eBook

Cinema Civil Rights

Scott, Ellen C

2015

Overview

From Al Jolson in blackface to Song of the South, there is a long history of racism in Hollywood film. Yet as early as the 1930s, movie studios carefully vetted their releases, removing racially offensive language like the \"N-word.\" This censorship did not stem from purely humanitarian concerns, but rather from worries about boycotts from civil rights groups and loss of revenue from African American filmgoers. Cinema Civil Rightspresents the untold history of how Black audiences, activists, and lobbyists influenced the representation of race in Hollywood in the decades before the 1960s civil rights era. Employing a nuanced analysis of power, Ellen C. Scott reveals how these representations were shaped by a complex set of negotiations between various individuals and organizations. Rather than simply recounting the perspective of film studios, she calls our attention to a variety of other influential institutions, from protest groups to state censorship boards. Scott demonstrates not only how civil rights debates helped shaped the movies, but also how the movies themselves provided a vital public forum for addressing taboo subjects like interracial sexuality, segregation, and lynching. Emotionally gripping, theoretically sophisticated, and meticulously researched,Cinema Civil Rightspresents us with an in-depth look at the film industry's role in both articulating and censoring the national conversation on race.

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Subject: 20th century / activism / African American filmgoers / African American political activists / African American political activists -- History -- 20th century / African American Studies / African Americans / African Americans -- Civil rights -- History -- 20th century / African Americans in motion pictures / African Americans in the motion picture industry / African Americans in the motion picture industry -- History -- 20th century / African Americans in the motion picture industry x History / blackface / Censorship / Civil rights / civil rights era / civil rights movement / cultural influence / Ethnic Studies / Film & Video / film censorship / film history / film industry / film studios / History / History & Criticism / Hollywood politics / interracial sexuality / lobbying / lynching / Motion picture industry / Motion picture industry -- United States -- History -- 20th century / Motion pictures / Motion pictures -- Censorship -- United States -- History -- 20th century / Motion pictures -- United States -- History -- 20th century / Motion pictures industry / PERFORMING ARTS / PERFORMING ARTS / Film & Video / History & Criticism / PERFORMING ARTS / General / POLITICAL SCIENCE / Civil Rights / power dynamics / protest groups / racial activism / racial discourse / racial discrimination / racial imagery / racial justice / racial politics / racial progress / racial representation / racial stereotypes / racial tensions / racism in Hollywood / Racism in motion pictures / Recreational & performing arts / representation of race in film / segregation / SOCIAL SCIENCE / SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies / SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies / Sociology / state censorship boards / Stereotypes (Social psychology) in motion pictures / United States
• ISBN: 9780813571379, 0813571375, 0813571367, 9780813571362, 0813571359, 9780813571355