monsters in the closet
In honor of Black History Month, I wanted to bring to you an incredible film that is black made with a Black Woman costume designer. My goal was to not just do another look into Get Out or Us, which are great films, but I wanted something different that might not be on everyone’s radar. There are so many great black horror films to choose from! What I found in my research as well was how difficult it was to find a black woman costume designer in horror, as it also Women in Horror month. Most major horror films were costumed by white women. You can see the disproportion when you start to dig, an issue that needs to be remedied. Rusty Cundieff’s 1995 films Tales from the Hood was exactly the thought-provoking piece of cinema I was searching for, with an amazing costume design by Tracey A. White. Tracey is an LA based designer who has countless film credits since making her debut in the industry with Haile Gerima’s 1993 film Sankofa. Since then she has worked on a ton of interesting projects, most frequently working with Wanda Sykes. Her new series The Upshaws with Wanda is on Netflix now.
My goal within this entry is, like I do with all my entries, is to bring forth the designers and their work, to highlight what goes into designing a film, and how it relates to our world. Right now, more than ever I find the importance of the stories being told through this film. I will reflect upon how I felt watching it but I will be leaving the social commentary space to the black audiences and creators, with whom these issues impact daily.
In discovering this film by way of the amazing Shudder Documentary Horror Noir, I got to listen to black scholars and artist speaking to its impact and how it changed the landscape of black horror. A genre I knew little about past Jordan Peel’s work. Hearing the dissection of the timeline of black horror, you can really see the place this has and the weight it holds within the cannon. As we all know Reagan’s American in the 80’s was coated in this false veneer of “true American values” and thriving economic home life. When all minority groups were being written out of the larger picture of what American is. Tananarive Due and Ashlee Blackwell spoke to the array of tropes that had befallen black characters within that time. With the change of the decade brought a new gaze into the scope of horror films. We began to see black characters taking agency over the choices in the films. They were the protagonists, heroes, and the villains, and the stories became deeper. A privilege only afford up until that time to white characters. Then in 1995 Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott wrote Tales from the Hood with Rusty also directing. Tales is an anthology horror film with four stories and one wrap around story. Each story dives into a different issue, police brutality, gang violence, racist politicians, and domestic abuse. What makes this film so revolutionary, what a lot of the interviewees spoke to, was how they used the horror elements to create the reparations for these heinous crimes.
What creates the effect in her designs is how grounded they are. What I initially noticed that within the each story were elements of green. We see it first when the three men (Joe Torry, De'Aundre Bonds, and Samuel Monroe Jr) .enter the mortuary, they are each wearing a different style and shade of that color in their shirts. Mr Simms (Clarence Williams III) is seen in a green suit with what appears to be all three of the men’s shades working together. When we later find out that he himself is Satan welcoming the men into hell, the coexistence of the three shades make sense. Except for weed, which is understood that the men are looking for (or some type of drug) which is what brings them to the morgue, I read the green more as grass on the ground. What you see before you dig beneath the earth to uncover the dirt or in the case of death, the bodies 6ft under. These men are the preliminary story before the truth of the short stories and finally the final story, which finishes off within the wrap around. By the time we are about to begin the fourth and final story that will carry us through the end of the film, the body in the casket we are shown is wearing a suit in shades of brown, that second layer to uncover, the dirt beyond that grass to bring you to what lies beneath.
We see shades of green on what I will call our “truth” characters in each of our tales. Muted olives in the suit of Martin Moorehouse (Tom Wright) who’s tale of police brutality and false identification leads to the demise of the officers who have wrongly framed him. We see lighter green tones in the suit of the teacher Mr. Garvy (Cundieff) who uncovers the truth behind Walter’s (Brandon Hammond) bruises and his fear of the “monster”, and lastly when the racist politician Duke (Corbin Bernsten) gets what is coming, the first doll that comes to life enchanted by the soul of a former slaves, is seen in mustard/green pants and a shirt. When you start to peel back the layers of the heavier subject matter of each story you notice in contrast that the villains are all in darker shades. Duke is the only exception to the darker wardrobe. He is seen in a blue button down with a white collar, a popular style of the time. The “finance bro” look of the 80’s and 90’s if you will. What is so interesting about his wardrobe is the use of the American flag colors in his pallet. Like most politicians he is pumping a false rhetoric into the ears of whomever will hear and blindly follow. Stating that he is a “real” American because of his upbringing. While not explicitly saying it, we know he means because he is a white American and that’s what makes him “real”. He is the shining example of every phony who hides behind the flag in the name of democracy, who promises nothing but false ideas of change. When in reality is just proceeding on the way it has always been done because to lose their place in power would be unfathomable and far too uncomfortable for them. What Tracey has done so brilliantly is showing us that red/white/grey/blue color scheme in the previous story in a completely different way. In the story of Walter, our teacher is seen in those earth tones all the way up until the night he decides to finally go over to Walter’s house and speak to his mother Sissy (Paula Jai Parker) about his concerns. We see him approach the door in a blue suit jacket with a blue shirt and red tie. When Sissy gets dressed after answering the door in her bathrobe, we see her in a floral dress with red/white/blue flowers on a grey background with a red cardigan. Walter is also shown to us wearing denim shirt and shorts with a red tshirt under the open denim shirt. After Walter has defeated the monster Carl, whom we come to find out is not a creature but his mother’s abusive boyfriend, Garvy, Sissy, and Walter are shown together side by side in union of triumph. What we see is an all-American family, in color and in the literal and metaphorical adversity they have just overcome. While Carl is shown in his dark brown suit lumped on the floor folded up. Seeing these images of this color usage back-to-back in this manner shows the audience what is an American family vs. what corrupt ideals try to spin in the media as being all-American. Tracey has taken simple pieces, everyday clothing you can buy off the rack, and through color and characterization transformed them into powerful clues to the development of the story.
I want to note that I am a white woman writing this post, and the issues that are brought up and posed within the stories in Tales from the Hood are not my experiences to speak upon. But What struck me, beyond the costuming of this film, was the weight of each story. I cringed watching these tales and it sickened me to know that this is still going on today. These are issues facing the black community, and the world is screaming for change. Having a place to tell your story is so vital for the way we wish to see the world and it is so important that we listen and learn from each other, so as not to blindly repeat history. Now more then ever we need to amplify black voices and voices of all color so that their stories are told. I encourage everyone to see this film if you haven’t already, it’s impact on horror history is one that has changed the landscape of storytelling.
