Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Screen Test," by Allison Joseph, offers a poignant reflection on film history and its cultural exclusions, intertwining personal memory with broader social critique. Through the lens of her mother’s cinematic preferences, Joseph explores how the canon of classic Hollywood both enchanted and marginalized, perpetuating ideals of beauty and entertainment while relegating Black talent to the periphery.

The poem begins with the speaker’s mother relishing the nostalgia of old Hollywood. She rejects modern films with a dismissive wave, contrasting the "Beverly Hills antics" of Eddie Murphy and the violent bravado of Sylvester Stallone with the refined charm of stars like Cagney, Garbo, and Olivier. Her admiration extends to musicals, celebrating their "flimsy plots" and "hokey dialogue" as endearing rather than trivial. Yet, Joseph subtly interrogates this idealization of the past, setting the stage for a critique of Hollywood?s racial exclusions.

The speaker’s mother names iconic actors with a reverence that reflects their cultural dominance. These figures—tough gangsters, romantic leads, and glamorous dancers—represent a narrow, predominantly white cinematic vision. While the speaker absorbs her mother’s enthusiasm, she also begins to notice the omissions: the absence of Black actors and narratives from this pantheon. This dissonance is encapsulated in the speaker’s discovery of the "ugly parody of blackface," a jarring revelation that contrasts sharply with her mother’s idealized recollection of Hollywood.

Joseph shifts to highlight the erasure of Black talent in film history, focusing on figures like Dorothy Dandridge, Paul Robeson, and Lena Horne. These artists, though immensely talented, were often relegated to minor roles or had their appearances excised entirely in the segregated South. The fleeting presence of Horne, "draped in nightclub satin to sing one number," underscores the systemic racism that allowed only superficial acknowledgment of Black excellence. This critique broadens to encompass the structural inequities of the film industry, where even stars like Horne were confined to palatable, decontextualized performances.

The poem’s latter half moves into a more expansive reclamation of Black cinematic history. The speaker reflects on pioneers like Hazel Scott, Katherine Dunham, and Nina Mae McKinney, whose artistry defied Hollywood’s marginalization. Scott’s innovative piano arrangements, Dunham’s powerful dance, and McKinney’s charisma in Hallelujah are celebrated as examples of the richness and diversity that mainstream cinema ignored. These figures become symbolic of a parallel cultural legacy, one that exists beyond the boundaries of the mother’s late-night movie canon.

Joseph frames this exploration as an intergenerational dialogue, bridging the speaker’s modern awareness with her mother’s memories. The closing lines poignantly imagine a shared experience of watching films that center Black lives and artistry. "We could have watched together," the speaker laments, mourning the absence of these representations in her mother’s cinematic world. This imagined communion underscores the personal and collective loss caused by Hollywood’s exclusionary practices.

"Screen Test" is a meditation on visibility, memory, and cultural inheritance. Through its nuanced critique of film history, the poem illuminates the ways in which art both shapes and reflects societal values. Joseph’s invocation of forgotten Black performers serves not only as an act of reclamation but also as a call to expand the narratives we celebrate, ensuring that the cinematic screen reflects the full spectrum of human experience.

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