Fictionalized Accounts of African Migrant Mothers in And Breathe Normally and Anchor Baby

Yıl 2021, Cilt: 15 Sayı: 1, 151 - 162, 29.06.2021

Omotoyosi Odukomaiya

https://doi.org/10.47777/cankujhss.883053

Öz

Representations and discourses about migrants have excluded the narratives of African migrant mothers. Often, discussions about these group of women tend to rely on stereotypes, which consequently trivializes the complexities and nuances that characterize the lives of these women. Adopting an intersectional approach, this article centers the African immigrant mother by exploring the narratives of African migrant mothers in two films. In this article, I explore how institutional systems combine to oppress African migrant mothers in their host nations. While And Breathe Normally (2018) challenges the notion of female passivity—which shapes numerous mainstream Hollywood films—Anchor Baby (2010) perpetuates some patriarchal norms associated with motherhood. However, both films demonstrate the multiple layers of oppression that African migrant mothers encounter in the host country. Through the individual narratives of all the female characters (black and white) in both films, we can see each one of them has personal battles imposed on them by their societies, thereby highlighting how interconnected the lives of women are.

Anahtar Kelimeler

African migrant mothers, Hollywood stereotypes, And Breathe Normally, Anchor Baby, Intersectional feminism

And Breathe Normally ve Anchor Baby adlı Filmlerde Afrikalı Göçmen Annelerin Kurgusal Hayatları

Öz

Göçmenler üzerine olan yansıtmalar ve oluşturulan söylemler Afrikalı göçmen annelerin anlatılarını dışarıda tutar. Bu kadınlar üzerine olan tartışmalar, onların hayat hikayelerini özelleştiren ayrıntıları önemsiz kılan stereotipler üzerine kuruludur. Bu çalışma, Afrikalı göçmen annelerin anlatılarını iki film üzerinden irdeleyerek onları merkeze alır. Ayrıca, Afrikalı göçmen annelerin yerleştikleri ülkelerde endüstri tarafından sistemsel olarak nasıl baskılandıklarını araştırmayı amaçlar. And Breathe Normally, Hollywood filmlerinde sıklıkla karşılaşılan pasif kadın algısına karşı çıkar. Öte yandan, Anchor Baby ise annelikle ilişkilendirilen erkek-egemen normları pekiştirmektedir. Ancak her iki filmde de Afrikalı göçmen annelerin maruz kaldığı baskıcı yapı farklı boyutlarıyla sergilenir. Kadın karakterlerin bireysel hikayeleri üzerinden her birinin kişisel mücadeleleri bu iki filmde de aktarılır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Afrikalı göçmen anneler, Hollywood stereotipleri, And Breathe Normally, Anchor Baby, keşisimsel feminizm

Kaynakça

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