Dr Zuleyka Zevallos

Coppola explains erasure of slavery from her film saying 1/ She loves women's (read: White) stories. 2/ clearly only relates to White women.

"At the heart of the story, it’s really about the power dynamics between men & women THAT ARE UNIVERSAL." White people = default of humanity

1/2 On character Hallie, a slave, removed from her adaption: "I didn't want to brush over such an important topic in a light way"

2/2 "Young girls watch my films this was not the depiction of an African-American character I would want to show them." Protect White Women

"Power dynamics" exist only btw (cis) men & women. Yet erasing Black women slaves is gender power. 1/ White women benefited from slavery

2/ White women today continue to benefit from slavery. Eg being in control of a story set in slave times & removing enslaved women is power.

When Coppola says she wants to protect "young girls" from depictions of historical context of slavery, she means her White audience.

Fact that Coppola removed the only Black woman character shows she has latitude to envision the story in a new way. Erasure not only option

Slavery would tarnish Coppola's famous visual aesthetic beauty. But it's a story of sexual violence. Slavery "too political." Too ugly.

So she can relate to a vapid, super rich monarch, a bunch of privileged thieves and some racist schoolgirls. Interesting.

Exactly - these are all choices, with themes told hundreds of times already. She did not see fit to include WOC. Yet chooses to omit here.

Sofia Copout

LOL! Very telling how Coppola situates her script against backdrop of Trump protests. To include Black woman character is "too political."

If I had $1 for every time I heard White person justify keeping POC out of narrative/event/program b/c "politics" I would have Mucho Dinero

I guess she was the counterpart to Eastwood's char. Both trapped by these spiteful women & girls, so there was an affinity btwn them.

Thank you! So her character has been melted into one of the White women. It changes the entire dynamic.