Amma Ashante and Belle - Post 5

Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dido Elizabeth Belle and Sarah Gadon as Lady Elizabeth Murray

A few months ago, while scrolling through YouTube, the trailer for a film called Belle caught my eye; not only because of the beautiful 18^th-century dress worn by the main character in the thumbnail, but because the character wearing the dress was Black. As much of a guilty pleasure we all must have for seeing Keira Knightley in a poofy dress, Gugu Mbatha-Raw makes for a far more inclusive alternative.

            Belle, released in 2014, tells the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle. Belle was the bi-racial daughter of British naval officer Sir John Lindsay and an enslaved woman named Maria Belle, whom Lindsay met while stationed in the British West Indies. The film details Dido Belle’s life from being born into slavery and being brought by his father to England, where she was raised as a British aristocrat.

         

Amma Asante with her BAFTA

   Belle was written by British-Nigerian screenwriter Misan Sagay and directed by British Ghanaian filmmaker Amma Asante. Like other films under Asante’s directorial belt, it is a historical romantic drama in which the main character is Black. This goes without saying that the romance in this film is highly politicized. Asante does brilliant work in making Belle into a kick-ass main character in a time when women were far more disadvantaged than now. While this film surely takes a few liberties with what may or may not have happened in the real Dido’s life, Asante’s spin on the historical figure makes for a great feminist film.

            In regards to the film, Asante states, “I was drawn to the story of Dido Belle by the history… the fact that I could give a voice to a young woman of color who was infamous, had played a part in our history, that could be played by an incredible young actress of color, and that she could be front and center in this story.”

After being dropped off to live with her Great Uncle and Aunt, Lord and Lady Mansfield, Dido comes to realize exactly how her status as a Black female aristocrat affects her life experiences. As she grows up, she questions how she can be “too high in rank to dine with the servants and too low in rank to dine with [her] family.”

Once she reaches the age at which she is to look for a husband, the mother of one of Dido’s

Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Amma Asante on the set of Belle

suitors asks whether or not she has a tongue, to which Dido responds with “I have a tongue. Though yours explains well enough why I may not marry your son. My greatest misfortune would be to marry into a family who would carry me as their shame.” Dido’s articulate clap-back is directly in contrast to what Jean Kilbourne states in Deadly Persuasion; “..when a girl enters adolescence, she faces a series of losses… the loss of her “voice.” [Kilbourne, 129]

As the Chief Justice of England, Dido’s Uncle Lord Mansfield was required to make a ruling on the case of the Zong massacre, in which the crew of the slave ship Zong threw slaves overboard when they realized that they were running low on potable water because they would be able to collect insurance money once they reached port in Jamaica. Historically, Mansfield did rule against the Zong’s crew. In a discussion he has with Dido about the case, Dido states that she wants a voice “for people like [her] mother, who do not have one.” Dido’s statement again relates back to the Kilbourne reading.

In Peggy McIntosh’s piece “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack,” McIntosh states that as a white woman, her “skin color was an asset for any move [she] was educated to want to make.” [McIntosh, 4] While Dido’s skin color was not the asset for her throughout her life, her status and education proved to be assets to her – especially when Mansfield confirms Dido’s freedom in his will; something which other bi-racial children born into slavery could not enjoy.

In Amma Asante’s other works A United Kingdom and Where Hands Touch, she tells similar stories of interracial couples and bi-racial characters who lived during tumultuous times politically. A United Kingdom tells the true story of Sir Seretse Khama and his wife, Ruth Williams Khama. Where Hands Touch, released this year and starring up-and-coming actress Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give, Everything, Everything, The Hunger Games), tells the story of a young bi-racial teenager growing up in Nazi Germany. However, I believe Dido is the most outright feminist film Asante has released since her directorial debut – overall it tells the story of a young, Black, female aristocrat who is quick to question the patriarchal and racist society around her.

Works cited

- Fox Searchlight: BELLE Featurette: "The Power of Belle"

- Belle (Film)