Sexual Muths in Jungle Fever
Michelle Wallace, author of the essay "Boyz in the Hood and Jungle Fever," defines the term "jungle fever" as a "condition in which blacks and whites (Asians, Native Americans, and Latinos appear to be both immune to the disease and irrelevant to the narration) become intimately involved because of their curiosity about their racial difference (perish the thought) rather than for love" (Wallace 126).This is the basis of Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991), which focuses on the apparent lack of solidarity between the different classes within the black community as well as the absence of the strong two-parent black family. These relationships, according to the movie, seem to be a major factor in the downfall of the black family, causing isolation, chaos, and in some cases even violence. A major element in addressing interracial relationships is Lee's use of sexual based myths of gender and race. The myths are: (1) the natural awareness of sex and the lack of innocence of black women; (2) the secret desire that black men have to "conquer" white women; and (3) the lust-based interest that white women have for the exotic Other. While the movie does include a somewhat accurate representation of the frustration that black women, and blac
The viewer, if she or he notices these not-so-discrete messages, becomes aware of the separation between black and white that will be portrayed. Nonetheless, Angie's introduction to the audience is non-sexual, allowing us to learn about her background before seeing her in a sexual act. According to a commentary written by Richard Grenier, Lee dedicates this movie to Hawkins in an attempt at explaining why interracial dating is not acceptable (Grenier 50). As bell hooks points out in her essay "Selling Hot Pussy," the black woman is . " Boston Review (August 1998) Common topics in this essay:
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Acceptance Essays
