Search - A Moment in Time: African American Women of Achievement on DVD

Best Foot Not Put Forward

Jeffery Mingo | Homewood, IL USA | 11/21/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"To have Jordan, Walker, and Morrison on one DVD is great; dedicated womanists must add this to their collection. Still, this was just recorded interviews just like the ones you could see while channel-surfing on a current Sunday morning.

The interviews were done in 1983. It doesn't seem like the film for "The Color Purple" was made yet. Steinem says Morrison's "Tar Baby" was being made into a film; that didn't happen and because "Beloved" wasn't published until 1987, that book wasn't brought up at all. All old things start to become camp, so even supportive viewers will roll on the floor in laughter at all the HUGE, 80s eyeglasses the women are wearing.

Jordan's interview by Lady Bird Johnson comes first. It is the longest and most boring interview of the three. I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but perhaps Jordan's interview should have come last. It's odd how photos of Jordan are filmed from a jumpy camera. Every time Mrs. Johnson asks Jordan a question, Jordan then turns to the camera to respond. Though the title only mentions Black women, each sister is interviewed by a white woman. This work tacitly tries to be coalitional.

Jordan was a lesbian and Walker is bisexual. However, besides Walker's statement that Shug and Celie were lovers, lesbianism and bisexuality never come up. Yes, these are all black women interviewees, but these were also women of three different sexual orientations. It's striking how Steinem has to pull race and gender issues from Walker's mouth, yet Morrison mentions "Blacks and women" in every other sentence.

I'm glad these interviews have been saved for posterity, but they are a bit dull and dated. This work would be great for diehard fans of the three interviewees."