Read: “Zapatista Embroidery as a Speech Act in Zapantera Negra” by Madison Treece

In her essay, “Zapatista Embroidery as Speech Act in Zapantera Negra,” Madison Treece writes about the artistic encounter between the Zapatistas and Black Panthers from 2012-2014 in which Zapatista women embroidery collectives created renditions of original political artwork by Emory Douglas. In doing so, the Zapatista demonstrated a transnational, cross-cultural solidarity between the struggles of Black communities in the US with indigenous communities in Mexico. Of the embroidery work, Treece argues, “in the communal act of producing the embroidery, the women perform a politically driven labor that reconsiders their position within the community while creating a material object that offers a way to de-think neoliberal globalism.” It is as if the embroidery presents itself as a knowledge system, by extension of those who create it. I appreciate Treece’s argument here regarding the Zapatista women’s communal act of producing the embroidery as it centers conversations regarding labor and politics. The act of gathering becomes inherently political as a commonly-shared ethos is literally woven into the cultural fabric of their wider community. Following Treece’s argument here, I suggest that Bodomo and Maxy’s works below are structural example of weaving that becomes a speech act of sorts. Their respective story structures provide a new embodiment to the process of writing. It reclaims the space of communication as one that can take many forms and does not have to be prefabricated or prescribed.  

Watch:

Unbraiding three-act structure (longer excerpt can be found here) (Dir. Nuotama Bodomo, 2021, 19min)

Synopsis: In this pedagogical affront/video lecture, filmmaker Nuotama Bodomo looks to indigenous knowledge systems—specifically the Kente cloth—for alternative narrative organizational structures (from FILM FUTURA ’21 course description)

Gush (excerpt) (Dir. Fox Maxy, 2023, 71min)

Synopsis: Pieced together from a decade’s worth of personal archives, Fox Maxy’s Gush delivers a kaleidoscopic look at horror and survival. The film weaves through a stream-of-consciousness meditation on the impact of sexual violence and healing through collective joy. At first, it is a fiery manifesto on the sovereignty of land and the body, and then an ode to the bonds of friendship before morphing into a celebration of what it means to endure. (from FilmFreeway)

Nuotama Bodomo and Fox Maxy in Conversation with Tina Campt (via Blackstar Film Festival 2021)

Panel: Nuotama Bodomo and Fox Maxy in Conversation With Tina Campt” (from the 2021 BlackStar Film Festival). Based in Philadelphia and accessible globally, BlackStar Film Festival is an annual celebration of the visual and storytelling traditions of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people from around the world.

Sanctuary (Dir. Shahkeem Williams & Tanika Williams, 2020, 10min)

Synopsis: Sanctuary combines academic research, autobiographical expression, and archival interviews, to illustrate the aftermath of African-Caribbean mothers leaving their daughters to immigrate to the United States. The project highlights the plights of pregnancy and parenting faced by African-Caribbean immigrant women to convey the turmoil experienced giving birth in the US and actively managing the silent stress of leaving their children behind in their motherland (from filmmaker)

Excerpt: Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy (Dir. Renee Bergan & Mark Schuller, 2009, 50min)

Synopsis: Told through compelling lives of five courageous Haitian women workers, Poto Mitan gives the global economy a human face. Each woman’s personal story explains neoliberal globalization, how it is gendered, and how it impacts Haiti: inhumane working/living conditions, violence, poverty, lack of education, and poor health care. While Poto Mitan offers in-depth understanding of Haiti, its focus on women’s subjugation, worker exploitation, poverty, and resistance demonstrates these are global struggles. Finally, through their collective activism, these women demonstrate that despite monumental obstacles in a poor country like Haiti, collective action makes change possible. (from film website)

Discussion Questions:

• In what ways does “weaving” inform both the material and symbolic meanings of Bodomo, Maxy, and Williams’ works?
• What is the role of “intuition” in the image-making of the films?
• What is the relationship between religion, spirituality, and political praxis in Poto Mitan?
• What tensions and connections are made by the filmmakers in relation to notions of home and land?