Cheryl Dunye’s saucy, daring, insidiously smart debut stands as the first-ever theatrical feature directed by an African American lesbian. The Watermelon Woman tells the story of Cheryl, played engagingly by Dunye herself, who develops a fascination with 1930s actress Fae Richards—a fictional character confined to playing “Mammy” roles in movies by a Dorothy Arzner-type director. As part of the production, New York photographer Zoe Leonard shot cleverly constructed still images of Fae Richards and in the process (re)invented a history running counter to the invisibility of black women in early Hollywood and black lesbians in general. The winner of the Teddy (The Berlinale) and Outstanding Narrative Feature (Outfest) awards, The Watermelon Woman also managed to raise the hackles of unreconstructed reactionary Jesse Helms, who called the work “flotsam floating down a sewer.
Watermelon Woman, The (1996): Cheryl Dunye’s Significant Lesbian Film, Starring Herself, Guinevere Turner (LGBTQ)
April 14, 2009 by
Watermelon Woman, The (1996): Black Director Cheryl Dunye’s Intriguing Movie (LGBTQ, Lesbian)
May 8, 2006 by
The story centers on a black lesbian filmmaker who conducts research about the life of a 1930s actress known as “The Watermelon Woman.” Poking fun at sacred cows in American culture, it discusses issues of narrative power and ownership of history.
