HISTORY OF BLACK AMERICAN CINEMA
Until the 1970s, African Americans had always been either absent, played by Caucasian actors (black face) or played in demonising and negative roles. Similarly, there was very little room for black actors to play there trade. However, by the 1970s, the racial divide had reduced (slightly) and African American business men and women, directors and producers could create products, mainly for a black audience. However, institutionalised racism will still rife in Hollywood, therefore, the major studios did not, back, fund, produce, distribute or exhibit Blaxploitation films. Blaxploitation films were very low budget and were made for the purpose of exhibiting African Americans in leading roles and were aimed at a black audience.
REPRESENTATIONS OF BLACKNESS IN CINEMA HISTORY
-GETOUT
Jordan Peele produced the film Get OUT which is a horror-thriller for black audiences that delivers a searing satirical critique of systemic racism. In all horror films there is a 'monster' of some sort, however, in Get Out it wasn’t a supernatural force, nor a knife-wielding serial killer that would provide the most scares in “Get Out.” The film’s monster is systemic racism, in this case portrayed through the white characters. This film was produced in a hope to battle institutional racism and the poor representations of blackness in cinema.
RECENT ISSUES & DEBATES
-OscarsSoWhite
Over the past few years, since Oscar nominations were announced, conversation in Hollywood has been dominated by the lack of diversity in this year's field, prompting swift backlash and historic changes within the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For the second year in a row, all 20 actors nominated in the lead and supporting acting categories.
In the Academy Awards' 88-year history, only 14 black actors have won acting Oscars — the first was Hattie McDaniel for Gone With the Wind in 1940, and the last was Lupita Nyong'o, for 12 Years a Slave in 2014. Hollywood A-listers including George Clooney, Reese Witherspoon, Don Cheadle and Nyong'o have called for greater representation in front of and behind the camera. As a result of this, a diverse lineup of presenters have been announced for the ceremony Feb. 28, including Whoopi Goldberg, Kevin Hart, Kerry Washington, Priyanka Chopra and Byung-hun Lee.
-Blue Story Movie
Blue Story Movie is a new film produced by Rapman, who is a new up and coming artist and producer. His new film speaks out about gang violence, in a hope to educate both the people involved in gang violence and people who do not understand the situations that young people are pressured into which means they end up as part of a gang.
However, due to recent incidents that have occurred during the screening of the film, it led to the film being banned in vue cinemas. The cast in predominantly black and is one of the few films on general release which recounts black life in Britain. The film being pulled speaks of a wider problem of systemic racism. For example, Caribbean carnivals, particularly Notting Hill, have been criminalised, with raids on homes during the summer months being unfairly linked to the west London carnival. Vue expressed that the film was pulled due to violent scene, which attracted a younger audience, however, the film Joker has been labelled a “masterpiece” and a statement of our troubled era. It has won the top prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival and is tipped to gain more awards. But its violent scenes have also caused concerns in light of the mass shooting at a late-night screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado. Joker was not pulled, despite being far more violent than Blue Story.
-Black lives matter movement
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an international activist movement, originating in the African American community, that campaigns against violence and systematic racism towards black people. BLM regularly holds protests speaking out against police killings of black people, and broader issues such as racial profiling , police brutality, and racial inequality.
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