Forgeries of Memory and Meaning: Blacks and the Regimes of Race in American Theater and Film before World War II [Paperback]

Cedric J. Robinson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807858412 | ISBN-13: 978-0807858417 | Publication Date: November 28, 2007 | Edition: First Edition

Cedric J. Robinson offers a new understanding of race in America through his analysis of theater and film of the early twentieth century. He argues that economic, political, and cultural forces present in the eras of silent film and the early "talkies" firmly entrenched limited representations of African Americans. Robinson's analysis marks a new way of approaching the intellectual, political, and media racism present in the beginnings of American narrative cinema.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Invaluable to scholars of popular culture, Marxist studies, and especially, black studies. . . . [Robinson] writes with the seldom-heard acumen of a social scientist and is able to discern how and why the American entertainment industry represents -- and misrepresents -- class and race."
-- North Carolina Historical Review

"A copiously researched and compelling study. . . . A profoundly important and elegantly written historical study of a great artistic conflict."
-- Theatre Research International

"A complex, thoughtful perspective on the protean nature of American culture and those who profited and suffered from its progression."
—Journal of American History

"Robinson's assertions that capitalists controlled and manipulated the image of blackness . . . are a very important contribution."
— Journal of Southern History

"This ambitious project, grounded in a broad historicity, will elicit some dissent, but Robinson's first-rate scholarship will be difficult to counter and will stand the test of time."
— American Historical Review

"Careful, exhaustive scholarship and densely packed argumentation. . . . One of the most important resources in years, this book is already a classic. . . . Essential."
— CHOICE

"One of the most important resources in years, this book is already a classic."
— CHOICE

About the Author

Cedric J. Robinson is professor of black studies and political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is author of four other books, including Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition (from the University of North Carolina Press).

Product Details

• Paperback: 445 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press; First Edition edition (November 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807858412
• ISBN-13: 978-0807858417
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #583,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Stupendous Effort, August 3, 2008

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Andre Ali Seewood (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Forgeries of Memory and Meaning: Blacks and the Regimes of Race in American Theater and Film before World War II (Paperback)

This is one of the best works of African-American film studies to come out in years. Many of us who have found the work of David Bogle (Toms, Mammies, Mulattoes, Bucks & Coons) wanting on several levels will have their prayers answered with Robinson's impeccable scholarship and far-reaching analysis of the changing perceptions and representations of African-Americans after the Civil War, Reconstruction and the release of Griffith's BIRTH OF A NATION (1915). What was important for me in reading this book was Robinson's astute ability to discern the origins of the specific caricatures of African-Americans in the traveling minstral shows that circulated throughout the country before the invention of cinema. He also reveals how early American Cinema was predicated upon these caricatures of African-Americans as a revenue generating source of "entertainment". He then reveals how these caricatures were employed by African-American actors as a means to gain employment within the movie industry. The chapters on early American Theatre, Oscar Micheaux, and The Birth of a Nation are the best written efforts I've read in years: fresh and full of new insights. Robinson discusses the duplicitous nature of minstrelsy for whites and African-Americans. This was a throughly engrossing read and a book that will be referenced by scholars, students and filmmakers for years to come.