Blog Post #3

Eve’s Bayou is a 1997 American drama film, which was both written and directed by Kassi Lemmons. This was the time during 1997 when a black women had the opportunity to tell the different shades of horror, which is exactly what Kassi Lemmons had done through her film. This heartbreaking film is not only about family and relationships, but it is a story that turns to our shared humanity. The story is told through the eyes of a young protagonist known as Eve Bayou. Eve was born and raised amongst an upper class family living in a segregated area. Her family had inherited the land they lived upon; therefore, leaving the Bayou family thriving for generations. Everyone amongst her community knows one another and has a social standard. As the story begins to unfold, Eve’s mindset and true emotions begin to unravel as she takes a stroll down memory lane. Throughout the film Eve is seen battling through her memories rooted from her childhood. At the start of the film the young protagonist is constantly seen feeling unhappy and envious of her fathers relationship with her older sister Cicely as well as her mothers relationship with her younger brother. In a sense Eve feels like the middle child that receives an unequal amount of love and affection from her parents. Specifically, this envy attachment that she has towards her father begins to take a toll on her mentally and emotionally. It is also what drives the events of this heart-rending film. At first Eves father is portrayed within the story as what seems to be this perfect, well established, and highly respected doctor amongst the community. Kassi Lemmons slowly beings to reveal to her audience how imperfect Louis truly is through the tragic situations that Eve faces. Lemmons intentionally uses this sense of discomfort throughout the film to express the true horror of this story as well as the horror tied to hero worshipping. Both of these themes are what ends up negatively affecting Eve, eventually leading to her loss of innocence. Not in a sexual way. It is a loss of her innocence in regards to the love for her father. Eve has had to observe the weight of her fathers transgression and his outside affairs. Even when Eve catches her father in the carriage house participating in unmoral and womanizing actions, she couldn’t even come to ask her father about it due to worshiping the grounds that he had walked on. There is also this deep sense of fear that she has. This emotion of fear is triggered due to feeling like if she were to tell her father that she understood what she had seen that he would leave his family and they would be penniless. That is why Eve avoids the topic and decides to play dumb by switching the conversation and asking her father why he never dances with her at parties. Louis is the backbone to supporting their family and it was a chance she was not willing to take. Not only does Eve want some power in this story, but due to her fathers actions she ends up feeling even more powerless and is overwhelmed with this deep sense of insecurity brought upon her by her father. What is scary about this film is that Eve’s father might have had an insidious relationship with her older sister Cicely. Samuel El Jackson who plays Louis, lends his star power to this unflattering roll where he has to play both this cheating husband and this father who might have engaged in inappropriate behavior with his eldest daughter. The kiss between her father and Cicely, appears very early in the story. Eve pushes that envelope in the scene with her father and older sister. In Eves version the kiss appeared to be more inappropriate compared to her father who believed it to be nothing more than a fatherly kiss. It was also dependent on the duration of the kiss. This is why the story is a tragedy of a loss of innocence. These lines were so blurred that it brought a sense of confusion upon Eve. She has observed all of her fathers unacceptable and improper behavior, that had lead her to bottle up all these emotions. Eve reached a point where she convinced herself that all her anger had lead to her fathers death rather than realizing that the consequences of her fathers own actions is what lead to his death. Voodoo and rituals is also something that is not only portrayed within the film, but historically has been seen within black communities. Voodoo happens to be another theme, which Eve regrettably became involved with. Overall, this young and innocent young girl is seen left traumatized due to the consequences of her fathers actions. Eve’s father was so caught up in his own world that he was too distracted to see how much his decisions negatively impacted his daughters life.