The “Dark Girls” documentary that premiered on OWN over the weekend was quite the loaded conversation. The film looked to explore the biases and attitudes towards darker skinned women, asking people within the Black community and out of it, their feelings on women with a darker skin tone.
As with most live television, I hopped on Twitter to join in the conversation that was bubbling up under the #DarkGirls hashtag. What I found was shocking. Twitter users mostly used the hashtag for good, but there were a few violators who took it upon themselves to open up a personal dialogue that completely muddled the original purpose of “Dark Girls.”
“Dark Girls is a fascinating and controversial documentary film that goes underneath the surface to explore the prejudices that dark-skinned women face throughout the world. It explores the roots of classism, racism and the lack of self-esteem within a segment of cultures that span from America to the most remote corners of the globe. Women share their personal stories, touching on deeply ingrained beliefs and attitudes of society, while allowing generations to heal as they learn to love themselves for who they are.”
While I believe the documentary was a success is perpetuating a heavy conversation, I do believe it missed the mark for many viewers. Here’s how.
1. Rants & Raves
Unfortunately because Twitter is an open forum, there’s no policing what tweets show up while using particular hashtags and phrases. The abuse of the phrase, “Dark Girls” was almost sickening.
The fact that people are using the Dark Girls hashtag to rant and preach their own sermons instead of commenting on the movie…—
Jamilah Lemieux (@JamilahLemieux) June 24, 2013
We complain about racism when #DarkGirls is on but automatically assume George Zimmerman is guilty cus a white face killed a black body.—
Bellatrix LeStrange. (@ninasafiri_) June 24, 2013
To me, ALL dark skin girls resemble Chief Keef.
Thats why I just can’t get with em.—
Mr. Ed (@OhMrMonroe) June 24, 2013
lol niggas really still believe two ugly parents make a pretty baby? n thts why all these dark girls got kids hahahaha—
Skip Schumaker 55 (@SSgutta) June 24, 2013
For all y’all sayin “I’m not light or dark, I’m brown”, Umm if the KKK come thru u think they goin skip you cuz ur brown?! Lol #DarkGirls—
Andie (@AndieMichelle89) June 24, 2013
Does anyone still care about the plight of #DarkGirls ? 👀👀 or it was just for last night? Lol—
Meme (@MamaMeiaa) June 24, 2013
Mind you the ONLYYYYY reason some of are lighter are because your ancestors were raped by white men… eff what ya heard #darkgirls—
Blanche Devereux (@SwEetNLoveLy229) June 24, 2013
My cousin said dark girls look dirty.—
Blakeley Masterson (@mastersongko) June 24, 2013
2. Misunderstanding The Point Of A Documentary
There were a lot of disappointed people on Twitter. I can’t be sure, but I would have to assume that they thought this film was going to be the great big answer to the rhetorical question the documentary asks, “Are dark skinned girls able to love themselves despite the attitudes of society?” This documentary was merely here to start and/or continue the conversation, it was not offering a solution to this ever-growing problem.
I feel like there was no resolution to #DarkGirls, it just relied heavily in individual experiences—
Eagle Eye (@OreAdedeji) June 24, 2013
Black is Beautiful: Understanding Oprah’s ‘Dark Girls’ Message was originally published on hellobeautiful.com