Black American Cinema (AFI Film Readers) (Paperback)

by Manthia Diawara (Editor) "The release of D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation in 1915 defined for the first time the side that Hollywood was to take..." (more)
Key Phrases: biracial buddy formula, spatial narration, race movies, New York, Los Angeles, The Color Purple (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Manthia Diawara's Black American Cinema shows how refreshingly far away from decorous consensus the field of Black cinema study is today, in a varied and provocative montage of opinions, personal histories, position statements, and historical criticism. -- Journal of Communication, Summer 1995
...essays in Black American Cinema make the book a worthy addition to the small shelf of Black cinema criticism. -- Journal of Communication, Summer 1995

Manthia Diawaras Black American Cinema shows how refreshingly far away from decorous consensus the field of Black cinema study is today, in a varied and provocative montage of opinions, personal histories, position statements, and historical criticism. -- Journal of Communication, Summer 1995
...essays in Black American Cinema make the book a worthy addition to the small shelf of Black cinema criticism. -- Journal of Communication, Summer 1995

Product Description
This is the first major collection of criticism on Black American cinema. From the pioneering work of Oscar Micheaux and Wallace Thurman to the Hollywood success of Spike Lee, Black American filmmakers have played a remarkable role in the development of the American film, both independent and mainstream.

In this volume, the work of early Black filmmakers is given serious attention for the first time. Individual essays consider what a Black film tradition might be, the relation between Black American filmmakers and filmmakers from the diaspora, the nature of Black film aesthetics, the artist's place within the community, and the representation of a Black imaginary. Black American Cinema also uncovers the construction of Black sexuality on screen, the role of Black women in independent cinema, and the specific question of Black female spectatorship. A lively and provocative group of essays debate the place and significance of Spike Lee

Of crucial importance are the ways in which the essays analyze those Black directors who worked for Hollywood and whose films are simplistically dismissed as sell-outs, to the Hollywood ``master narrative,'' as well as those ``crossover'' filmmakers whose achievements entail a surreptitious infiltration of the studios. Black American Cinema demonstrates the wealth of the Black contribution to American film and the complex course that contribution has taken.

Contributors: Houston Baker, Jr., Toni Cade Bambara, Amiri Baraka, Jacquie Bobo, Richard Dyer, Jane Gaines, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Ron Green, Ed Guerrero, bell hooks, Phyllis Klotman, Ntongele Masilela, Clyde Taylor, and Michele Wallace.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1st edition (August 18, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415903971
• ISBN-13: 978-0415903974
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 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.com Sales Rank: #153,350 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good anthology on Black Film, December 24, 2000

By A Customer

From the early pioneers of Black Film like Oscar Micheaux in the 1930's to the present day era of filmmakers including Spike Lee, this book adequately covers it all, with a fair amount of time devoted on independent cinema. Interesting read. Especially useful for the academic world.