MoMa Response Assignment

Eric Morales

CLQM Art, Culture and Media

Professor Cacoilo

21 February 2020

Private Lives, Public Spaces Exhibit in MoMA Response

As a class, we went to the Museum of Modern Arts to observe different varieties of identity from many films. In Judith Howard’s “Social Psychology of Identities” she defines identity as “a concept that imprisons nor detaches persons from their social and symbolic universes.” which means adapting and improving social positions on who you are as a person (Davis 1991:105). Today’s perspective on identity is much different than it was back in its historic times. In present day, the concept of identity is viewed as what makes up every person individually and their social structures; however, in historic times there weren't many problems with identity because societies were more stable than how it is now.  

The first film that I chose that explores Judith Howard’s essay is called “Martina’s Playhouse” by Peggy Ahwesh which was filmed in 1927 and is about our sexual construction and complexities. In the early 1900’s, women’s identity was not as known as men were and When I first viewed this film, it was honestly weird how the parents were recording their daughter and playing with her naked. It just felt awkward and uncomfortable to see the film but aside from my opinion, it displays identity such as the family being white and being an middle to upper class family due to what clothes they were wearing in the film. Also in her essay she stated that “openness about one’s sexuality has come in both professional literatures and subcultural communities to be seen as evidence of a healthy gay identity, and thus passing can be seen as problematic.” With this film, they attempt to break the barrier of women's sexuality by showing their daughter naked; however, they did not execute in an effective way in my opinion. 

The second film that I chose that explores Judith Howard’s essay is called “Wise Family”. From what I saw, the men in the film looked like they worked on a farm and it was during 1927. Judith’s point of view of identity can connect to this film because in her essay, she talks about Class Identities in which explains Upper, Middle, and Lower classes. In this film, the men are the lower class which is identified as being poor. Despite being a lower class, the men were happy and enjoying each other’s company while smoking cigarettes. In America, we view the upper class as the “best” class and having the ideal life of being perfect in which that’s not true because most people are actually grateful for what they have and enjoy the people around them. Money and popularity don’t bring happiness, it’s the people you surround yourself with that brings you joy.

The third film that I chose that explores Judith Howard’s essay is called “Jarret’s Family”. This film had caught my attention because it was based off of ethnic identities in which display how African Americans are equal in class as white people. During that time, The Civil Rights Movement and Segregation were still occuring in America so it was rare to find a family of African Americans like the Jarrets. They were having a get together at the Jarrets home. In Judith Howad’s essay, she illustrates to readers about “Ethnic Identity” which tells us how people are identified as the lower class or in the minority. The film showed African American women in the early to mid 1900’s dressed up and wearing fancy jewelry. This film demonstrated to the audience that African Americans are equal in power and class especially during a horrific time in history. These people still enjoyed one another and never lost hope.  

In conclusion, all of these films have made connections to Judith Howard’s essay “Social Psychology of Identities” and demonstrated to readers and viewers how identity can affect everyone individually. It was a great experience and a privilege going to the Museum of Modern Art for the first time. All of the history and information that I retained there was knowledgeable and just helps explore the past in many different ways. I think it’s important for all of us to know our identity and where we come from; however, we all need to realize that we are human beings and should be treated equally upon each other.