"From the start many made it clear Serena would have done better struggling to survive in the two-dimensional of a Millet painting, rather than on their tennis court-better to put all that strength to work in their fantasy of her working the land, rather than be caught up in the turbulence of our ancient dramas, like a ship fighting a storm in a Turner seascape." - Claudia Rankine, p.26
To me, the quote means that Serena would be better "working the land" as a slave than be playing on the tennis court. The line caught my attention because it almost sounds like Rankine is saying that nothing has really changed since slavery. And the references to art are also really powerful. When Rankine references "a Millet painting," she is referring to painter Jean-Francois Millet, an artist known for his paintings of French peasants working the field. As for the "Turner seascape," Rankine refers to another painter by the name of J.M.W Turner. In his work, Turner painted a lot of seascapes, some focusing on storm-caught ships.
I think Rankine's insight over Serena's tennis experience is very provocative. There is still this double standard for African Americans in this country, but her position that Serena would be better off working the fields, I don't really agree with. But I also may be bias because I am an Asian American woman.
Jean-Francois Millet, The Gleaners, 1857
J.M.W Turner, The Wreck of a Transport Ship, 1810
I like that this is brought up. This would be pretty extreme if this truly what Rankine is trying to get across. Rankine does a great job at showing the racial conflicts that are still part of society today and this is one of them.
ReplyDeleteIt's also really cool that even if she's not a slave she's still a boat in the middle of a storm. It just goes to show that even though we've not had slavery for 150 years we still live in a very racialized society.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really interesting point. Something that really struck me was that Rankine makes it seem like the issue of race and slavery is still present by saying Serena wouldn't want to get caught up in the "turbulence of our ancient dramas." It presents the idea that blacks would be better off ignoring the issue, and I think Rankine demonstrated the absurdity of that claim well through the reference to the paintings.
ReplyDeleteI thought it wasn't exactly literal: that Serena would be better off working in a place she "belongs" (the way a slave would 'belong' in the fields)/that isn't dominated by white people. It's definitely a powerful choice of image.
ReplyDeleteI totally missed what that reference to Millet meant, though, so thanks for pointing it out.