5 months ago
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Posted On: March 9th 2026, 02:11 pm
This page is for those who brain rot and theorise in equal measure… balance 🧘🏾♀️🌟
Lately to make sure I live this truth I’ve been substituting doom scrolling with finally watching a film from that “movies to watch” list sitting right at the bottom of my notes. One of the films I’ve watched during this time is The Watermelon Woman, an American queer romantic comedy-drama released in 1996.
It follows the life of an aspiring Black lesbian filmmaker working a day job in a video rental store. She’s interested in films from the 1930s and 1940s that feature Black actresses, noting that the actresses in these roles are often not credited.
This film brings to the surface the absurdity of how Hollywood not only disregarded Black actresses but also made sure to exclude these important women from archival sources making it incredibly difficult to know who these women were.
I admired how the main character, Cheryl Dunye, was determined to unfold the stories of these women that were initially never written into history. And of course, I couldn’t help but notice the costumes throughout the film. Loose graphic tees, relaxed button-downs, dungarees and that choker she wears religiously. The film was made on a very low budget which makes the wardrobe even more interesting because many of the looks were either Cheryl’s own clothes or thrifted pieces. The result is a softness that exists within masculine silhouettes, a reminder that clothing doesn’t have to follow the meanings people try to assign to them.
Lately to make sure I live this truth I’ve been substituting doom scrolling with finally watching a film from that “movies to watch” list sitting right at the bottom of my notes. One of the films I’ve watched during this time is The Watermelon Woman, an American queer romantic comedy-drama released in 1996.
It follows the life of an aspiring Black lesbian filmmaker working a day job in a video rental store. She’s interested in films from the 1930s and 1940s that feature Black actresses, noting that the actresses in these roles are often not credited.
This film brings to the surface the absurdity of how Hollywood not only disregarded Black actresses but also made sure to exclude these important women from archival sources making it incredibly difficult to know who these women were.
I admired how the main character, Cheryl Dunye, was determined to unfold the stories of these women that were initially never written into history. And of course, I couldn’t help but notice the costumes throughout the film. Loose graphic tees, relaxed button-downs, dungarees and that choker she wears religiously. The film was made on a very low budget which makes the wardrobe even more interesting because many of the looks were either Cheryl’s own clothes or thrifted pieces. The result is a softness that exists within masculine silhouettes, a reminder that clothing doesn’t have to follow the meanings people try to assign to them.
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