ENG 102: Black Feminism and the Power of Harriet Tubman in Film

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the film 'Harriet', focusing on its portrayal of black feminism and the character of Harriet Tubman. The essay argues that the film, directed by Kasi Lemmons, is a celebration of feminine power, distinguishing itself from other biopics and fictions about slavery. It examines how Lemmons portrays Harriet's version of femininity as her crucial strength, challenging female stereotypes of the time. The analysis highlights the film's historical accuracy, sensitivity, and the character's resilience, intelligence, and courage. The essay discusses how Lemmons breaks stereotypes by portraying Harriet as a hero who rescues others, as well as her care for her fellow suffragettes and family, revealing her vulnerabilities and persistence. It also explores how the film emphasizes Harriet's human qualities over mythical powers, making her more relatable and realistic. Furthermore, the essay suggests that the film's success as a saga of femininity would have been different without the perspective of a female director, highlighting the empathy Lemmons brings to the portrayal. Ultimately, the essay concludes that Lemmons portrays Harriet as an antithesis of the contemporary female stereotype, amalgamating courage and femininity as the key strengths of Harriet’s character.

Running head: BLACK FEMINISM AND HARRIET TUBMAN
Black Feminism and Harriet Tubman
Student’s name
University
Author’s note

1
BLACK FEMINISM AND HARRIET TUBMAN
Most people are familiar with Harriet Tubman as historian John Hope Franklin portrays
her—the aggressive hero of American abolitionist movement and the most eminent conductor of
the Underground Railroad. Nevertheless, Harriet Rose Tubman’s character stands out among all
the greatest fighters of black liberty as an epitome of black feminism. And this very aspect of
Harriet, the 2019 movie directed by Kasi Lemmons, bags the critics’ appraisals and viewers
adoration for Cynthia Erivo, who played Harriet in the movie. The contention of the present
analysis strongly argues that Harriet is undoubtedly a celebration of feminine power, and this is
what discerns the movie from several other biopics and fictions dealing with the issue of slavery
and freedom of colored people. Therefore, the essay analyzes the instrumental aspects of the
movie that makes the film a significant portrayal of Harriet Tubman. To this end, the essay
hypothesizes that Kasi Lemmons portrays Harriet's version of femininity as her crucial strength
by effectively posing her as the antithesis to the female stereotype of that time.
In her directorial ventures, Kasi Lemmons, who earlier directed films like Black Nativity
and Eve’s Bayou, deals with themes of black culture and societal conflicts strong handedly. Even
in Harriet, Lemmons paints the portrait of the heroic black suffragette with bold strokes of
extravagance, historic accuracy and sensitivity. Tubman herself fled from slavery, also rescued
more than 70 of her family members and friends and led them to Canada. She was the most
successful conductor of Underground Railroad, as well as the first ever black woman to lead a
military expedition consisting both black and white army against the southern conservatives.
However, the contemporary portrayal of enslaved black women traditionally depicted them as
the victims of oppression, physical and sexual abuse, and in dire need to be rescued.
Nevertheless, Erivo’s portrayal is a stark digression from such traditional depiction. In this case,
Harriet is the hero herself, rescuing other enslaved people with her valiance, intelligence and

2
BLACK FEMINISM AND HARRIET TUBMAN
resilience. Hence, through her storytelling, Lemmons breaks a significant stereotype regarding
movies dealing with slavery. Moreover, it is her care for her fellow suffragettes, fleeing friends
and family, as well as her attachment with Marie, presents her feminine side, showing her
vulnerabilities and persistence at the same time. Thus, Harriet is a remarkable portrayal of
strength, resilience and courage, unlike any traditional portrayal of a feminine character.
The most remarkable aspect of the film is how Lemmons deals with the feminine identity
of Harriet. Throughout the movie, Erivo has beautifully captured Harriet Tubman’s courage and
shining spirit, entangled with compassion, care and emotional vulnerabilities. Her bravery often
trumps her fear and agony, although she wears them like an armor (Schneller 2019). She is
confident and optimistic, to an extent where she refuses other people to dictate her abilities and
identity. Even when William Still, her confidante and aid, forbids her to go back to Maryland to
rescue her family, she proudly says “…So don’t you tell me what I can’t do. You don’t know
me.”
This feminine power is the key strength of Harriet’s character, as she is not only seen as a
hero, but also a caring wife, daughter, aunt and comrade of her fellow enslaved blacks. Although
her dominant character traits reflected strength, courage, stubbornness, determination and
intelligence—all pointing to traditional masculine qualities, Kasi Lemmons threads her bravery
with subtle emotional attributes that brings out her shining feminine side (Laffly 2019). In her
friendship with Marie, Harriet is tender and sincere, and empathetic, caring sensitive to her
friends and family members. And without the tenderness and emotion, Harriet would not be the
epitome of inspiration and optimism which she is. At the end of the day, Harriet tells the story of
freedom, not slavery. And this freedom points to breaking free from stereotypes and patriarchal

3
BLACK FEMINISM AND HARRIET TUBMAN
rhetoric of female portrayal as well. And this is why the film stand out among thousands of films
on slavery and black freedom.
In context of breaking the barriers, the biopic, as Lemmons herself stated in the interview
with Janell Hobson, uses historic facts more than lore and myths associated with the mystical
character of ‘Moses’, as the residents of the slave quarters fondly called Harriet. Lemmons says
she was very much drawn to Harriet’s character because of these mystical attributes, although
she remained true to Harriet Tubman’s real character, emphasizing her human qualities over her
mythical powers of visions (Hobson 2019). This points to a significant aspect of the film as a
feminist portrayal of a character. In an attempt to non-objectify women in their portrayal, there
has been a long-standing trend of mystifying women. However, feminist writers, such as Lisa
Tuttle and Alicia Ostriker, argue that the full potential of women character can never be
comprehended if their persona is not demystified (Barenblat 2017). If the portrayal of Harriet
stuck only to the mysterious ways through which Harriet rescued her fellow people, it would
completely deny Harriet’s resilience, determination and tenacity. These attributes makes her
more human than deified, more realistic than magical. And this is the success of Kasi Lemmons
as a director, for she knows the pain which a woman has to go through in order to achieve
something great, and earn the status of a hero, rather than a goddess.
In this regard, it is also argued that the success of Harriet as a saga of femininity would
have been different if it lacked the perception of a female storyteller and director, like Lemmons
herself. If it were a male director, the portrayal of Harriet might suffer from the lack of empathy,
which Lemmons has carefully utilized in the movie. And the reverence she has shown for Harriet
Tubman, is not just because she was a freedom fighter, but also because she was an inspiration to
all the woman out there, fighting several battles in order to win just one. Thus, Lemmons

4
BLACK FEMINISM AND HARRIET TUBMAN
portrays Harriet as an antithesis of the contemporary female stereotype, amalgamating courage
and femininity as the key strengths of Harriet’s character.
References
Barenblat, Rachel. "Ostriker, Alicia." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature. 2017.
Hobson, Janell. "Black Feminist In Public: Kasi Lemmons On Telling Harriet Tubman's
Freedom Story". MS Magazine, 2019, https://msmagazine.com/2019/03/08/black-feminist-
public-kasi-lemmons-telling-harriet-tubmans-freedom-story/.
Laffly, Tomris. "Harriet Movie Review & Film Summary (2019) | Roger Ebert".
Rogerebert.Com, 2019, https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/harriet-movie-review-2019.
Schneller, Johanna. "‘What Would Harriet Do?’: Cynthia Erivo Finds Strength Portraying
American Abolitionist Hero". The Globe And Mail, 2019,
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/article-what-would-harriet-do-cynthia-erivo-finds-
strength-portraying/.