Blue-Collar African American Life in Killer of Sheep by Charles Burnett

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Recommended: Civil rights society from 1950 to the 1970s

Every so often a film is made that makes a major impact on the culture of cinema. Charles Burnett with his film Killer of Sheep (2007) made that impact. The film was created by Burnett as his masters thesis from the UCLA film school in 1977, but was not formally released until 2007 (Burnett, Milestone Films). Even though it wasn’t released for almost thirty years, the film received international praise. Killer of Sheep brought to life a new image of African American cinema and created a powerful impression of life in the black ghetto. Burnett created a realistic image of African American blue-collar life in a non-traditional structure that changed African American cinema.
Burnett set Killer of Sheep in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, which is historically important to African American history because of the 1965 Watts riots. On August 11th, 1965, the Watts riots broke out in a response to arrest of Marquette Fry by the LAPD (Civil Rights Digital Library). Poor living conditions, high unemployment and harsh racial treatment were occurring in outraged the community of Watts. Frye’s arrest was the catalyst to many days of violence. There was an enormous amount of media coverage of the riots, giving the American population a glimpse into horrifying scenes that took place (Massood). It took a week for peace to be restored to the area, but even after the riots the social and economic conditions did not improve. Watts remained suppressed, but Americans now had a bruised image of the area. Burnett created his film in Watts setting a distressed and fatigued tone for everything that takes place. The history of the area and the civil injustice that sparked the violence can be seen in every environment. The audience is given a glimpse...

... middle of paper ...

...ls the African American blue-collar struggle and by the end is left as sheep on their way to slaughter.

Works Cited
Burnett, Charles, and Milestone Films. Killer of Sheep. Harrington Park: Milestone Films, 2007. Killerofsheep.com. Milestone Films, 2007. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. .
Civil Rights Digital Library. "Watts Riots." Watts Riots. The Digital Library of Georgia, 20 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. .
Ebert, Roger. "Killer of Sheep Movie Review." Rogerebert.com. Rogerebert.com, 29 July 2007. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .
Massood, Paula J. "An Aesthetic Appropriate to Conditions: Killer of Sheep, (Neo)Realism, and the Documentary Impulse." Wide Angle 21.4 (1999): 20-41. Auraria Library. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.

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