Taking a Look at African-American Cinema

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The United States has long been a country that has accepted that change is a necessity for prosperity and growth. However, each change within the nation's history was hard fought against those who resisted such change either through racism, bigotry, and blatant discrimination. African American cinema is enshrouded in history that depicts these themes of racism, struggle, and deprivation. Yet, this same cinema also shows scenes of hope, artistic spirit, intellectual greatness, and joy. Black actresses, actors, directors, producers, and writers have been fighting for recognition and respect since the great Paul Robeson. The civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's was fueled by black cinema through films like A Raisin in the Sun. Progressions in the industry were hindered by blaxploitation films such as Shaft, but these too were overcome with the 1970's movies like Song. The true creativity and experiences of African Americans started to be shown in the 1980's with directors like Robert Townsend and Spike Lee. These directors helped enable black cinema to expand in the 90's with the creation of works ranging in brutal but honest portrayal of urban life to that of comedy. By analyzing Spike Lee's film Bamboozled, director John Singleton's Boyz in The Hood, and movies like Coming to America and House Party indicate that the experiences of African Americans and the way that they are depicted in cinema directly impacts the way mainstream society perceives them to be, while showing that African Americans are a major driving force behind creativity and ingenious inspiration behind many aspects of American life. The lack of significance that minority cultures in general have been given in American cinema is distasteful. This neg... ... middle of paper ... ...n American communities. Regardless, African American performances have always had the ability to express elements of the African American community on the big screen. For decades these skills were hidden by racist producers and directors. American society was not ready to see the genius, sophisticated skill, and powerful themes that come from African American culture. These films not only help to show the life's of African Americans, but that of all American society, future films will help audiences measure how far America has come in regards to racial tolerance and how far yet, they must go. Works Cited Friedman, L. (1991). Unspeakable images. 1st ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Guerrero, E. (1993). Framing Blackness. 1st ed. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Massood, P. (2003). Black city cinema. 1st ed. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

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