Cinema civil rights : regulation, repression, and race in the classical hollywood era / Ellen C. Scott.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Scott, Ellen C., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African Americans in motion pictures.

Racism in motion pictures.

Stereotypes (Social psychology) in motion pictures.

African Americans in the motion picture industry--History--20th century.

African Americans in the motion picture industry.

African American political activists--History--20th century.

African American political activists.

African Americans--Civil rights--History--20th century.

African Americans.

Motion pictures--United States--History--20th century.

Motion pictures.

Motion pictures industry--United States--History--20th century.

Motion pictures industry.

Motion pictures--Censorship--United States--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (268 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, New Jersey ; London, [England] : Rutgers University Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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 1930's, 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 Rights presents the untold history of how Black audiences, activists, and lobbyists influenced the representation of race in Hollywood in the decades before the 1960's 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 Rights presents us with an in-depth look at the film industry's role in both articulating and censoring the national conversation on race.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Regulating Race, Structuring Absence: Industry Self-Censorship And African American Representability

2. State Censorship And The Color Line

3. Racial Trauma, Civil Rights, And The Brutal Imagination Of Darryl F. Zanuck

4. Shadowboxing: Black Interpretive Activism In The Classical Hollywood Era

Conclusion

Notes

Index

About The Author

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-8135-7137-5

OCLC:

898070981