📚 MELUS 2023 Presentation: Thoughts

In April 2023 I presented at MELUS on border crossings. Here is the abstract: 

          When one thinks about race in film or literature, it would seem obvious to think about drama—movies like Twelve Years a Slave for example likely come to mind, or more recent Oscar contenders like Moonlight. Drama is certainly the way we think about handling race as that is what wins awards, what gets advertised, and what gets audiences buzzing. But over the past two decades or so, race has become a subject that is more openly discussed as moods shift; at the same time, the subject of race has become a larger theme in nearly all genres—horror, comedy, romance, even action, fantasy, and thrillers. Of course, this had always been the case in some ways. Films like Blazing Saddles certainly have their following, or even Die Hard with a Vengeance takes a stab at race relations. However, these films tend to be considered one of a kind, the exception to the rule, or they are even poorly received. In this essay, I look at three more recent films—Nothing to Declare (2010), Get Out (2017), and Shiva Baby (2021)—from different cultural perspectives that all deal with the blending of race, genres, and borders in some way and are generally well-received, and show that these different mixed genres can highlight elements of these larger conversations that others cannot. In essence, I hope to show how the larger conversation and theme about what it means to be “other” tends to unify, rather than separate, these films and how they can explore these themes in more depth than others of more typical dramatic genres may be able to accomplish. 

The panel was fascinating! Talks on the intersection between Cuban and Jewish identities, on the liminal place that memory allows us to return to (and whether they constitute a place at all) and an incredible essay on what is largely considered the first graphic novel and the ways Jewish writers portray black identities were eye-opening. As usual, I left excited and ready to learn even more; I cannot wait until MELUS 2024!