The Oppositional Gaze (in process)

         According to Bell Hooks, in film, black characters were not viewed as individuals. When black women were portrayed in film, they were only used to benefit the white characters in the film or other films. Because of this, black women did not expect to be represented appropriately.  Their bodies were there to serve, as Hooks says "to enhance the and maintain white womanhood as object of the phallocentric gaze".  In contrast to black women, white women are oppressed and oppressors which allows them to maintain power while keeping a fragile and feminine composure.