CINEMA - George A. Smathers Libraries

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA

CINEMA

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA

The history of the African-American Cinema is a harsh timeline of racism, repression and struggle contrasted with film scenes of boundless joy, hope and artistic spirit. Until recently, the study of the "separate cinema" (a phrase used by historians John Kisch and Edward Mapp to describe the segregation of the mainstream, Hollywood film community) was limited, if not totally ignored, by writers and researchers. The uphill battle by black filmmakers and performers, to achieve acceptance and respect, was an ugly blot on the pages of film history. Upon winning his Best Actor Oscar for LILLIES OF THE FIELD (1963), Sidney Poitier accepted, on behalf of the countless unsung African-American artists, by acknowledging the "long journey to this moment." This emotional, heartbreaking and inspiring journey is vividly illustrated by the latest acquisition to the Belknap Collection for the Performing Arts - THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA COLLECTION.

The valuable research material, housed in this collection, includes over 300 pressbooks (illustrated campaign and advertising catalogs sent to theatre owners), press kits (media packages including biographies, promotional essays and illustrations), programs and over 1000 photographs and slides. The journey begins with the blatant racism of D.W. Griffith's THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915), a film respected as an epic milestone, but reviled as the blueprint for black film stereotypes that would appear throughout the 20th century. Researchers will follow African-American films through an extended period of stereotypical casting (SONG OF THE SOUTH, 1946) and will be dazzled by the glorious "All-Negro" musicals such as STORMY WEATHER (1943), ST.LOUIS BLUES (1958) and PORGY AND BESS (1959). The post-war era introduces the serious black actor to the American moviegoer (Sidney Poitier in A RAISIN IN THE SUN, Dorothy Dandridge in BRIGHT ROAD and Brock Peters in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD), but the promise was greater than reality.

The period of "Blacksploitation" or "Blaxploitation" in the late 1960s and 70s is a major area covered in the AfricanAmerican Cinema Collection. Films such as SHAFT, SUPERFLY, SCREAM, BLACULA ,SCREAM and CLEOPATRA JONES offered flashy lead roles to black actors, but action and grit often overshadowed character development and plotlines. However, the film output did prove the audience for black film was present and eager. The "New Black Wave", beginning in the 1980s (led by directors such as Spike Lee and John Singleton) was the culmination of a century of filmmaking and yearning. Films such as DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) and BOYZ N THE HOOD (1991) tackled serious topics that crossed racial lines and appealed to mainstream audiences. As the new century began, the black actor would find himself among the major box office stars of the day, and actors such as Denzel Washington, Halle Berry and Whoopi Goldberg would win Oscars for serious, high-profile and varied roles. The African-American filmmaker was finally earning the respect that was long overdue.

The acquisition of the African-American Cinema material lays an important foundation for a collection that will expand to include promotional material for black silent film contributions, independent "race films" (made for black theatre audiences in the 1930s, 40s and 50s), the "all-colored" Westerns and the African-American musical contributions from the advent of the talking film to present day music videos. As it stands, the AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA COLLECTION is an impressive overview of the black film experience, but the collection is a work in progress and far from complete.

Box 1

Box 2

Box 3

Press Kits Press Kits Press Kits

"Above" "Dangerous" "How"

Box 4 Press Kits

"New"

Box 5 Press Kits "Sister"

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AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA

Box 6 Scripts "Band"

Box 7 Programs "Black"

Box 8 Box 9 (Oversize) Box 10 (Oversize)

Pressbooks Pressbooks

Pressbooks

"Across"

"Abby"

"Piece"

FILM TITLE BOX 1 Above the Rim (1994) Ali (2001) Amistad (1997) Baby Boy (2001) Bad Boys (1995) Bamboozled (2000) Baps (1997) Bebe's Kids (1992) Beloved (1998) Best Man, The (1999) Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) Big Momma's House (2000) Bird (1988)

Black and White (1999)

Black Boy (1995) Black Is...Black Ain't (1995) Black Knight (2001) Blankman (1994)

CAST

FORMAT

Duane Martin, Leon, Tupac Shakur

Press Kit

Will Smith, Jamie Fox

Press Kit

Morgan Freeman, Nigel Hawthorne

Press Kit (3 copies)

Tyrese, Taraji P. Henson Press Kit

Martin Lawrence, Will Smith

Press Kit

Damon Wayans, Savion Glover

Press Kit

Halle Berry, Martin Landau

Press Kit

Faizon Love, Vanessa Bell Calloway

Press Kit

Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover

Press Kit

Taye Diggs, Nia Long

Press Kit

Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold

Press Kit

Martin Lawrence, Nia Long

Press Kit

Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora

Press Kit

Scott Caan, Robert Downey, Jr., Marla Maples

Press Kit

Richard Wright IV, Ralph Ellison

Press Kit

Angela Davis, Essex Hemphill

Press Kit

Martin Lawrence, Marsha Thomason

Press Kit

Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier

Press Kit

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AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA

Blue Streak (1999) Boesman and Lena (2000) Bones (2001) Boomerang (1992) Booty Call (1997) Bopha (1992) Bowfinger (1999) Boys N the Hood (1991) Breakin' 2 (1984) Brothers From Another Planet, The (1984) Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X

(1994) Brothers, The (2001) Bulletproof (1996) Bulworth (1998) Burgler (1997) CB4 (1993) Caught Up (1998) Caveman's Valentine, The (2001) Clara's Heart (1988) Class Act (1992) Cleopatra Jones (1973)

Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson

Press Kit

Danny Glover, Angela Bassett

Press Kit

Snoop Dogg, Pam Grier Press Kit

Eddie Murphy, Robin Givens

Press Kit

Jamie Fox, Tommy Davidson

Press Kit

Danny Glover, Malcolm MacDowell

Press Kit

Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy

Press Kit

Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Press Kit

Lucinda Dickey, Adolpho Quinones

Press Kit

Joe Morton, Daryl Edwards

Press Kit

Roscoe Lee Browne (Narrator)

Press Kit

Morris Chestnut, D.L. Hughley

Press Kit

Damon Wayans, Adam Sandler

Press Kit

Warren Beatty, Halle Berry

Press Kit

Whoopi Goldberg, Bobcat Godthwait

Press Kit

Chris Rock, Allen Payne Press Kit

Bokeem Woodbine, Cynda Williams

Press Kit

Samuel L. Jackson, Colm Feore

Press Kit

Whoopi Goldberg, Michael Ontkean

Press Kit

Christopher Reid, Christopher Martin

Press Kit

Tamara Dobson, Bernie Casey

Press Kit

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AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA

Clockers (1995)

Color Purple, The (1985)

Coming to America (1988) Cool Runnings (1993) Crooklyn (1994)

Cry the Beloved Country (1995) Back to index. BOX 2 Dangerous Ground (1997) Dead Presidents (1995) Def by Temptation (1990)

Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)

Disorderlies (1987)

Distinguished Gentleman, The (1992) Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996) Do the Right Thing (1989) Dr. Dolittle (1998)

Down in the Delta (1998) Down to Earth (2001) Drop Squad (19940

Eddie (1996)

Enemy of the State (1998) Ernie Andrews: Blues for Central Avenue

Harvey Keitel, John Turturro

Press Kit

Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover

Press Kit

Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall

Press Kit

Leon, Doug E. Doug

Press Kit

Alfre Woodard, Delroy Lindo

Press Kit

James Earl Jones, Richard Harris

Press Kit

Thokozani Nkosi, Ron Smerczak

Press Kit

Larenz Tate, Keith David Press Kit

James Bond III, Kadeem Hardison

Press Kit

Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore

Press Kit

Mark Morales, Darren Robinson

Press Kit

Eddie Murphy, Lane Smith

Press Kit

Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans

Press Kit

Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis Press Kit

Eddie Murphy, Ossie Davis

Press Kit

AlfreWoodard, Al Freeman

Press Kit

Chris Rock, Regina King Press Kit

Eriq LaSalle, Vondie Curtis-Hall

Press Kit

Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Langella

Press Kit

Gene Hackman, Will Smith

Press Kit

Ernie Andrews, Harry

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AFRICAN-AMERICAN CINEMA

(1987)

"Sweets" Edison

Press Kit

Eve's Bayou (1997)

Debbi Morgan, Vondie Curtis-Hall

Press Kit

Family Thing, A (1996)

Robert Duvall, James Earl Jones

Press Kit

Fire This Time, The (1994)

Brooke Adams (Narrator) Press Kit

Five Heartbeats (1991)

Robert Townsend, Michael Wright

Press Kit

Foreign Student (1994)

Robin Givens, Marco Hofschneider

Press Kit

Four Little Girls (1997)

Maxine McNair, Chris McNair

Press Kit

Fresh (1994)

Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito

Press Kit

Friday (1995)

Ice Cube, Chris Tucker Press Kit

Gang Related (1997)

James Belushi, Tupac Shakur

Press Kit

Get On the Bus (1996)

Richard Belzar, D'qunde Bonds

Press Kit

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)

Forest Whitaker, John Tormey

Press Kit

Gifted, The (1993)

Ed Cambridge, Bianca Ferguson

Press Kit

Girl 6 (1996)

Theresa Randle, Isaiah Washington

Press Kit

Glass Shield, The (1994)

Erich Anderson, Richard Press Kit (2

Anderson

copies)

Glory (1989)

Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington

Press Kit

Good Burger (1997)

Nel Mitchell, Kenan Thompson

Press Kit

Great Performances - Dance in America: Alvin

Ailey, American Dance Theatre - Steps Alvin Ailey Ahead (1991)

Press Kit

Great White Hype, The (1996)

Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Goldblum

Press Kit

Harlem Diary (1995)

Jermaine Ashwood, Amir Williams Foster

Press Kit

Harlem Nights (1989)

Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor

Press Kit

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