Invisibility Blues: From Pop to Theory

by Michele Wallace

In the shifting and conflicting currents of recent cultural criticism, no space is more ambiguous or difficult to define than that held by black feminism. In this new book, Michele Wallace poses the historical and conceptual questions which an emergent black feminist theory address.

The author begins with a consideration of the work of her mother, the artist Faith Ringgold, and moves on to recollections of her own early life in Harlem, and an account of her development as a writer in the 1970s. She examines the collective legacy with which black artists—from Zora Neale Hurston and Ntozake Shange, to Spike Lee and Michael Jackson—must contend in carving out a distinctive cultural practice.

Wallace’s book marks a new departure in contemporary criticism, as she combines the flair of a popular journalist with the rigor of a committed scholar. Invisibility Blues is certain to become a landmark in cultural studies and a fundamental document in the history of black feminism.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Essays, Race, African American, Feminist Theory, Google

Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Michele Faith Wallace (born January 4, 1952) is a black feminist author, cultural critic, and daughter of artist Faith Ringgold. She is best known for her 1979 book Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman. Wallace's writings on literature, art, film, and popular culture have been widely published and have made her a leader of African-American intellectuals. She is a Professor of English at the City College of New York and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY).

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s maybe a little too much repetition in this collection of essays, and some of them haven’t aged as well as others. But it’s still fascinating to follow the development of Wallave’s thinking about black feminism, pop culture and theory over the years, and she’s such a dynamic and fiery writer that every one of these pieces is a thrill to read.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still timely and insightful

[Ira Therebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a collection of essays by a black feminist writer, first published in 1990 and is seen as a landmark in black feminism.

It is divided in 4 parts. the first includes essays about her childhood, second is on the pop culture of the 80's, the third is about historical and cultural events while the fourth one has two theoretical pieces.

She brings attention to a group that is often not heard both in racial discussions as well as feminist ones, which are the black women. "black but not male, female but not white", this cause their specific issues and views be underrepresented in society.

While the essays were written before the 90's and some may have changed, the basic idea still is relevant to the present. The book is a great choice to read for people interested in issues of social justice such as feminism and who want to see how they are being made too white centric to try and prevent it.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essays concerning culture studies are going to be a mixed bag if one isn't intimately aware with every interest the author possesses - unless, of course, the author is willing to let you in on the experience. Wallace doesn't because that's not what she's trying to write about. The book suffers from Wallace's political-in-the-personal style, if only because she repeats details about herself or her family in various essays, which were all written years apart and probably weren't meant to be collected together. She also spends a not insignificant amount of time apologizing for Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman, which is a shame, as I haven't read it and was interested in the premise. Authors are never going to be completely content with their work, but if call attention to it in unrelated non-fiction pieces, then the work in question probably is flawed. Still, I was reminded reading this that I must go and read more bell hooks, so my time was certainly not wasted.

[Flávio · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The key mistake lies in viewing racism as a simple and straightforward matter of conscious and clearly mistaken believes about race, which are then acted upon in a violent and primitive way. [...] racism's work takes place first in the unconscious, collective process of the family and the culture" (p. 159-160).

I loved the book. Or at least most of it. Not that I disliked the other part, but it touched subjects less of my interest. The book is a compilation of essays about race, black feminism and culture critic. That last bit was the one I liked less, since it is also very US centred. For people interested in pop culture criticism, the book is a full treat. For me, who was looking less for research material and more for feminist political philosophy, I admit I got bored some times. The editing could have been better to avoid repetitions (again, this is a compilation of essays). What I did like a lot in the book was its meta-analysis of writing and being a black feminist writer.

[Roz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and highly readable! There’s some great essays on black female literature (although the stuff about Alice Walker seems dated now), and the establishment of a “canon.” Some of it, like her essays on 70s theatre and almost-forgotten writers like Ishmael Reed, is maybe a tad obscure, but the general ideas behind these essays are still relevant. Recommended

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt simultaneously repetitive and disjointed. An important work in this field but wasn’t quite what I expected.

[Eurethius Péllitièr · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the book is generally good as it takes on the black feminist subjective to hammer home the necessary I struggled to identify analysis that went beyond experience (especially the biographical)

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really loved this - the analysis, autobiography, reflection.