“Real queens fix each other’s crowns”: The interiorities of Black (British) girlhood in Rocks (2019)

ABSTRACT

This article explores and analyses the production and representation of Black (British) girlhoods in Sarah Gavron’s film Rocks (2019), and the effects this has had on Black women and girl actors, film-makers, and audiences. Adopting a critical Black (British) girlhood framework that is rooted in Black feminist theory, it explores how Black girls’ interior worldbuilding in British screen media and beyond can be a source of empowerment and affective memory work for these groups. Centring the voices of Black girls and women, this article locates the interiorities of Black (British) girlhood within practices of resistance and self-definition, the formation and maintenance of girls’ intimate friendships, and their intergenerational solidarities. Methodologically, it analyses the film’s narrative alongside interviews from the actors and creatives, Black women’s written memories of their girlhoods, and essays from young Black girls living in Britain to reveal how Black (British) girlhood is relational, embodied, and emotionally affective.

KEYWORDS:

• Black girlhood
• affect
• adultification
• worldbuilding
• care
• Rocks

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. In Black women collectives, “girl” is often used colloquially to symbolize sisterhood and community. For examples, see the celebratory hashtag #BlackGirlMagic, the networking organization “Black Girls in Media”, and Adegoke and Uviebinené (2020) .

2. The synopsis of the film is available on Altitude film’s website: http://www.altitudefilment.com/film/sales/61/rocks.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Keisha Bruce

Keisha Bruce was a postdoctoral research fellow at University College London and is now an independent, unaffiliated researcher. Their research explores the intersections of race, gender, and the media, with a focus on intimacy and affect. Their work has been published in Women’s Studies Quarterly and Feminist Media Studies.