Black Womanhood in Film

I am buggin’! Cher and Dionne are totally back in style! The dynamic duo will be back on the big screen as the 25th anniversary of Clueless approaches in early May. Of course, like any Clueless fan, I am so excited about the nostalgia this particular movie brings. Although the movie became an instant 90's classic, it will soon make is combat in today's pop culture. The campaign called black girl magic is taking the front stage of equality in the film and media industry. The movement inspired me to share my memories of Clueless and what it means to me as a black woman.

1. Dionne Davenport

The character Dionne Davenport was the perfect example of black womanhood in modern-day cinema. There were not many films that showed the experience of a teenage black girl who lived in luxurious circumstances. The way Dionne presented herself with confidence, glided through the school hallways and talked as if she owned the place inspired an instant trend of bougie in my community. I wanted to grow up and be Dionne Davenport.

2. #BlackLove

The first time Dionne and Murray’s love showcased across the screen inspired me to write romance stories. As a little black girl whose childhood consists of Disney Princesses and unrealistic romantic fantasies instantly became a part of my life. The beautiful relationship between them was a bond rarely shown for its beauty and individuality.

3. Color of Friendship

I was born in the industrialized city of Cincinnati, Ohio. I grew up around hard workers and different people my whole life. I lived in the city where I went to school with a diverse group of people from different cultures and backgrounds. In Clueless, the friendship between Dionne and Cher showed an example of a relationship that seemed to be unheard of in real life and on the big screen. The film produced a colorful friendship with the perspective of two teenage women of different nationalities at their own stages of young love and high school dilemmas. Their iconic friendship inspired diversity through femininity and womanhood.

4. The Fashion

The iconic fashion in Clueless made every little girl in America want to live Dionne and Cher’s closet. The yellow plaid suit worn by Cher is embedded in my mind labeled for fashion icons alongside Dionne’s plaid suit to match. Nothing empowered little black girls around the globe then Dionne's big hoop nose ring and long crochet braids. It was one of the first time I witnessed a girl who resembled me on the television screen.

5. The Slang

Clueless made "as if" and "whatever" in my community kind of cool in a small crowd. They are not words I use in my everyday vocabulary but it's still nice to recite them in the mirror every once in an awhile. Remember ladies, make sure he is not a cake boy.

6. High School Drama

High school sucked. I feel like that should be the end of the article. The popularity of contests and the struggle to be cool. Honestly, who would ever want to be the most popular girl in school? Me!!!!!!!! So bad!!!! The way everyone gravitated towards the popular kids made was to them in every way possible. Cher and Dionne glided through their school hallways as if they were built for the sound their designer heels to echo through them. They were the perfect IT girls.

7. Pure Romance

The classic romance scenes in the movie Clueless made the movie even more relatable. Dionne represented so many young girls in high school confused about love. I too was romantically challenged in teenage years due to the protest of no sex. So yeah, I was a virgin. Being a hopeless romantic in high school was kind of unheard of at the house of hormones. The questions of love at the surface of the film inspired me to hold out for true love. My husband was not my stepbrother or anything but we definitely have an interesting history together.

8. Black Girls Matter in Film

I will never forget why representation matters in my community. Throughout my life and my writing journey, I always wanted to convey the message that I am a proud black woman. One of the many reasons I love watching Clueless is because it is truly a beautiful sentiment that our experience matters. From all the ups and downs of high school to unapologetically clueless about love, black girls have a voice in the matter. When we listen to each other's differences and experiences a connection begins to take place.

9. Clueless is Dope

Clueless is so dope. Everything about the movie made me want to relive my whole teenage experience. It ultimately made a girl being Clueless sexy as hell but in a healthy way that still promotes women empowerment and strength. Even though I am an intelligent woman, I still like being called pretty.

10. The Best Sleepovers

I went to the best sleepovers as a kid. My sleepover memories were filled with greasy pepperoni pizza, glitter pink nail polish, and cheesy romantic comedies. After a long week of elementary school going to a friend's house for the weekend was the perfect way to end the week. I can't give too much away about the sleepovers because there are certain codes to live by but they were the best memories I had as a little girl. Hail to the sleepovers!

11. Who Runs The World

Women empowerment will forever be the mantra to connect women everywhere. In the movie Clueless, the friendships and classic of high school drama gave the perfect example of why girl power is so important.  Even if we come from all walks of life or live in different area codes we can still come together as women with the ultimate common goal.

12. Do You Remember The First Time?

The first time I saw the movie Clueless was at a friend's house. We were tired of playing with our Barbies so we decided to wind down with a movie. We laughed at the crazy slang and daydreamed about the boys we would fall in love with during high school. It was one of those simplistic times in my life where only a simple movie with my friend mattered.

13. Nostalgia

Nostalgia seems to be the trend in today's pop culture. Everything from the nineties seems to be making a comeback. With successful shows like Full House coming back to Netflix made it right for Clueless to be on the list as well. I love movies that make me think about my childhood and bring me back to a time where I felt invincible. Sometimes those brought back emotions inspire me to write a love story or share a blog post. Movies, television shows, and of course books I indulged in as a child shape my many interests as an adult. Film and its industry made me a believer in romance and a dreamer of endless possibilities.

14. The Social Issues

Clueless would be considered a romantic comedy but there were underlined serious life issues in the film. The character Tai who wanted to be beautiful and popular drastically changed her appearance for a boy. Also, Cher had all the advice about high school boys and relationships but was secretly a virgin. I think the best scene is when the girls learn to drive because it’s the perfect symbolism of young girls who desperately want to be women.

15. The Rich Life

The shopping sprees after school, the nice expensive cars, and lavish high school parties. I would have to love to be a student at Beverly Hills High School.

16. The Life Lessons

The movie had a roller coaster of emotions. There were so many lessons on love. It taught me to love my beauty, cherish my friendships, and wait for the right guy to reveal himself. Even though life throws us curveballs we can still show up and be the most beautiful person in the building. The movie ended in a hopeful message with a wedding of two teachers Dionne and Cher put together. It reminded me that life does not have to be taken so seriously. It is okay to sometimes remain totally clueless about it all through the process.

17. Weird Crushes

In high school, I think everyone goes through love battles. One minute the IT couple breaks up and then followed by scandalous gossip. Dionne and Murray's relationship portrayed a couple of the irrational side of young love, Cher remained the idealistic hopeful romantic, and Tai was all NSA until she met the one. Each girl had their own perspective on love and embarked on their own journey to understand what it individually meant to them. The reveal of Cher's love for her stepbrother Josh made love even more complicated and weird. Ultimately, love is self-defined.

18. Individuality

If anything this movie had its own agenda. It was the perfect coming of age movie for young women. Also a great punch in feminism in the movie industry on and off the screen

The female teenage nonsense is only temporary. Remember be yourself and shine through it all!

19. No Race. No hate.

I loved the fact that they never mentioned the race of Dionne and Cher throughout the movie. It pure friendship between two girls from all walks of life. It gave me hope to see diversity in film because I had grown with friendships like these my whole life. To be able to convey different emotions from women of all races through my writing is a common career goal for me. I hope other writers will want to add women of color to their life experience and life's work as well.

20. The Eye Candy

I am not sure how many women find Paul Rudd attractive but in the nineties, he was a true dreamboat. His character was a nonchalant future lawyer who felt he knew everything about life and love when it came to Cher. He was the perfect older guy crush that made him even more interesting and appealing. I had more of a thing for Murray played by Donald Faison. His immature charm was the classic characteristic of the bad boy that every girl wanted to change.

21-25. Black Womanhood in Film

It's important to showcase all forms of black womanhood in film. This certain representation inspired me to not worry so much about what people thought about me on the outside. I learned to be a powerful and dignified black woman in a society of people who sometimes put limits on me because of the color of my skin. The nostalgic film encouraged me to write women of color as the main characters in my novels and to fight for them to always be. I love Clueless! Happy 25th anniversary CLUELESS and thank you for being a sweet part of my childhood.