Black Films Matter: 10 American Films
S 2021

Description

This SDG examines 10 exceptional films made by African-American directors, women and men, many of which were a struggle to make due to the film industry's structural racism and sexism.  Yet these filmmakers persevered and produced lasting films. We'll be looking at films from two fruitful periods-- the 1990s when politicized young people at film schools like Julie Dash and Spike Lee created independent classics, and, recently, when Black activism opened up new gates for a blossoming of directorial talent. The films range in genre: from family and neighborhood drama, to comedy, to horror. Race, of course, is present, explicitly or implicitly, as well as other concerns-- gender, class, capitalism, police and gang violence, poverty, the role of the artist.   Some questions to ponder:  What differences in political stances do we see among these films? Without the white gaze, what do these artists bring to film that's new? 

This is a Film Studies course, with emphasis on scene analysis: directing, acting, cinematography (camera movement, framing, lighting), editing,  music etc.  We are interested in how the art of film expresses each director's unique handling of his or her stories.

Weekly Topics

Do the Right Thing                Spike Lee                                   1989

To Sleep with Anger             Charles Burnett                         1990

Daughters of the Dust          Julie Dash                                   1991

Boyz in the Hood                   John Singleton                           1991

Evie's Bayou                           Kasi Lemmons                           1997

Moonlight                               Barry Jenkins                              2016

Get Out                                    Jordan Peele                              2017

BlacKKKlansman                   Spike Lee                                     2018

Miss Juneteenth                    Channing Godfrey Peeples       2020

The Forty-Year Old Version  Radha Blank                               2020


You will be choosing scenes from your film to analyze during our sessions.  In order to participate comfortably, your computer, DVD players and/or streaming devices must be up to speed.  You'll need to use a desk computer, laptop, or iPad for class, not a Smartphone.   If you're having problems with Zoom, this course won't work well for you. 

All films are available from sources like Netflix, Amazon Prime, LAPL.  Essays, reviews and articles can be found on the web for each film.

Bibliography

Christina N. Baker, Contemporary Black Women Filmmakers and the Art of Resistance, 2018.

Michael Boyce,  Film Blackness: American Cinema and the Idea of Black Film, 2016.

Allyson Field, L.A Rebellion: Creating a New Black Cinema, 2015.

Jesse Rhines, Black Film/White Money, 1996.