The Complexity and Progression of Black Representation in Film and Television

By (author) David L. Moody Contributions by Rob Prince Obey

Publication date:

02 June 2016

Length of book:

168 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739188378

The Complexity and Progression of Black Representation in Film and Television examines the intricacies of race, representation, Black masculinity, sexuality, class, and color in American cinema and television. Black images on the silver screen date back to the silent film era, yet these films and television programs presented disturbing images of African American culture, and regrettably, many early films and small screen programs portrayed Black characters in demeaning and stereotypical roles. In order to fully analyze the roles of Black actors and actresses in film and television, Moody addresses the following issues: the historical significance of the term “race films”; female Black identities and constructs; queerness and Black masculinity; Black male identities; and Black buffoonery in film and television.

Introduction: Who Am I?
Chapter 1: Race Films as a Genre in American Cinema
Chapter 2: Riding the Train of Cultural Complexity with Sarah Jane and Clay : Critique of the Films Imitation of Life and Dutchman
Chapter 3: Black "Zombies/Non-Zombies" that Live Amongst the Dead: A Closer Look at the Screen Acting Work of Mantan Moreland and Duane Jones in King of the Zombies (1941) and Night of the lIving Dead (1968)
Chapter 4: The Devil Made Me Do It...That Is, Burn Down Paris: Queering Masculinity in African American Culture, American Cinema, and Television
Chapter 5: The Scarface Identity: Rap Gone Wild, Cash Money Bruthas, and Niggas Killin' Nigga(z) on Da Streets
Rob Prince Obey and David L. Moody
Chapter 6: Black Popular Culture, The Boondocks, and Black Jesus
Chapter 7: American Culture and the Black Situation Comedy
Conclusion: What Am I?

The emphasis that Moody places on questions regarding the spectacle and the importance of the indexical bond that exists between image and truth has historically grave implications that go back to The Birth of a Nation and the rise of the KKK in the 1920's. It is key to anyone who wants to understand the genealogy of American racism and its relationship with the moving image.