Abstract:
In this thesis I analyze the 2019 film Queen and Slim as well as tweets about the film from three time periods (November 30, 2019 to December 30, 2019, April to July 2020, and November 30, 2020 to the present). I analyze the film’s dialogue, images, musical elements, and the interviews surrounding the film for how the filmmakers seek to construct “authentic” Black voice. Then I turn my attention to how Black Twitter forms a logic of judgement as a counterpublic to discuss and regulate the “authentic” Black voice portrayed in the film. Ultimately, I argue that Black Twitter’s logic of judgement rejects the film’s “authentic” Black voice because of the ways that it participates in spectacular consumption; Black audience members view the film as a betrayal because it exploits their shared trauma and pain. Finally, I challenge rhetorical notions of invention surrounding Black people and the stories we tell about them with the goal of constructing a more beautiful imagination.
