Black directors in Hollywood / Melvin Donalson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Donalson, Melvin Burke, 1952- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African American motion picture producers and directors--Biography.

African American motion picture producers and directors.

African Americans in motion pictures.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (390 p.)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, [2003]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Hollywood film directors are some of the world's most powerful storytellers, shaping the fantasies and aspirations of people around the globe. Since the 1960s, African Americans have increasingly joined their ranks, bringing fresh insights to movie characterizations, plots, and themes and depicting areas of African American culture that were previously absent from mainstream films. Today, black directors are making films in all popular genres, while inventing new ones to speak directly from and to the black experience. This book offers a first comprehensive look at the work of black directors in Hollywood, from pioneers such as Gordon Parks, Melvin Van Peebles, and Ossie Davis to current talents including Spike Lee, John Singleton, Kasi Lemmons, and Carl Franklin. Discussing 67 individuals and over 135 films, Melvin Donalson thoroughly explores how black directors' storytelling skills and film techniques have widened both the thematic focus and visual style of American cinema. Assessing the meanings and messages in their films, he convincingly demonstrates that black directors are balancing Hollywood's demand for box office success with artistic achievement and responsibility to ethnic, cultural, and gender issues.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE. The Pathmakers

CHAPTER TWO. The Visionary Actors

CHAPTER THREE. Black Urban Action Films and Mainstream Images

CHAPTER FOUR. Black Sensibilities and Mainstream Images

CHAPTER FIVE. Michael Schultz: The Crossover King

CHAPTER SIX. Spike Lee: The Independent Auteur

CHAPTER SEVEN. Keeping It Real (Reel): Black Dramatic Visions

CHAPTER EIGHT. And Still They Rise: Black Women Directors

CHAPTER NINE. Not without Laughter: Directors of Comedy and Romance

CHAPTER TEN. Off the Hook: Comedy and Romance with a Hip-Hop Flavor

CHAPTER ELEVEN. Redefining Crossover Films

DIRECTORS FILMOGRAPHY

NOTES

GLOSSARY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780292782242

0292782241

9780292798755

029279875X

OCLC:

300733100