Summary Of The Film 'Black Girl'

Having the film start with a very passionate and moderately zoomed in scene where Kate and Evan are showering together sets the idea that they are a couple with a very strong attraction towards each other. The audience is exposed to the emphasis of movement right off the bat due to the fact that the protagonist Kate suffers from a disease known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS. This illness affects the brain cells and the spinal cord giving the person a lack of control over their muscles in their body. Then, the audience sees Kate meticulously applying foundation on her face. The graceful and careful movement needed to apply mascara reinforces the complete control Kate has of her life at that very moment and how others perceive her. The

Bec, the unstable and irresponsible college student that Kate hires to be her caretaker is seen like a wild, careless free spirit, but becomes a strong independent woman with values. Slowly the audience notices her physical changes that largely compare to the decrease in intensity of makeup used and the cleanliness of her clothing. Her hair well done into a braid, clean clothing, and almost a natural face emphasize her new persona’s changes. Unlike, in the beginning, Bec would unintentionally comment how she would Kate and question how she had to help Kate, but after the first scene in the shower they have, there seems to be a shift of perspective in Bec. She empathizes with Kate’s pain after she falls from attempting to go down the stairs on her own. The shower becomes a repetitive use to express the change in the first half of the film. The intimacy and growth of bond between Kate and Bec begins that one night in the shower and ironically where Evan no longer expresses his passion for Kate. Additionally, one begins to feel Kate’s emotions meets with Bec and Melody, a friend who had ALS as well. Bec transitions into a loving friend who is an advocate for ALS, and slowly realizes how Kate is her beam of hope. For once she is helping another human and taking control of what she