Abstract
Perhaps to the surprise of those who think of both traditional and grassroots archives as an esoteric interest, Cheryl Dunye’s 1996 film The Watermelon Woman elevates the institution to a new level of popular visibility by making fun of it. The archives also serve as a source of narrative drama in The Watermelon Woman, in which Cheryl (played by Dunye herself) becomes obsessed with uncovering the life of the mysterious Watermelon Woman, an African American actress who plays the stereotypical maid roles in old Hollywood films such as Plantation Memories. Through interviews and trips to libraries and obscure archives, Cheryl slowly pieces together the story of Fae Richards, whose offscreen life includes a romance with her white director, Martha Page (styled after Dorothy Arzner), a career as a singer in black clubs, and, in her later years, a long-term lesbian relationship. Combining docuIn the Archives of Lesbian Feelings: Documentary and Popular Culture
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