#African-American cinema

[spoiledbratblog]

[silentdivasblog]

Classic Saturday 🎞 Dorothy Dandridge ❤️

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

American History X (1998, Tony Kaye)

17/06/2024

[filmsoftheflesh]

GANJA AND HESS was the only American film screened during Critic’s Week at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival, where it was named one of the 10 Best American Film of the Decade. It opened at Manhattan’s Playboy Theater a few weeks later. “The first time I saw the movie was at the opening-night screening in New York,” Clark reveals. “There was a splashy party afterward -- and being the lead actress, I was pretty much the star of the party! Nothing like that had ever happened to me before. It was wonderful.” The bubble burst the next day, however, when almost every New York critic panned the film. “When I read the reviews, I thought, ‘They didn’t get it,’” Clark remembers. “Many critics believe that black people make very straightforward, literal movies -- so Bill was really an enigma to them. They just did not understand what he had done.”

Gunn’s unique cinematic treatment of African-American spirituality and vampirism was also lost on the film’s distributor, Kelly-Jordan Enterprises. After a one-week run in Manhattan, the 110-minute version was pulled from circulation and replaced by a 76-minute bastardization called BLOOD COUPLE, with new credits listing “E.H. Novikov” (a pseudonym for film doctor Fima Noveck) as director. For nearly 25 years, it was this version that viewers were subjected to, both in theaters and on video, under such misleading titles as DOUBLE POSSESSION, BLACK EVIL, BLACK VAMPIRE, and BLACKOUT: THE MOMENT OF TERROR. "It never found much of an audience," Clark says, "but a number of industry people saw it, especially in New York, so I was offered some other movies."

Temple of shock, January 20 2011, Slinking Through the Seventies: An Interview with Marlene Clark, an expanded and revised interview by Chris Poggiali that originally appeared in Fangoria #191 (April 2000)

[w-i-m-m]

[baddawg94]

[dgspeaks]

Unpacking the Layers: The Societal Reflections in Spike Lee's 'Do the Right Thing'

Few films stand as boldly and poignantly as Spike Lee‘s masterwork, “Do the Right Thing.” Set against the sweltering backdrop of a Brooklyn neighborhood, Lee’s film is not just a narrative; it’s a mirror reflecting the intricate complexities of racial tensions, social injustices, and the simmering undercurrents of African American culture. Released in 1989, “Do the Right Thing” remains as…

[ukdamo]

Dinosaurs in the Hood

Danez Smith

Let’s make a movie called Dinosaurs in the Hood. Jurassic Park meets Friday meets The Pursuit of Happyness. There should be a scene where a little black boy is playing with a toy dinosaur on the bus, then looks out the window & sees the T. Rex, because there has to be a T. Rex.

Don’t let Tarantino direct this. In his version, the boy plays with a gun, the metaphor: black boys toy with their own lives, the foreshadow to his end, the spitting image of his father. Fuck that, the kid has a plastic Brontosaurus or Triceratops & this is his proof of magic or God or Santa. I want a scene

where a cop car gets pooped on by a pterodactyl, a scene where the corner store turns into a battle ground. Don’t let the Wayans brothers in this movie. I don’t want any racist shit about Asian people or overused Latino stereotypes. This movie is about a neighbourhood of royal folks —

children of slaves & immigrants & addicts & exiles — saving their town from real-ass dinosaurs. I don’t want some cheesy yet progressive Hmong sexy hot dude hero with a funny yet strong commanding black girl buddy-cop film. This is not a vehicle for Will Smith & Sofia Vergara. I want grandmas on the front porch taking out raptors

with guns they hid in walls & under mattresses. I want those little spitty, screamy dinosaurs. I want Cicely Tyson to make a speech, maybe two. I want Viola Davis to save the city in the last scene with a black fist afro pick through the last dinosaur’s long, cold-blood neck. But this can’t be a black movie. This can’t be a black movie. This movie can’t be dismissed

because of its cast or its audience. This movie can’t be a metaphor for black people & extinction. This movie can’t be about race. This movie can’t be about black pain or cause black people pain. This movie can’t be about a long history of having a long history with hurt. This movie can’t be about race. Nobody can say nigga in this movie

who can’t say it to my face in public. No chicken jokes in this movie. No bullets in the heroes. & no one kills the black boy. & no one kills the black boy. & no one kills the black boy. Besides, the only reason I want to make this is for that first scene anyway: the little black boy on the bus with a toy dinosaur, his eyes wide & endless

his dreams possible, pulsing, & right there.

[jourdepluie91]

Spike Lee

[goryhorroor]

masterpost of horror lists

here are all my horror lists in one place to make it easier to find! enjoy!

sub-genres

action horror

analog horror

animal horror

animated horror

anthology horror

aquatic horror

apocalyptic horror

backwoods horror

bubblegum horror

campy horror

cannibal horror

children’s horror

comedy horror

coming-of-age horror

corporate/work place horror

cult horror

dance horror

dark comedy horror

daylight horror

death games

domestic horror

ecological horror

erotic horror

experimental horror

fairytale horror

fantasy horror

folk horror

found footage horror

giallo horror

gothic horror

grief horror

historical horror

holiday horror

home invasion horror

house horror

indie horror

isolation horror

insect horror

lgbtqia+ horror

lovecraftian/cosmic horror

medical horror

meta horror

monster horror

musical horror

mystery horror

mythological horror

neo-monster horror

new french extremity horror

paranormal horror

political horror

psychedelic horror

psychological horror

religious horror

revenge horror

romantic horror

dramatic horror

science fiction horror

slasher

southern gothic horror

sov horror (shot-on-video)

splatter/body horror

survival horror

techno-horror

vampire horror

virus horror

werewolf horror

western horror

witch horror

zombie horror

horror plots/settings

road trip horror

summer camp horror

cave horror

doll horror

cinema horror

cabin horror

clown horror

wilderness horror

asylum horror

small town horror

college horror

plot devices

storm horror

from a child’s perspective

final girl/guy (this is slasher horror trope)

last guy/girl (this is different than final girl/guy)

reality-bending horror

slow burn horror

possession

pregnancy horror

foreign horror or non-american horror

african horror

spanish horror

middle eastern horror

korean horror

japanese horror

british horror

german horror

indian horror

thai horror

irish horror

scottish horror

slavic horror (kinda combined a bunch of countries for this)

chinese horror

french horror

australian horror

canadian horror

decades

silent era

30s horror

40s horror

50s horror

60s horror

70s horror

80s horror

90s horror

2000s horror

2010s horror

2020s horror

companies/services

blumhouse horror

a24 horror

ghosthouse horror

shudder horror

other lists

horror literature to movies

techno-color horror movies

video game to horror movie adaption

video nasties

female directed horror

my 130 favorite horror movies

horror movies critics hated because they’re stupid

horror remakes/sequels that weren’t bad

female villains in horror

horror movies so bad they’re good

non-horror movies that feel like horror movies

directors + their favorite horror movies + directors in the notes

tumblr’s favorite horror movie (based off my poll)

horror movie plot twists

cult classic horror movies

essential underrated horror films

worst horror movie husbands

religious horror that isn’t christianity 

black horror movies

extreme horror (maybe use this as an avoid list)

horror shorts

[farfromhome999]

Black Women in Media (2019)

The following are statistics on black women's representations in films and television series that came out in 2019.

Here's a link to the full report for more insight on these figures.

Also, see my post on going Beyond Face Value.

Once again, I encourage taking a look at the full report.

[bantuotaku]

Omg, The Other Black Girl is a must watch to me... It's spooky, surreal and a very dramatic thriller when it needs to be. I love the commentary too!!!

An African-American editorial assistant works at a white NYC publishing firm. When a black co-worker arrives she gets excited, but is the new girl a friend or a foe?

[bitter69uk]

In the countdown to Halloween, another “festive pin-up” … this time: William Marshall (1924 – 2003), the unforgettable and ultra-suave leading man of Blacula (1972) and its sequel Scream Blacula Scream (1973). This post is also apt considering it is still Black History Month in the UK (it’s every October here) – according to Wikipedia, Marshall was the screen’s first black vampire! Did any actor do more to meld the genres of horror and blaxploitation than Marshall? He also appeared in Abby (1974), the wild low-budget African American version of The Exorcist! And needless to say, I loved Marshall’s portrayal of the King of Cartoons on Pee-wee’s Playhouse.

William Marshall- BLACULA (1972)

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Black Rodeo by Mia Mask

A History of the African American Western

 Erudite, informative, interesting, and easy to read professional look at the history of African American cinematic Westerns spanning over a century of cinematic treasures. The book provides synopses of the movies chosen, the political and historical inferences that might be made, and introduces the directors and actors starring in them.

 What I liked:

* Bill Pickett: first African American cowboy film star born in the 1800’s

* Learning details about the Western film genre and how it changed over time

* Terms used in discussing the genre that I had not thought about in terms of Westerns and skin color: revisionist, post western, sauerkraut & spaghetti westerns, antithesis, exploitative, politicizing, blaxploitation, black liberation, westploitation, miscegenation,

* Learning how censoring at times impacted the stories allowed to be told in film

* Learning about the actors in this book, how they became involved in the profession, and remembering some that I have seen in films

* Learning about the underlying inferences that can be found within the stories the films tell

* The discussion of the “N-word”

* Learning history that I did not know before and wondering if people will ever learn from the past and implement more positive outlooks and behavior in the future

 What I didn’t like:

* Thinking about the negative stereotypes and history mentioned in this book, especially thinking about the story that the movie Rosewood was based on.

 Did I enjoy this book? Yes

 Thank you to NetGalley and University of Illinois Press for the ARC – this is my honest review.

 5 Stars

BLURB

 African American westerns have a rich cinematic history and visual culture. Mia Mask examines the African American western hero within the larger context of film history by considering how Black westerns evolved and approached wide-ranging goals. Woody Strode’s 1950s transformation from football star to actor was the harbinger of hard-edged western heroes later played by Jim Brown and Fred Williamson. Sidney Poitier’s Buck and the Preacher provided a narrative helmed by a groundbreaking African American director and offered unconventionally rich roles for women. Mask moves from these discussions to consider blaxploitation westerns and an analysis of Jeff Kanew’s hard-to-find 1972 documentary about an all-Black rodeo. The book addresses how these movies set the stage for modern-day westploitation films like Django Unchained. 

A first-of-its kind survey, Black Rodeo illuminates the figure of the Black cowboy while examining the intersection of African American film history and the western.

   AUTHOR BIO

Mia Mask, Professor of Film, received her PhD from New York University. At Vassar College, Ms. Mask teaches African American cinema, Documentary History, seminars on special topics such as the horror film, and auteurs like Spike Lee, Charles Burnett and Ava DuVernay. She also teaches feminist film theory, African national cinemas, and genre courses. Her commentary can be heard on NPR.

Mask is the author of Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film, published by University of Illinois Press. Divas on Screen was featured on the public radio program "Tell Me More." Formerly an assistant editor and regular contributor at Cineaste magazine, she has written film reviews and covered festivals for IndieWire.com, The Village Voice, Film Quarterly, Time Out New York, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Poughkeepsie Journal. Her criticism was anthologized in Best American Movie Writing. She is currently on the editorial board of The Black Scholar.

She has been a Visiting Professor of Film Studies at Yale University and University of Pennsylvania. She has twice been a visiting scholar at New York University. Her scholarly essays are published in the African American National Biography; Screen Stars of the 1990s; Film and Literature; and American Cinema of the 1970s. Mask edited Black American Cinema Reconsidered (Routledge, 2012). In 2014, she published Poitier Revisited: Reconsidering a Black Icon in the Obama Age (Bloomsbury, 2014).

Professor Mask served at the Institute of International Education as a member of the National Screening Committee assembled to select Fulbright scholars for three consecutive years.

Her cultural commentary can be heard on National Public Radio.

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

Providing some context to this film due to the nature of its contents. This film appears on the list “1001 Films You Must See Before You Die,” which this blog is currently using for polls. It is a compilation of films deemed important to watch for those interested in cinema as determined by dozens of film critics. The Birth of a Nation appears on that list, and thus this poll blog, because of its technical feats- as it says on its Wikipedia: “it was the first American-made film to have a musical score for an orchestra[, and] it pioneered closeups and fadeouts”- but also because of its historical significance. This film is infamously extremely racist, with a plot line that demonizes African Americans (largely portrayed by white people in blackface) while glorifying the KKK to such a degree that studies even link the film to a rise in support for the racist hate group. This was also the first movie to be screened in the White House, to President Woodrow Wilson, so its historical significance cannot be downplayed.

I am thus choosing not to omit this film from this blog’s polling pool despite its nefarious nature because I am interested in how familiar people are with it and its role in history. I encourage anyone voting “haven’t heard of this movie” to at least read the Wikipedia article (my source for all of the above information) about it as it’s important to be aware of prominent films like this and how they did and continue to impact the culture we reside in.

[baddawg94]

Will Smith as Mike Lowery

Martin Lawrence as Marcus Burnett

“Bad Boys” 📼

© 1995 Sony/ Columbia Pictures/ Bruckheimer-Simpson Films/ Columbia Tristar Home Video

Directed by Michael Bay (also known for 2001’s “Pearl Harbor”; 1996’s “The Rock”; 1998’s “Armageddon”; 2008’s “Transformers”)