Daughters of the Dust

Mise En Scene plays a crucial part in Julie Dash’s film, “Daughters of the Dust.” The actors clothing throughout the film depict more than just costumes of the time period, they are representative of each characters’ personality and struggle as generations of the Peazant family make the epic crossover to the mainland from the Ibo Landing. There is a sense of tension between Nana, the traditional and deep-rooted matriarch of the family and the majority of her family. This is exhibited in Nana’s clothing choice: she wears dark dresses as a means of declaring her strong beliefs in her ancestry and roots. The rest of the women in the movie wear white, clearly differentiating their pureness and openness. Their identity is as unknown and vast as the color white, as opposed to Nana’s dark clothing, which demonstrates her deep-rooted self and pride. Viola is another character that does not wear white due to her conversion to Christianity. Her unique outfits represent her concrete self-identity that she has discovered, and therefore chooses not to dress in all white. By choosing to dress Viola in darker tones, Dash is exhibiting Viola’s disassociation from her roots and “barbaric” culture.
Color is also symbolically displayed on Nana’s stained hands. Having been a slave and hard worker her entire life, Nana’s hands are stained a deep blue (like her dress) serving as a constant reminder of her past, where she has come from, what she has gone through and what she will never forget. Her blue palms are a cause of Nana’s hesitance when her family is traveling to the mainland. “Yellow Mary” is a perfect example of Dash’s symbolic use of color. Mary is called yellow due to her light skin tone, which is a great contrast to the rest of the islanders whom have much darker skin. It is also symbolic that she is referred to as yellow due to the fact that she spent time as a prostitute and therefore is seen as “wasting her yellow.”
Dash also uses setting and props to create a vision for the viewer. For example, when Eula is in bed dealing with the burden and debate of her unborn child she is wrapped in a quilt with a unique and busy pattern, symbolizing Eula’s own puzzling and complex turmoil. Nana’s use of the bible also represents some willingness to evolve with the times and holds no animosity towards Christianity. The imagery of Ibo’s Landing also serves to give the audience the importance of this family’s heritage and life styles.
The lighting throughout several scenes in the movie is delicate and subdued. The majority of the scenes are emotional and heavy and therefore the lighting is bright in an effort to not have every scene come off as deep, dark and overly dramatic. Dash’s portrayal of different character points of view sets up the notion that women are very strong and powerful. Each character, especially the unborn child narrator, creates a circulatory story line that represents the family’s past, present and future.