Blog Post Intro: What I find so compelling about both the novel and film versions of Passing is its ability to complicate the dominant narrative about what Blackness was in the early 20th century, and what it continues to be today. While race was and is the dominant lens that Black people are viewed through in the United States, the novel and movie versions of Passing introduce another intersecting and often inseparable part of the Black experience which is class. 

That is the overview of what I want my blog post to go over. I want to hit these points in some sort of way when I fully develop the rest of it:

• In the movie, there is a better representation of how class represents the “other” in Rene’s life
  • There is a specific scene with Rene and Brian where they are traveling in the car and are commentating on the lower-class Black people in their neighborhood with an overall feeling of superiority. 
  • To me, this showcases that it is instinctual to assimilate into forms of oppression if you have access to it. Black people with a higher class standing are no exception and Rene and Brian’s interactions with the lower-class Black people around them (like the housekeeper for example) are proof of this. 
• For the outside source, I want to look for articles that touch on the growing divide, specifically during the Harlem Renaissance, between the Black middle-class and the Black lower-class. 
  • https://go-gale-com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T003&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=SingleTab&hitCount=6049&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=7&docId=GALE%7CCX6279200334&docType=Topic+overview&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=GVRL&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE%7CCX6279200334&searchId=R5&userGroupName=cuny_baruch&inPS=true
    • This source highlights the intent of the Harlem Renaissance, and the New Negro movement in particular, which was the re-invent the perception of Black people in America. A key part of this re-invention was the cementing of a significant Black middle-class population. This source is a good start, but I want to look for more specific articles that highlight the connection between the Harlem Renaissance and the emphasis on class divisions within the Black community.