Looking For Langston
Encyclopedia
Looking for Langston is a 1989 British black-and-white film directed by Isaac Julien
. It combines authentic archival newsreel footage of Harlem
in the 1920s with scripted scenes to produce a non-linear impressionistic story line celebrating black gay
identity and desire during the artistic and cultural period known as the Harlem Renaissance
in New York
. The film is a short, running about 42 minutes.
upon his death in 1967 as the funeral scene of Hughes is recreated and reinterpreted. Interspersed among such images as shifting time periods that seamlessly flow from past to present, black men dancing together within a revisionist version of the Cotton Club
, or, a speakeasy
, and dream sequences are brief narrative extracts from the poetic works of Hughes alongside those of Richard Bruce Nugent
, James Baldwin
, and Essex Hemphill
. Also shown are the controversial images of black men by the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe
.
The film is not a biography
of Langston Hughes. It is a memoriam to Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance as reconstructed from a black gay perspective. Moreover, it reports to be a meditation on the black gay experience within a historical context built around the homophobia
, oppression, and denial faced by men of African descent within black communities alongside “allusions and political commentary on white racism.” Hughes is presented as an icon and cultural metaphor
for black gay men who were confronted with being ostracized if they did not conform to black bourgeoisie
standards whose overriding goal concerned fuller social integration
. Contested are the ways the black male and his sexuality have been represented in the modern Western world and how existing notions of race and gender figure within American
and African American
culture. Throughout this process, the identity of Hughes as a black gay man is reclaimed and no longer denied, a process paralleled in the ever growing academic studies of Langston Hughes today. Moreover, adding to the historic and cinematic importance of the film in gay cinema, Looking for Langston was and continues to be one of very few films showing intra-racial affection between black gay men as revealed in the love story between the two leading black protagonists, Ben Ellison as Langston Hughes and Matthew Baidoo as Beauty.
Upon the initial first release of Looking for Langston in the United States
in 1990, the estate of Langston Hughes attempted to have the film censored because of copyright
violations. That is, permission allegedly had not been obtained by the filmmakers permitting them to use the poetry of Hughes in the film. During subsequent screenings of Looking for Langston, the sound was repeatedly turned down when the work of Hughes was read. Despite allegations of censorship
from critics at the time of the U.S. premier of the film, the estate had allowed many of Hughes’ poems to appear in gay anthologies in the print media and continues to do so till this day.
Today it falls under the auspices of the British Film Institute
as part of its national 'Black World' initiative celebrating black creativity in film.
Isaac Julien
Isaac Julien is an installation artist and filmmaker.-Biography:Julien graduated from St Martin's School of Art in 1985, where he studied painting and fine art film...
. It combines authentic archival newsreel footage of Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
in the 1920s with scripted scenes to produce a non-linear impressionistic story line celebrating black gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
identity and desire during the artistic and cultural period known as the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The film is a short, running about 42 minutes.
Critical Synopsis
Opening the film is a voice over of the original radio broadcast made in tribute to Langston HughesLangston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
upon his death in 1967 as the funeral scene of Hughes is recreated and reinterpreted. Interspersed among such images as shifting time periods that seamlessly flow from past to present, black men dancing together within a revisionist version of the Cotton Club
Cotton Club
The Cotton Club was a famous night club in Harlem, New York City that operated during Prohibition that included jazz music. While the club featured many of the greatest African American entertainers of the era, such as Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Adelaide Hall, Count Basie, Bessie Smith,...
, or, a speakeasy
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
, and dream sequences are brief narrative extracts from the poetic works of Hughes alongside those of Richard Bruce Nugent
Richard Bruce Nugent
Richard Bruce Nugent , aka Richard Bruce and Bruce Nugent, was a writer and painter in the Harlem Renaissance.-Biography:...
, James Baldwin
James Baldwin (writer)
James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,...
, and Essex Hemphill
Essex Hemphill
Essex Hemphill was an American poet and activist. He was a 1993 Pew Fellowships in the Arts.-Biography:Essex Hemphill was born April 16, 1957 in Chicago and died on November 4, 1995 of AIDS-related complications...
. Also shown are the controversial images of black men by the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
.
The film is not a biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of Langston Hughes. It is a memoriam to Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance as reconstructed from a black gay perspective. Moreover, it reports to be a meditation on the black gay experience within a historical context built around the homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, oppression, and denial faced by men of African descent within black communities alongside “allusions and political commentary on white racism.” Hughes is presented as an icon and cultural metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
for black gay men who were confronted with being ostracized if they did not conform to black bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
standards whose overriding goal concerned fuller social integration
Social integration
Social integration, in sociology and other social sciences, is the movement of minority groups such as ethnic minorities, refugees and underprivileged sections of a society into the mainstream of societies...
. Contested are the ways the black male and his sexuality have been represented in the modern Western world and how existing notions of race and gender figure within American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
culture. Throughout this process, the identity of Hughes as a black gay man is reclaimed and no longer denied, a process paralleled in the ever growing academic studies of Langston Hughes today. Moreover, adding to the historic and cinematic importance of the film in gay cinema, Looking for Langston was and continues to be one of very few films showing intra-racial affection between black gay men as revealed in the love story between the two leading black protagonists, Ben Ellison as Langston Hughes and Matthew Baidoo as Beauty.
Upon the initial first release of Looking for Langston in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1990, the estate of Langston Hughes attempted to have the film censored because of copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
violations. That is, permission allegedly had not been obtained by the filmmakers permitting them to use the poetry of Hughes in the film. During subsequent screenings of Looking for Langston, the sound was repeatedly turned down when the work of Hughes was read. Despite allegations of censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
from critics at the time of the U.S. premier of the film, the estate had allowed many of Hughes’ poems to appear in gay anthologies in the print media and continues to do so till this day.
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
as part of its national 'Black World' initiative celebrating black creativity in film.
External links
- Metro Picture Gallery Exhibition of Looking for Langstonhttp://www.metropicturesgallery.com/index.php?mode=past&object_id=247