ETHNIC STUDIES 95
African American Independent Filmmakers:
Social, Cultural, and Political Contributions
* Dr. Jamie Walker *
CRN#: 62020
MWF 2:15pm—3:20pm
Kennedy Commons 108
Santa Clara University
Fall 2010
Office Phone: 408-554-4318 Office Location: St. Joe’s Hall, 107 (Tuesdays 3-4pm)
Email: jdwalker@scu.edu Drahmann 101-H (Tuesdays 11am—12pm)
And by appointment.
Course Description:
Black American filmmakers have made significant contributions to American film. Marginalized by the mainstream, they sought to independently produce their own films and tell their diverse, human stories by any means. Shattering cultural myths about ethnic groups that have been created and perpetuated by Hollywood since its early inception, these auteurs use film as a medium to wrest control over their own images, debunking demeaning stereotypes about African American men and women, including assumptions about their supposed uninhibited sexuality. Imbued with “signifiers” and “cultural markers,” these films explore the idea of ancestry, revere the folk (the grassroots and the middle class), legitimize African American cultural values and heritage, celebrating the unique language and speech idioms of their people, as well as their strategic locales in urban, rural, and southern landscapes. Their films chronicle the history of oppression of American Negroes and document both our social life (relationships, wealth building, organizing strategies, and music trends like the spirituals, jazz, blues, and hip hop). These films revere African American iconography, historiography and mythology, and chronicle such issues like racism, sexism, classism, colorism, miscegenation, the problems of assimilation; inner city living; Blaxploitation, homophobia; racial uplift, and urban realism.
This course introduces students to prominent and lesser known African American films from post-reconstruction to the Harlem Renaissance, Blaxploitation, New Black Cinema movement of the 1990s, and beyond. We will analyze the aesthetic shifts and thematic concerns of these filmmakers while illuminating their important social and political contributions to American cinema, the African American community, and the world. We will note how African American filmmakers triumphed over adversity, struggling to garner support and funding for their projects while depicting “new” images of African Americans in film. While we examine these films in historical context, we will pay close attention to historical criticism and contemporary criticism of the filmmaker’s works.
Reading film as “texts” – complete with their own language, arguments, aesthetic concerns, social, political, and historical influences – we will understand how films are saturated with their own arguments or worthy discourses. It must be noted that we will not only chronicle the black presence in American commercial narrative cinema, but also examine the ways in which black independent films strategically managed to “break through the formal veneer of Hollywood’s ideology of black subordination” and, in turn, create new alternatives to the “slick, escapist commodities of the dominant cinema industry.”
Filmmakers we will pay close attention to include, but are certainly not limited to: Oscar Micheaux, William Foster, Spencer Williams, Gordon Parks, Jr., Melvin Van Peebles, Spike Lee, Julie Dash, Cheryl Dunye, Angela Gibbs, Kanithea Powell, Camille Billops, Charles Burnett, and Aishah Simmons.
It is hoped that this course encourages further research in the field and assists the student on his/her personal journey and career path.
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, students will:
1. Understand various inequities and injustices that existed for African American filmmakers throughout the Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, Blaxploitation era, New Black Cinema Movement, and beyond
2. Demonstrate how African American filmmakers (and actors) directly confronted their political, economic, and sexual oppression
3. Detail the ideological functions of the representations of Blackness in early Hollywood Cinema; stereotypes which still persist about people of color today
4. Learn how to identify “signifiers” and “cultural markers” in African American films
5. Realize the important social, cultural, and political contributions of African American filmmakers who influenced other American
filmmakers and helped the change the cinematic representation of Blackness in Hollywood films
6. Illustrate how African American filmmakers engage in acts of resistance, using film as medium to illumine hierarchies assigned to gender, race, or class
Diversity Core Objectives:
Below are the learning objectives for the Diversity area of the Core and how they are met in this class:
1. Describe examples of diverse human experiences, identities and cultures in the United States. (Exams, Critical Movie Response
handouts, Critical Though Papers, written homework, student presentations, Annotated Bibliography, class lectures, and class discussion)
2. Identify and discuss paradigms that lead to inequity and injustice. (Exams, Critical Movie Response handouts, Critical Though Papers,
written homework, student presentations, Annotated Bibliography, class lectures, and class discussion)
3. Examine diversity as constituted through intersections of social categories such as race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, age, language,
citizenship, religion, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, and so on. (Exams, Critical Movie Response handouts, Critical Though
Papers, written homework, student presentations, Annotated Bibliography, class lectures, and class discussion)
4. Analyze differences in power and privilege related to race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, age, language, citizenship, religion, class, sexual orientation, or physical ability. (Exams, Critical Movie Response handouts, Critical Though Papers, written homework, student
presentations, Annotated Bibliography, class lectures, and class discussion)
Required Reading:
Sims, Yvonne D. Women of Blaxploitation: How the Black Action Film Heroine Changed
American Popular Culture. NY: McFarland and Company, 2006.
Film Screenings:
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Within Our Gates (1919, dir. Oscar Micheaux) The Scar of Shame (1926, dir. Colored Players) Body & Soul (1924, dir. Oscar Micheaux) Veiled Aristocrats (1932, dir. Oscar Micheaux) Sweet Sweetback’s Badasss Song (1971, dir. Melvin Van Peebles Coffy (1972) Cleopatra Jones (1973) Foxy Brown (1974) The Killer of Sheep (1977) She’s Gotta Have It (1986, dir. Spike Lee) Do the Right Thing (1989, dir. Spike Lee) School Daze (1988, dir. Spike Lee) Daughters of the Dust (dir. Julie Dash) Pariah (1998, dir. Randolph Kurt) Finding Juliet (2009, dir. Kanithea Powell) Cheryl Dunye Short Films (1994)
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Recommended Screenings: American Grindhouse: The History of American Exploitation Films (Documentary, Grand Lake Theater, Oakland, CA Thursday 9/23 at 9pm)
Precious (dir. Lee Daniels, 2009)
For Colored Girls (dir. Tyler Perry, November 5, 2010).
Outside Screenings: Shaft, Superfly, and Blacula (during Halloween)
*For a complete recommended film listing, see below and ANGEL. |
A Note About the Films:
While these films will be screened in class, many are available in Santa Clara University’s Harrington Library and in nationwide video rental
stores like Blockbuster.
Netflix Subscription:
I strongly encourage you to apply for a basic subscription ($8.99 a month) from Netflix for the duration of this class (September 2010—
December 2010). A $8.99 a month subscription will allow you to stream over 50,000 films instantly (On Demand) to your computer or
television. Many films screening this quarter are available On Demand. Additionally, having a basic subscription will allow you to explore
other films of the same time period or in the same genre. A Netflix subscription starting September 25—December 25 at $8.99 x 3 (months)
is approximately $27.00/$30.00.
Resource Room
Located in Saint Joseph’s Hall, Room 122, is the Resource Room. It includes several multicultural resources (books, anthologies, some
VHS and DVDs) that may be useful to your own critical study.
Additional Requirements:
A functional email address. Please provide me with the email you check most regularly. If you do not have an email address, please
visit the IT Department to obtain your SCU username and password.
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Suggested Reading (uploaded to ANGEL):
Slow Fade to Black: The Negro in American Film, 1900-1942 by Thomas Cripps.
Black Film as Genre by Thomas Cripps.
Making Movies Black: The Hollywood Message Movie from World War II to the Civil Rights Era by Thomas Cripps.
Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies & Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films by Donald Bogle.
Returning the Gaze: A Genealogy of Black Film by Anna Everett.
Representing Blackness: Issues in Film and Video by Valerie Smith.
Black Film / White Money by Jesse Algeron Rhines.
Black American Cinema (AFI Film Readers) by Manthia Diawara.
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song: A Guerilla Filmmaking Manifesto by Melvin van Peebles.
Feminism and Film by Maggie Humm.
The Birth of Whiteness: Race and the Emergence of U.S. Cinema by Daniel Bernardi.
Representing Blackness (and other titles) by bell hooks.
Reel Racism: Confronting Hollywood's Construction of Afro-American Culture by Vincent F. Rocchio.
African American Women and Sexuality in the Cinema by Norma Monatu.
Framing Blackness : The African American Image in Film by Ed Guerrero.
Black Film As a Signifying Practice by Gladstone L. Yearwood.
Blaxploitation Cinema: The Essential Reference Guide by Josiah Howard.
Black Cinema Aesthetics by Gladstone L.
Yearwood
Course Requirements:
Blog / Journals (5)
Journals may be assigned for special readings in order to help you critically respond to a text or film. These journals should be typed, double
spaced, in Times Roman 12 point font. One to two pages is fine. The journals offer you the opportunity to discuss a film or own text in your
own words. No outside research or criticism is needed when writing your journals. These journals should seek to critically examine a thought,
idea, theme or issue that you find interesting in a text or film. A Grading Rubric for the Journals have been uploaded to ANGEL. We will
discuss more about journals in class.
Critical Response Movie Worksheets
A Critical Response Movie Worksheet will be distributed before each film. The purpose of the worksheet is to help you take detailed and in
depth notes about the films screened. These worksheets provide substantial evidence to gird your critical discussion of a film. Worksheets
will be used to helped you write your critical thought papers and to help guide your classroom discussion as you remember topics you wrote
about while watching certain films from the worksheet provided. A copy of the Critical Response Movie Worksheet has been uploaded to
Angel. Worksheet must be completed in class at the time the film is screened. No make-up or late assignments will be allowed.
Critical Thought Papers (2)
The purpose of the critical thought papers are to encourage you to write and think critically about a theme or issue (social, political, historical,
or cultural) prevalent in one of the films that you watched or articles read in class. The critical thought papers must be 5 pages long, typed,
double spaced, in Times Roman font. Late critical thought papers will be dropped one letter grade. The paper must be well organized with
a full introduction, thesis statement, strong supporting topic sentences and paragraphs. It must also cite (2) outside sources. A sample grading
rubric for the Critical Thought Papers has been uploaded to Angel as well as a sample paper. We will discuss more about the structure of the
Critical Thought paper in class. To get you thinking about this project, a list of possible Critical Thought Paper Topics are included at the very
end of this syllabus.
In Class Midterm (Friday, October 29, 2010)
The format of the midterm will be identifications (definitions) and short essays. A midterm review sheet will be provided by the professor
prior to the exam. There will be no make up exams.
Final Examination (Monday, December 6, 2010)
The final exam will consist of identifications, short answers, and a comprehensive essay. Students are expected to take the exam at the aforementioned date and dime. No make up exams or rescheduling of the final exam will be allowed. A final review sheet will be provided by the professor. The final review will occur during class on Friday, December 3, 2010.
Extra Credit Paper:
Each student will be allowed the opportunity to write one Extra Credit Paper (prior permission is required from the professor). The extra
credit paper is due November 15, 2010. The extra credit paper should follow the same guidelines as the Critical Thought Paper.
LOCATION OF OUTSIDE WEEKLY SCREENING OF FILMS:
A number of additional films (TBA) will be screened outside of class on Tuesdays or Thursdays (to be determined by class) from 5:45pm—6:45pm on the first floor of the University Library (Video and Taping Room A). Food, snacks, and drinks are allowed in the screening rooms so long as you clean up neatly after yourself upon finishing the film.
Outside Screening Time:________________________________________________________
Dates:_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Location: Room A, Video & Taping Room, First Floor, University Library _______________
Oral Presentation/Additional Extra Credit:
Occasionally, students may be asked to deliver a short five to seven minute presentation on a particular topic (e.g., information about a director or brief background on a film before its screening).
Attendance: 10%
Tri-Weekly Journals: 5%
Critical Thought Papers (2): 20%
Midterm (In-Class): 30%
Final Exam: 35%
Using ANGEL Online:
Occasionally, required readings and assignments for this course will be uploaded to ANGEL: http://angel.scu.edu. Please see the Course
Schedule at the end of this packet to determine which readings will be uploaded to ANGEL. You will need your SCU username and
password to log on to the system.
COURSE POLICY ON PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is a very serious breach of academic ethics. As stated in the “Policy on Plagiarism” section of the Undergraduate Catalog,
“Students guilty of plagiarism are subject to severe penalties.” Papers that are found that to have plagiarized material will receive a failing
grade. If a student continues to plagiarize content for homework assignments, the student will receive a failing grade for the course.
Plagiarism includes, but is certainly not limited to: representing another person’s words and ideas as your own;
downloading or purchasing a paper from the internet; using whole paragraphs from a book, article, or online source without
quotation marks and attribution; submitting a research report written by a friend as your own work ; submitting as your own
work a sculpture or a poem created by someone else.
If you are not absolutely clear on what constitutes plagiarism, please consult your handbook or see the instructor or seek help from
the Writing Center. In addition, a letter from the faculty member explaining why the student failed will be sent to the Chair of the Department
who will then forward it to the appropriate academic administrators.
According to University policy, grades will be calculated as such:
A 100%-90% D 69%-60%
B 89%-80% F 59% and below
C 79%-70%
Possible Critical Paper Topics:
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· The Portrayal of the Negro in American Film · Representations of Negro Women (or Actresses) in Harlem Renaissance Films · Representations of Black Women and/or Men in Black Exploitation Films · Social & Political Contributions of a Black Director · Aesthetic Contributions of a Black Director · Thematic Contributions of a Black Director · Colorism in Harlem Renaissance Films · The Mulatto (Tragic or Otherwise) · The New Negro · The Talented Tenth · Black Mysteries and Suspense Films · Themes of Lynching · Child Actors · Dancers/Musicians in Films · Black Musicals (Filming the Black Musical/ Historical Overview, etc) · Occupations of Negroes as seen in Film (e.g., maids, laundresses, seamstress, teachers, lawyers, doctors, spy’s, cops, etc) |
· Fashion as seen in Film · The Economics of Acting in the 30s/40s/50s/60s · Redefining roles for Negro Actors and Actresses · The Black Middle Class · Black Love · Sexuality · Interracial Marriage and/or Dating · Poverty & Classism · Police Brutality · Funding Early Black Films · Black Female Action Heroes · Deconstructing Popular Notions of Black Masculinity and/or Black Femininity · Urban Realism (Street life) · Young Urban Youth in Film (statements and political concerns) · Hip Hop Aesthetics in Film · Critical Responses to a Film. · Black Female Action Heroes · Black City Cinema · Feminist, Sociological, Naturalist, Marxist, Modernist, or Psychological Readings of Films
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Additional Course Policies:
This class meets three times a week. It is strongly encouraged that you attend ALL class sessions. I will allow for only three (3) absences.
Each additional absence will result in TWO points being deducted from your final course grade. If you have an absolute emergency,
documentation must be provided. No exceptions!
Lateness will not be tolerated. Make every effort to be on time. Consistent tardiness will result in significant deductions from your final
course grade.
All cell phones, pagers, Ipods, laptops, and PDA’s must be turned off during class. There will be no eating in class. Because this class meets
at 2:10pm MWF, it is strongly encouraged that you eat a good lunch or meal before the start of class.
I have high expectations of all my students. If you need to meet with me to discuss career options, personal matters, ideas, or possible
research topics for your essays, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can also email me anytime and we can arrange to meet during my
office hours.
Finally, I request that all students respect each other’s voices, writing, and opinions. While an individual may disagree about a certain topic, it
does not mean that an individual may personally attack another person. Creativity and “constructive” criticism are, thus, strongly encouraged,
honored, and celebrated in this class.
Individuals who fail to meet any of these requirements are strongly encouraged to drop the course.
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According to University policy, grades will be calculated as such:
A 100%-90% D 69%-60%
B 89%-80% F 59% and below
C 79%-70%
Course Syllabus
Topic 1: Welcome and Introduction: Hollywood’s Inscription of Slavery
Week 1
M 9/20
Introduction and Course Syllabus. Student Info Sheets. Handout.
W 9/22
Readings (ANGEL):
“Introduction: Issues in Independent Black Filmmaking” by Gladstone Yearwood, 9-13.
“Cultural Restitution and Independent Black Cinema” by Tony Gittens, 115-118.
“Towards a Theory of a Black Cinema Aesthetic” by Gladstone Yearwood, 67-75.
Lecture: The Function of Black Cinema: Early Black Filmmakers and the Quest for a New Negro Aesthetic
Clip: D.W. Griffith’s “The Birth of a Nation” (1915), Thomas Edison Short Film ; Midnight Ramble in Hollywood.
F 9/24
Readings (ANGEL):“The Unformed Image: The Afro American in Early American Movies,” by Thomas Cripps, 8-40.
Lecture: Race Movies : The Birth of a New Negro Cinema
Documentary Clip: “Midnight Ramble in Hollywood: The Making of Race Movies” (30 min)
Topic 2: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema
Week 2
M 9/27
Readings (ANGEL):
“The New Negro” by Alain Locke
Writing Due: Journal #1 Due / The New Negro Defined
Discussion of “The New Negro”
Student Presentation: Micheaux Bio (5 min):________Chris Paschal_______________ w/ handout
Student Presentaiton: Micheaux Filmmography (5 min):____Jared James__________ w/ handout
Student Presentation: Micheaux Critical Reception (5 min):______John Grambow_____w / handout
Lecture: Oscar Micheaux: Black America’s First Feature Filmmaker
Documentary Clip: “Midnight Ramble in Hollywood” (continued ) , “Within Our Gates” (1920)
W 9/29
Readings (ANGEL):
“Interlude: Black Market Cinema” by Donald Bogle, 100-116.
Screening: Micheaux Film:___________________________________
F 10/1
Readings (ANGEL):
“Oscar Micheaux Criticism” (by Gaines and Green)
“Fire and Desire: Race and Melodrama and Oscar Micheaux” by Jane Gaines
“Twoness in the Style of Oscadr Micheaux” by J. Ronald Green
Recap of Micheaux Film/Discussion
Screening: Micheaux Film (continued):____________________________________
Outside Screenings in University Library (Video and Taping Room A):___Symbol of the Unconquered
Topic 3: Themes of Racism, Colorism, Sexism, and Classism in Micheuax Cinema (continued)
Week 3
M 10/4
Readings (ANGEL):
Oscar Micheaux Criticism: Excerpt from Biography, Read Chps. 1 and Chps. 2
Discussion of Readings (30 min)
Micheaux Clip
W 10/6
Readings (ANGEL):
Oscar Micheaux Criticism, Excerpt from Biography, Read Chps. 8 and 9.
Micheaux Screening:_______The Scar of Shame _____________
F 10/8
Readings (ANGEL):
Micheaux Criticism (continued) ; Read Chps. 10-13 of Micheaux’s Biography.
Review of Possible Paper Topics and Ideas
Outside Screenings in University Library (Video and Taping Room A):____Symbol of the Unconquered
Topic 4: The Blaxploitation Era: The Influence of the Black Arts
& Black Power Movements
Week 4
M 10/11
Readings: (ANGEL):
“The Black Arts Movement” by Amiri Baraka
“Black Art: Mute Matter Given Form and Function by Maulana Karenga
Writing Due: Journal #2 Due / The Black Aesthetic Defined
Lecture: The Black Arts Movement and The Quest for a New Black Aesthetic: Melvin Van Peebles and the birth of Blaxploitation Cinema
Documentary Clip: “Badasss Cinema: The Rise and Fall of Blaxploitation” (30min)
W 10/13
Reading (ANGEL):
“The Rise and Fall of Blaxploitation” by Ed Gurerro, pp. 69-111.
“The Evolution of Black Film” by Thomas Cripps
Documentary Clip: “Badasss Cinema: The Rise and Fall of Blaxploitation” / “Sweetback” (1971)
F 10/14
Readings (ANGEL):
“Sweet Black Criticism.”
“The Black Action Film: The End of the Patiently Enduring Black Hero” by Mark A. Reid
“Sweet Sweetback’s Badaaassss Song the Development of the Contemporary Black Film Movement”
Distribution of Midterm Review Sheet.
Outside Screenings in University Library (Video and Taping Room A):___________________________
Topic 5: The Revolution Will Not Be Televised:
Urban Realism, Blaxploitation Films, and the Politics of Black City Cinema
Week 5
Readings (ANGEL):
M 10/18 Paper Outline Due. (Full Intro, Thesis, First 5 Topic Sentences)
Screening: Sweetback (continued) / Pam Grier film
W 10/20 Women of Blaxploitation by Yvonne D. Sims; Read Intro & Chapter 1
Discussion/ Recap of Pam Grier film
F 10/22 Women of Blaxploitation by Yvonne D. Sims; Read Chapter 2 and Chapter 3
Journal #3 Due: What are some of the main arguments Yvonne D. Sims suggests about women of blaxploitation. Explain at least three (3) arguments about these women that she explains in detail. What are the contributions of these women blaxploitation artists? Your own thoughts and commentary ar welcome.
Screening: Pam Grier Film / Midterm Review
Outside Screenings in University Library (Video and Taping Room A):___________________________
Week 6: Women of Blaxploitation
Week 6
M 10/25
Paper # 1 Due ; 5 full pages, not including Cover & Works Cited Page
Readings (ANGEL):
Blaxploitation Criticism / Women of Blaxploitation ; Read Chp. 4
Discussion & Midterm Review
W 10/27
Readings (ANGEL):
Blaxploitation Criticism (TBA), Women of Blaxploitation , Read Chps. 5 and Chps 6
Screening: Tamara Dobson film
F 10/29
Women of Blaxploitation , Read Chps. 7 and 8.
Midterm Examination.
Outside Screenings in University Library (Video and Taping Room A):___________________________
Topic 7: The 1990s: New Black Cinema
Week 7
M 11/1
Readings (ANGEL):
“ The Black Movie Boom (the 1990s)” by Donald Bogle / Ed Guererro Criticism
Reading: _________________________________________________________________________
Screening: Spike Lee Film
W 11/3
Readings (ANGEL): TBA
Screening: “She’s Gotta Have It” (1986) dir. by Spike Lee
Reading: _________________________________________________________________________
F 11/5
Readings (ANGEL): TBA
“Spike Lee Criticism: Gender Politics (Male and Female representation)”
Reading: _________________________________________________________________________
Screening: Lee Film continued
Outside Screenings in University Library (Video and Taping Room A):___________________________
NOTE TO STUDENTS:
Try to Watch any Spike Lee films over the weekend. Available on Netflix On Demand.
Try to also see “For Colored Girls” (opening Nov. 5, 2010, dir. Lee Daniels) in Theaters Nationwide sometime during the month of November or during Thanksgiving Break.
Week 8: Spike Lee Continued
Week 8
M 11/8
Readings (ANGEL):
The Spike Lee Reader (pages TBA)
Discussion of Lee criticism
Clip: “Do the Right Thing” (1998)
W 11/10
Readings (ANGEL): The Spike Lee Reader (pages TBA)
Screening: “Do the Right Thing”
F 11/12
Julie Dash and Black Women Filmmakers / “Daughters of the Dust”
Outside Screenings in University Library (Video and Taping Room A):___________________________
Week 9: Women Directors
Week 9
M 11/15
Readings (ANGEL):
“Black Women and the Hollywood Shuffle” by Nsenga Burten
“The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators” by bell hooks
Writing Due: Journal #4 Due; Black Women Filmmakers and Spectators
Discussion and Lecture, Black Feminist Criticism (continued).
Film clip
W 11/17
Readings (ANGEL):
Screening: Julie Dash/ Cheryl Dunye/ Kanithea Powell clips
F 11/19
Readings (ANGEL):
Paper # 2 Due.
Final Exam Review Sheet Distributed.
Outside Screenings in University Library (Video and Taping Room A):___________________________
Try to watch a film by a Black women director discussed in class over Thanksgiving Break.
Thanksgiving Recess
11-22---11/26 Thanksgiving Recess.
Week 10: Black Women Directors
Week 10
M 11/29
Readings (ANGEL):
Black Women Directors
Clips (TBA): “Pariah” and “Finding Juliet” by Kanithea Powell (homophobia in the black community)
W 12/1
Lecture and Final Review.
F 12/3
Writing Due: Journal #5 Due; Addressing Homophobia in Black Films
Screening: TBA.
Outside Screenings in University Library (Video and Taping Room A):___________________________
Finals Week
M 12/6 Final Examination
NOTE:
*This syllabus is subject to change. Any and all changes will be announced in class and posted online.
Name:__________________________________________Date:_________
African American Independent Filmmakers
Critical Response Movie Handout
Title of Film:________________________________________________________________________
Director:_____________________________________ Year Made:_________ Run Time:__________
1. How does the director use history to place the film in historical or societal context?
2. How is the African American culture portrayed?
3. How are African American men portrayed? Women?
4. What is the role of ancestry in the text?
5. What kind of “signifiers” or “cultural markers” exist in the film?
6. What kind of argument is the film making?
7. Major Themes?
8. How does the director use symbolism or foreshadowing to carry the story along? Does it work?
9. What kind of political undertones/commentary are made in the film?
10. Is the film didactic (preachy)? Yes No
11. How are other groups represented? Do any have privilege or agency?
12. Does the soundtrack work? Does it evoke certain images? Does it carry the story along? How so?
13. What is missing from this film?
14. Any commentary on certain scenes, camera movements, techniques, or lighting?
15. What do you believe is the overall social contribution of this film?
Recommended
Films:
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Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith Midnight Ramble: The Story of the Black Film Industry Movies of Color: Southern Black Cinema Baadasssss Cinema - A Bold Look at 70's Black Exploitation Films Harlem Renaissance (1920s-1940): The Realization of the Negro’s Ambition The Flying Ace Within Our Gates Veiled Aristocrats The Exile Body & Soul Temptation The Scar of Shame Murder in Harlem Harlem Rides Over The Range Moon Over Harlem The Big Timers Dirty Gerty from Harlem USA Girl in Room 20 God’s Stepchildren Blood of Jesus Go Down Death The Bronze Buckaroo Juke Joint The Duke is Tops The Glove The Black King Lying Lips The Spirit of Joe Louis The films of Hattie McDaniel, Lena Horne, and Dorothy Dandridge
Blaxploitaiton: Shaft Blacula Coffee The Mack Dolemite Cleopatra Coffy Foxy Brown Friday Foster |
Cleopara Jones Cotton Comes to Harlem Superfly Black Ceasar Black Samurai Black Fist Black Emmanuelle Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song Slaughter The Mack The Hit! Blackenstein Black Godfather Friday Foster Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde Black Mama / White Mama TNT Jackson Velvet Smooth Soul Vengeance Sheba Baby The Spook that Sat By the Door Trick Baby That Man Bolt Trouble
Man 1980s-1990s: She's Gotta Have It" (1986) "He Got Game" (1998) |
She Hate Me New Jack City The Color Purple John Singleton Films Boyz in the Hood Watermelon Woman Short Films of Cheryl Dunye Julie Dash Films Camille Billops Films The Butch Mystique by Debra Wilson Charles Burnett Films No: The Rape Documentary Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett) Bush Mama (Haile Gerima) SanKofa (Haile Gerima) City of Hope Straight Out of Brooklyn Precious Tyler Perry Films Precious For Colored Girls Billy and Aaron Ganja and Hess Family The Butchy Mystique Storme: Lady of the Jewel Box Cheryl Dunye
NOTE: *A Complete List of Films will be distributed in class and uploaded online. |
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