FILM IN FOCUS: Mildred Pierce and Daughters of the Dust

Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) opens with a framing narrative—a man is shot in a deserted beach house and the protagonist (Joan Crawford) behaves suspiciously. Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust (1991) tells the story of a family about to migrate from their Sea Island home to the mainland, but this story is part of a much greater narrative of African diasporic cultural survival.

Mildred Pierce
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      Daughters of the Dust
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          Discussion Questions

          After watching this clip from Mildred Pierce, consider the question below. Then submit your response.

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          Watch the clip from Daughters of the Dust, then answer the question below.

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