What Was The Influence Of Race Films On African American Culture

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The 1910s and 20s represented an innovative time for Black entrepreneurs and filmmakers, who built their films and legacies from the ground up while dealing with social, cultural, and political pressures from White and Black Americans. Central to this era was the emergence of what became known in America as the “race film” genre, marking the inception of a long legacy of Black film and entertainment. Race films, made by Black people for Black audiences, not only reshaped the cinematic landscape but also left an indelible imprint on the broader discourse surrounding Black identity in America (Caddoo, 2014). America’s political climate and its fixation on African Americans affected how society treated them and the art forms produced in response. …show more content…

Birth’s offensive representations led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to launch a protest to ban the film, including writing and distributing a detailed pamphlet titled Fighting a Vicious Film (Laufs, 2014). Sociocultural dynamics and Black filmmaking from this era were deeply intertwined. Black films and filmmakers exerted a pivotal influence on the evolving film genres, reflecting the cultural shifts of the time. As the Black population moved from the South to the industrialized North during the Great Migration, African Americans became what Black writer Alain LeRoy Locke coined as “The New Negro,” embodying qualities of self-reliant, middle-class, and respectable (Everett, 2001, p. 108). Black Americans now had increased racial pride and were more actively advocating for their rights. This new image and idea of Blackness reshaped how African Americans desired to be depicted on screen, consequently influencing filmmakers’ representations. Black filmmakers and business owners financed their films and established their production companies, including Black filmmaking pioneers Oscar Micheaux, The Johnson Brothers, and William

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