Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Historically, African American cinema has been used to illuminate the scourge of racism in American society. From Oscar Micheaux to Spike Lee, the struggle against racism has been a prominent theme in movies by and about African Americans. It is ironic that since the 1990s, when more Black filmmakers than ever before have reached prominence in Hollywood, race and racism have virtually ceased to be major themes, and the few films that do address racism have faired badly at the box office, even among young Blacks. Why has this occurred? There are several factors at work. One is the cautious nature of the film industry itself when it comes to controversial, socially conscious movies. But perhaps more important is a growing conservatism among some young Blacks and a growing despair among others that lead them to discount the relevance of confronting racism in contemporary society.

Keywords

African American cinema conservatism ideology film filmmakers motion picture movie race racism hip-hop generation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bogle, D. (1999). Toms, coons, mulattoes, mammies, and bucks: An interpretive history of Blacks in American films. New York: Continuum.

Ebert, R. (1988, February 12). Review of School Daze. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved from http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19880212/REVIEWS/%20802%20120303/1023

Edleman, R. (1994). Melvin Van Peebles. In G. Crowdus (Ed.), A political companion to American film (pp. 441-443). Chicago: Lakeview.

Edleman, R. (1994). Sidney Poitier. In G. Crowdus (Ed.), A political companion to American film (pp. 307-309). Chicago: Lakeview.

Farley, C. J. (1997, October 13). Cooking up a hit. Time Magazine, 150, 86-88.

George, N. (1994). Blackface, reflections on African Americans and the movies. New York: HarperCollins.

Giglio, E. (2000). Here's looking at you, Hollywood, film and politics. New York: Lang.

Issues of democracy. (2000, October). Retrieved from http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/%20itdhr/1000/ijde/cs215.15.htm

Kitwana, B. (2002). The hip hop generation, young Blacks and the crisis in African-American culture. New York: Basic Books.

10.

Leab, D. (1994). Blacks in American cinema. In G. Crowdus (Ed.), A political companion to American film (pp. 41-50). Chicago: Lakeview.

11.

Murray, C. (1984). Losing ground: American social policy, 1950-1980. New York: Basic Books.

12.

Parenti, M. (1992). Make-believe media, the politics of entertainment. New York: St. Martin's.

13.

Puddington, A. (1991). The question of Black leadership. Commentary, 91, 22-28.

14.

Reid, M. (1994). African American filmmakers. In G. Crowdus (Ed.), A political companion to American film (pp. 3-9). Chicago: Lakeview.

15.

Sowell, T. (1975). Race and economics. New York: McKay.

16.

Thernstrom, S. , & Thernstrom, A. (1997). America in Black and White: One nation, indivisible. New York: Simon and Schuster.

17.

West, C. (1993). Race matters. Boston: Beacon.

18.

Wilson, J. Q. (1983). Thinking about crime (2nd ed.) New York: Basic Books.

Conservative Implications of the Irrelevance of Racism in Contemporary African American Cinema

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References