She’s viewed largely through the lens of her fiction, particularly “Eyes,” the story of a young woman striving for authenticity and independence along with romantic love. But as the new film makes clear, Hurston’s work as an anthropologist was at least as important as her literary output. Traveling alone through the South in a Nash coupe in the ’20s, a gun on her hip, Hurston collected songs, folktales and life stories from Black communities seldom seen or heard.
On the first page of “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” Hurston writes, “It was the time for sitting on porches beside the road. It was the time to hear things and talk.” This is precisely what the author did as a child growing up in, one of the oldest Black-incorporated municipalities in the U.S. As the film shows, the young Hurston would hang out on the porch of the town’s general store, listening to tales tall and otherwise. They’d have to shoo her away when it was time to close.
The film benefits from another tool Hurston had at her disposal. She undertook some of her research trips under the patronage of Charlotte Osgood Mason, a wealthy socialite and philanthropist who liked to bankroll artists of the Harlem Renaissance — under her strict conditions, which included a precise accounting of every cent. Mason’s money paid for a movie camera, with which Hurston captured her subjects at work and play. This footage is used throughout the documentary.
Hurston’s life was no easier than those of many of her subjects. Her mother died when she was 13, triggering a period of aimlessness and grief. But she was resourceful. Publicly shaving ten years off her age, Hurston eventually graduated from high school and went on to Howard University. She found her way to New York, where she attended Barnard College, became close friends with and studied under Columbia University’s Franz Boas, widely considered to be the father of American anthropology.
Entertainment Entertainment Latest News, Entertainment Entertainment Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: etnow - 🏆 696. / 51 Read more »
Source: BGR - 🏆 234. / 63 Read more »