Daughters of the Dust

    I think the thing that stands out to me more than I expected about this film was the costuming. It plays into the magical realism powerfully, with the characters frequently wearing clothing so fancy it seems incredibly inconvenient for their environment. The initial scene in the low-to-the-water boat where yellow mary wears not only a fancy white linnen dress which is bound to get wet, but also a brimmed hat with a veil so long and obscuring that she has to hold it up with one hand in order to hold the conversation with the other passengers. 

    I also noticed some of the scenes included despite being plot-irrelevant showed them stumbling, falling, and frolicking on the sandy beach in crisply white dresses which look to have the potential to tear at any time. I almost expected the visitors to the island to stand out due to their fancy hats and fitted coats being so unusual to pair with the cleaning of shrimp and smashing of glass bottles, but in fact the entire cast wore fancy clothing throughout the movie. 

    The most fascinating part of this to me is that although I found it confusing and distracting at first, by the end of the film I was accustomed to it, even expecting it. It moved from being a point of interest to a mood setter and an important formative element of the ambiance Dash included so carefully via so many deviations and innovations on the "standard hollywood" style of storytelling. I do wonder though if she expected it to be such a focal point for audience members like me at the start of the film. Perhaps meeting the characters on the island before in the boat might have helped me set my bearings, but I'm not sure how that would have changed the rest of the film. Regardless, I'm enjoying the chance to think about how these decisions changed my experience as an audience member.