RESEARCH

Black Images and Representation in Cinema from 1900 to the Present   Section I: Introducing the Topic Section I-b: Keywords Section II: Books, Videotapes and CD-ROMs form UNC-CH Libraries Section III: Electronic Indexes and Database Sources Section IV: Web Sources on Topic Section V: Mini-Essay on Internet Issue Section VI: Mini-Essay on Internet Issue 2 Section I: Introducing the Topics African Americans have been heavily involved in the history of the motion picture industry and have made significant contributions to filmmaking. However, rarely have their efforts been recognized or their contributions to the filmmaking industry been noted. Film histories often exclude the African American in their reporting of cinema history or provide minimal coverage of the African American and his involvement in this industry. With this assignment, I hope to begin a critical, historical and theoretical examination of the African American in cinema form the 1900s to the present. This examination will seek to analyze their role on screen, it will explore how stereotypical representations of the African American developed; and it will investigate the efforts of a number of African American actors, actresses and filmmakers who attempted to subvert these images. This examination is essential to understanding the black experience in the United States. It is well known that the media is an integral part of American society and has often been credited with the modification of existing attitudes regarding ethnic and cultural diversity. Therefore, examining and investigating the role of the African American and their representations in film will provide a resource in examining the black struggle with negative, stereotypical images and their efforts to challenge or not challenge these representations. More importantly, examining the African American in cinema from the 1900s to the present will give a more knowledgeable understanding of the black experience in American society for all people. back to top Section I-b: Keywords UNC Library catalog blacks & film NOT television african americans & motion pictures Academic Universe Lexis-Nexis race+relations+films black stereotypes| representation + film Search engine of the Web <http://www.google.com/> african american images and film ethnic film and representation back to top Section II: Books, Videotapes and CD-ROMs form UNC-CH Libraries Print George, Nelson. Blackface : Reflections on African-Americans and the Movies. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2002. PN1995.9.N4 G46 2002 Klotman, Phyllis Rauch. Struggles for Representation : African American documentary Film and Video. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999. [PN1995.9.N4 S77 1999] Bogle, Donald. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films, 4th ed. New York: Continuum, 2001. [PN1995.9.N4 B6 2001] Bogle, Donald. Blacks in American Films and Television: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Pub., 1988. [PN1995.9.N4 B58 1988] Non-Print Ethnic Notions. Dir. and Pro. by Marlon Riggs. 56 min. California Newsreel, 1986. Videocassette. [65-V2097] Isaacs, Jeremy. In Black and White. Dir. By Russ Karel. 92 min. BBC Worldwide Americas, 1992/Films for the Humanities, 1997. Videocassette. [65-V7753] back to top Section III: Electronic Indexes and Database Sources “Race Movies’ Dispelled Black Stereotypes.” In Ethnic Newswatch. Tennessee Tribune, 23 July 1998. 26. Database on-line. Available from <http://enw.softlineweb.com/>. [cited 01 February 2003]. Cobb, Jelani W., Jr. “BLACKFACE: Reflections on African Americans and the Movies.” In Ethnic Newswatch. Quarterly Black Review of Books, 28 February 1995. 20. Database on-line. Available from <http://enw.softlineweb.com/>. [cited 01 February 2003]. Booker, Mattison T., S. Torriano Berry, and Venise T. Berry. “The 50 Most Influential Black Films: A Celebration of African-American Talent, Determination, and Creativity.” In International Index to Black Periodicals. USA: Cox, Matthews & Associates, Inc., March-April 2002. 60. Database on-line. Available from < http://iibp.chadwyck.com/>. [cited 01 February 2003]. Pappas, James. “Slow Fade to Black: The Negro in American Film, 1900-1942.” In Ethnic Newswatch. Afro-American in New York Life and History, 31 Januaury 1978. 91. Database on-line. Available from< http://enw.softlineweb.com/>. [cited 01 February 2003]. Richardson, Gwen Daye. “Hollywood Stereotypes: How Hollywood Typecasts Blacks, Families and Christians.” In Ethnic Newswatch. National Minority Politics, 30 September 1995. 6. Database on-line. Available from <http://enw.softlineweb.com/>. [cited 01 February 2003]. Fleener, Nickie. “Answering film with film: The Hampton Epilogue, a Positive Alternative to the Negative Stereotypes Presented in The Birth of a Nation.” In Art Index Retropective: Wilson Web. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 1980. 400-25. Database on-line. Available from<http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/>. [cited 01 February 2003]. back to top Section IV: Web Sources on Topic Title: African-Americans in Motion Pictures: The Past and the Present Web Address: http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/african/movies.htm Brief Description: This website navigates through the history of African Americans in cinema from 1900 to the present day. It also lists popular and influential movies and actors of its time. Source of Website: Long Island University Title: Black Film Center/ Archive Web Address: http://www.indiana.edu/~bfca/ Brief Description: This website is actually a repository of films and related materials by and about African Americans. This site provides information of the African American’s depiction in film throughout history. Source of Website: The Trustees of Indiana University Title: The African American Registry Web Address: http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/category/4/film_tv Brief Description: Media Business Solutions presents a website that highlights the lives and achievements of black entertainers in media as early as 1873. This site serves as a resource to recognize and acknowledge the lives of early black entertainers and their contributions to the cinema industry. Source of Website: Media Business Solutions Title: The Black Experience in Hollywood Web Address: http://classicfilm.about.com/library/weekly/aa020302a.htm Brief Description: This site has an abundance of information at the click of your mouse. It has many different links pertaining to African American actors, their images in classical film and their struggle for equality and justly representations. Another thing that I like about this site is that has a list of movies with racial themes. Source of Website: About, Inc. Title: African American Film Web Address: http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/DIASPORA/FILM.HTM Brief Description: This site attempts to incorporate cultural aspects to the aesthetic of black film. It goes deeper to unveil societal changes that have shifted the images and stereotypes of African Americans and how this shift has affected the outcome African American film. Source of Website: Board of Regents, Washington State University back to top Section V: Mini-Essay on Internet Issue The Internet is a wonderful thing and makes the lives of many a little less complex, but there are many downfalls to such convenience. One of them is spam. In general, spam is any email you don't want to receive. The bombardment of spam can come in forms of advertisements, newsletters, and questionnaires but what concerns most individuals is illegal email spam. Illegal spam can be defined as email that attempts to deceive by falsification of seller identity or email address with the use of defrauding, in hopes of gaining monetary advantage from the email recipient and other parties. (1) The Federal Trade Commission notes of spammers: "Fraud operators - often among the first to exploit any technological innovation - have seized on the Internet's capacity to reach literally millions of consumers quickly and at a low cost through UCE (United Computer Exchange). In fact, UCE has become the fraud artist's calling card on the Internet. Much of the spam in the Commission's database contains false information about the sender, misleading subject lines, and extravagant earnings or performance claims about goods and services. These types of claims are the stock in trade of fraudulent schemes." (2) There are many ways a spammer can obtain your email address. One popular and easy way for spammers is to acquire your email address when you post it on auctions, bulletin boards and email postings. Your email can be obtained through businesses who sell email addresses or other personal information to spammers. There are also software programs that spammers can use to collect email addresses from web sites. However, with the advent of making email addresses more attainable for strangers, there are ways to avoid spammers. First is to mark random and suspiciously-looking email for deletion. Another tip is to buy an anti-spam email program. Installing a virus checker is another way to secure your computer from malicious Internet attacks of all types. And finally, complain and report to your Internet service provider to ensure proper steps are taken for a user-friendly environment. (1) NOTES: (1) Holt, Stella and Louise Berg. “How to can spam.” In Lexis-Nexis Academic. Legal Week Global, 2003. Database on-line. Available from <http://eresources.lib.unc.edu/http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe>. [cited 29 January 2003]. (2) Legal Information Institute. Fraud and related activity in connection with computers, US Code Collection, Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 47, Sec.1030., 2000. Internet on-line. Available from <http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/1030.html>. [cited 29 January 2003]. back to top THREE RELATED WEB SITES Title of Web Page: Spam Email: Harvesting Your Email Address Web address: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/ Brief Description: This site contains information on the Federal Trade Commission’s regulatory laws on illegal spam and tips on how to avoid spam. Source of Web Site: Federal Trade Commission Title of Web Page: Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam Web address: http://www.wdvl.com/Internet/Protocols/Email/Spam.html Brief Description: This website defines spam, why it’s bad and the things you can do to prevent the bad things of spam. Source of Web Site: Web Developer’s Virtual Library Title of Web Page: Spam Article: How to Stop Spam Web address: http://www.addresses.com/spam.php Brief Description: This website reveals how spamming is accomplished and what internet users can do to keep spammers from getting their email address. It also tells the proper authorities to contact if you have a spamming problem. Source of Web Site: Addresses.com back to top Section VI: Mini-Essay on Internet Issue Throughout history, film studies often exclude the African American in their reporting of cinema history or provide minimal coverage of the African American and his involvement in the filmmaking industry. The objective of my main research was to recognize the contributions African Americans have made to the motion picture industry. For my additional essay, I attempted to explore the film studies on the internet that have highlighted the efforts of African American actors, actresses and filmmakers of the past, present and future. The Black Film Center/ Archive (BFC/A) is a repository of films and related materials by and about African Americans. Included are films which have substantial participation by African Americans as writers, actors, producers, directors, musicians and consultants, as well as those which depict some aspect of black experience. The BFC/A is a facility where scholars, students and researchers can view films and have access to auxiliary research facilities. This site is important to the education of early African American portrayal on film. The film archive is extensive and shows the first representations of blacks on film to the evolution of the more contemporary images of blacks seen on the big screen today. The objectives of the BFC/ A are: -To expand the film collection of historic and current films by and about Blacks. -To encourage the continuation of creative film activity by independent black filmmakers. -To undertake and encourage research in the history, meaning, and aesthetics of black film. -To guide and support students and researchers in Black Film Studies. Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Inc. (BFHFI) is another site that attempts to nurture the creative and professional endeavors of black filmmakers. By influencing black images portrayed in film through education, the nurturing of current independent filmmakers and the preservation of contributions by African American artists both before and behind the camera are some of the objectives of this site. BFHFI is a means of empowering young African Americans and illuminating their historical contributions in the film arts industry. This site also serves as a resource to the educational programs and events offered to the public by BFHFI, which has provided heightened visibility for African Americans with such events as the highly-acclaimed Oscar Micheaux Awards Ceremony, Film Lecture Series, Special Screenings, and Symposia. The site also features a calendar of events of future film festivals, the viewing of successful trailers and reviews and critiques. Another site that highlights black filmmakers’ achievements is Black Filmmaker Magazine. It is an online resource that notarizes the up and coming black actors and filmmakers. This site gives latest information on black film festivals, industry news, film reviews and interviews. Unlike the Black Film Center/ Archive, the Black Filmmaker Magazine focuses on the future of black film. As an aspiring filmmaker, this site is insightful of world tomorrow’s black filmmakers. Although the efforts and contributions of African American filmmakers are rarely recognized, The Black Film Center/ Archive, Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Inc. and Black Filmmaker Magazine are all online resources that attempt to change that by highlighting the works of black actors, actresses and filmmakers of the past, present and future. back to top THREE RELATED WEB SITES Title of Web Page: The Black Film Center/ Archive Web address: http://www.indiana.edu/~bfca/index.html Brief Description: This website is actually a repository of films and related materials by and about African Americans. This site provides information of the African American’s depiction in film throughout history. Source of Website: The Trustees of Indiana University Title of Web Page: Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Web address: http://www.blackfilmmakershall.org/ Brief Description: This site acknowledges the achievements of African American filmmakers throughout history with awards and recognition of other various achievements. Source of Website: Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Inc. Title of Web Page: Black Filmmaker Magazine Web address: http://www.blackfilmmakermag.com/ Brief Description: This site contains editorials, features, reviews, information on festivals, industry news on the industry’s up and coming black filmmakers. Source of Website: Black Filmmaker Publications back to top NEXT>>> This site was created and is maintained by C.J. Thompson as part of the curriculum of JOMC 50 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Last updated: 04/14/03.