Sylvie's Love (2020) - Harlem Jazz and the Politics of Romance
This week, we chat about the movie Sylvie's Love (2020), directed by Eugene Ashe and starring Tessa Thompson and Nnamdia Asomugha. The film poses the question of whether romance stories can be stripped of their political context. We dissect the legacy of the Harlem Renaissance, jazz history, and the civil rights movement.In this episode, we reference the following works:‘Sylvie’s Love’ Nnamdi Asomugha and Writer-Director Eugene Ashe Reflect on Telling a Story Audiences Hadn’t Seen Before by Scott HuverElla Baker and the Black Freedom Movement by Barbara RansbyThe New Negro Aesthetic: Selected Writings from Alain Locke"Our History," published by the NAACPA History of the Harlem Renaissance edited by Rachel Farebrother and Miriam Thaggert"Black Women Working Together: Jazz, Gender, and the Politics of Validation" by Tammy L. Kernodle"The Harlem Renaissance and its Blue-Jazz Traditions: Harlem and its Places of Entertainment" by Virginia Whatley Smith
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Persuasion (2022) - Gender, Meritocracy, and Empire
This week, we're talking about the Netflix adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel Persuasion, starring Dakota Johnson. Join us as we discuss the gendered relations of the era, issues of aristocracy vs. meritocracy in early-nineteenth-century Britain, and the theme of empire that lies just under the surface of Austen's work.P.S. We mention the Victorian period throughout this episode and its strict separation of gender, but Persuasion was technically written a few years before this period officially began. These themes, however, were already emerging in the run-up to Queen Victoria's reign.In this episode, we reference the following works:'Gender Roles in the 19th Century' & Victorians Undone: Tales of the Flesh in the Age of Decorum by Kathryn Hughes'Jane Austen on Screen' & Jane Austen: Writer in the World by Kathryn SutherlandOrientalism by Edward Said'Decolonizing Imperialist Discourse in Jane Austen's Persuasion' by Muna Abd-Rabbo, Ghadir Zalloum, and Ziad Nemrawi
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Brooklyn (2015) - The Story Behind Irish Immigration
Tizia and Christina chat about the movie Brooklyn (originally a novel written by Colm Tóibín), starring Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen. In this episode, we talk about the difficulties of moving to a new place, the history of Irish and Italian immigration, the romance between Eilis and Tony, and so much more.In this episode, we reference the following works:Forging an Ethnic Identity: The Case of Italian Americans by Stefano LuconiAmerica Classifies the Immigrants - From Ellis Island to the 2020 Census by Joel PerlmannIrish Immigrants in New York City, 1945-1995 by Linda Dowling AlmeidaWho's Irish? Ethnic Identity and Recent Trends in Irish American History by Deirdre MoloneyAn Unlikely Union: The Love-Hate Story of New York's Irish and Italians Account by Paul MosesReview: Resettling the Meaning of Home in ‘Brooklyn,’ With Saoirse Ronan by A. O. Scott for the New York Times
Gossiping about the past, one movie at a time. Hosts Tizia von Bibra and Christina Obolenskaya chat about their favorite historical fiction adaptations and dissect the history behind them, unpacking what life really looked like across different centuries. Join the community of the Blue Stockings!
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