the Wilderness*) and Mitzi J. Smith (*Womanist Sass and Talk Back*), this paper explores how impacted characters can benefit from a Womanist evolution from offensive, oppressive tropes into fuller, richer personhood. The paper deconstructs how the portrayal of these tropes in *Abbott Elementary* continue to inflict harm on Black women and how Womanist ethics and hermeneutics can free, not just these fictional characters, but the real Black women who identify with them.
Historically Black women, their narratives, stories, and real-lived experiences have been under-valued, under-developed and under-represented in mainstream motion pictures and network television situational comedies. Scripts have been created to cast “superficial tropes” as roles that relegate Black women to third-class status, often placing them as “unsupported actresses” in a cast of characters where their on-screen time is limited. This paper will explore how Quinta Bronson, the creator, executive producer, and one of the actresses in the award-winning situational comedy, Abbott Elementary, uses cinematography to intentionally capture close-ups and one-on-one monologues with the camera, to amplify and reverse the incredible shrinking narrative of Black women. Further this paper will explore, how within a 30-minute comedy, Bronson has created a womanist blueprint that redefines lead actress and says “now they see me.”
This paper places the movie, “Till,” with its” many pietas” in Till-Mobley’s faith context to broaden the retelling of the story Producer Whoopie Goldberg, Director Chinonye Chukwu, and actress Danielle Deadwyler have told in the film. It analyzes the best and weakest aspects of the film’s portrayal of her spiritual and theological location in the Christian tradition with reference to Till-Mobley’s own telling. It contextualizes the film with reference to Mamie Till-Mobley's faith narrative as a Pentecostal Christian woman and her theological worldview.