Term Paper 1

The Evolution of Black Cinema

Davonte I. Olfus
Delaware State University

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Abstract
The term paper takes a look into the root of stereotypes laid upon African Americans in
todays society. It takes a look back into the history of the United States sociological warfares
happening after the American Civil War placed on film. The research starts on the first
appearances of blacks on the television screen, which were not necessarily blacks but white
actors put in blackface to depict their own images and thoughts of what a black person was onto
the screen. The paper explores the many films produced at the time and analyzed the depictions
of African Americans in those films comparing to the reality of black lives. Many people are
recognized for being pioneers for black cinema and engineering the base foundations for others
to thrive. Race films is brought up also being many reactions to the stereotypes of a movie
released in 1917 called Birth of a Nation. The race films served as a means for prides of blacks
also as work opportunities and to output positive black images which were not seen at the time.
The paper continues throughout the decades viewing what action lead Hollywood films to the
stage of today.

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Todays view of African Americans in society are said to be completely portrayed through
the stereotypes put upon them. Many even say that these many stereotypes come from the lives
of blacks portrayed on the TV screens of today. In todays world the image put upon black people
are very violent, otherwise being seen as menaces to society. Either they are seen as lazy,
dangerous or ignorant. Nonetheless it is pretty safe to say that even though this may be true for
some, it doesnt account for the majority of those who represent something more positive.
According to the American Council on Education (ACE), within the decade of 2000-2010 the
number of black men enrolled in postsecondary education far surpassed those of the total of
black males in prison. In fact it reports steady increases of the number of males enrolling into
schools, while the number of males in prison stays consistent. Even worse to say, these
stereotypes constantly are negatively affecting the majority of African Americans across the
country. The list of social injustices can go on and on but one aspect we will focus on is the
significance of roles on blacks of the TV screen. In order to understand where the images have
ended, we must evaluate where they originated. We now take a journey into the early 1900s
where it all came to recognition.
Blackface was an early 1900 ritual that allowed whites to portray the roles of blacks on
film to often represent their views on African Americans and their roles in society. These views
were mainly negative and often not true of blacks as many blacks were upset of what they were
seeing on film. William D. Foster was the first African American film producer of the 1910s. He
started off as a sports writer for the Chicago Defender when he formed the Foster Photoplay
Company in 1910. Nsenga Burton writes in her article: Celebrating 100 years of Black Cinema
that William D. Foster produced and directed his film The Railroad Porter in 1912 paying
homage to the entertaining comic chases of the time while trying to address the stereotypes of

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blacks in films during the era. Three years later D.W. Griffith released a film called The Birth of
a Nation. This film is considered one of the greatest films ever made due to its cinematic
advances of the time. D.W. Griffiths film is one if not the most controversial released films ever.
Many of the characters were negatively portrayed by white actors in blackface. The film glorified
the Ku Klux Klan, and painted a savage and false imagery of black people during the
Reconstruction Period. This depiction of African Americans in this film led the NAACP to fight
hard trying not to allow its national release. However, their attempts were to no success although
two scenes from the movie were banned according to (www.filmsite.org.) The movie was able to
serve as a tool to persuade Northerners that the blacks were malicious and that KKK served as
protectors. The decade after the initial release of the film in 1915 sparked a large regrowth in
membership of the Ku Klux Klan. It also sparked problems with many other social stances like
interracial marriage and relationships. Yet the historical impact of the movie not only of the
image of blacks, but quality of films were great.
Five years later a man proclaimed as The Father of Black Filmmakers by the name of
Oscar Micheaux released a film in response to The Birth of a Nation. With his second film he
portrays a black woman from the south and a black man from the north becoming in love, but
finds the man shocked of her and her familys racist upbringing. This film encourages and
expresses the non-hatred of blacks towards whites, trying to disvalue the images in the Birth of
a nation. Oscar Micheaux was a black novelist, screenwriter and filmmaker of the 1900s. After
releasing his book The Homesteader he was presented with a deal by the Lincoln Motion Picture
Company founded by brothers Noble and George Johnson in 1916, which he turned down when
they would not allow him to direct the film. Oscar began to sell stocks to raise money to produce
his first film The Homesteader in 1919. He went on to be one of the most prolific filmmakers

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of his time with accomplishments like being the first African American to produce a sound
production with The Exile and being the first black producer to have a film open in white
theatres with Betrayal. Although the Lincoln Motion Picture Company could not strike a deal
with Oscar Micheaux, they had much success in the film industry being the first film company
owned and controlled by black filmmakers. Their first film The Realization of a Negros
Ambition painted of one the first positive images for blacks in theatres right after The Birth of
a Nation in 1917. Their films did not make its appeal to a wide audience, they were mostly
shown at small revenues and black theatres. Eventually the company split with sales &
production expenses becoming too much to handle with the new sound equipment management
and their small revenue of audience.
Out of the many reactions to The Birth of a New Nation along came with it was a
movement. This movement consisted of something called race films. Race films were films
made by black filmmakers with all-black casts for all-black audiences. Race films became
crucial to the opportunities given to blacks in the film industry. Proceeding the 1917 film that
fumed many African Americans to make change of the stereotypes came the 1920s, being
considered the boom years of black cinema brought plenty black-owned films studios operating
out of Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Kansas City. They screened many
movies of melodramas, parodies of Hollywood movies and black novels of uplifting themes or
tragedies of passing for white. At this time 30 percent of the film companies and theatres making
and showing race films were black owned. As the Great Depression hit and new sound
technologies came, managing money became too much for many of the independent black
companies. Evolution then began to occur as the power shifted largely towards white owned
companies to produce race films. Oscar Micheaux was one of the few to be able to sustain his

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film company due to his ability to raise money in various ways. 90 percent of the film companies
producing race films were white owned during 30s. The plots then became, if blacks lived in an
all-black world. The Forties brought the near end of race films. As WWII began the government
took charge of the film stock supply as they were in need of the chemicals used to produce films
for the war. The government began to only ration the chemicals out to big film productions like
Hollywood which left many black owned companies down. The government also produced many
films persuading more blacks to enter the army. The late forties brought yet another shift in
films. Now films were more of musicals. Controversy also took Hollywood producers to make
films starring blacks as protagonists instead of servants. This was a huge step in the demise of
race films. By the 1950s, Hollywood started to produce all-colored casts in positive lights on the
screen bringing the end to the necessity of race films.
The Civil Rights Movement helped encourage many Hollywood decisions along the road
in trying to help uplift the views of blacks. From the 50s to the 60s and 60s until today,
Hollywood filmmakers have helped portray better images of blacks. From Lost Boundaries
and Intruder in the Dust by Alfred L. Werker and Clarence Brown to Boyz n the Hood and
The Butler by John Singleton and Lee Daniels, the portrayal of blacks became more positive
and open to broader audiences. Still today there is some negative portrayal, but that negativity
only derives from the truth. And that negativity represents the many obstacles put in the way of
growing up in black neighborhoods. Movies like Boyz n the Hood and N.W.A portray
troubled youth of blacks, but they also portray blacks wanting better for themselves. The troubles
of African Americans may leak from the past but change is still inevitable for the future. Many
social groups today still fight hard as in the past to try to provoke change in the black

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communities. And as statistics of black education rising, it seems very bright to impact the image
that has plagued the black society for decades.

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Cited Sources

http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/lincoln-motion-picture-company-first-black-

cinema
http://www.acenet.edu/the-presidency/columns-and-features/Pages/By-the-Numbers-MoreBlack-Men-in-Prison-Than-in-College-Think-Again-.aspx
http://www.acinemaapart.com/film-history/
http://www.biography.com/people/oscar-micheaux-9407584
http://www.blackpast.org/aah/lincoln-motion-picture-company
http://exhibits.library.duke.edu/exhibits/show/africanamericansinfilm
http://www.filmsite.org/birt.html
http://jfredmacdonald.com/bawtv/bawtv10.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_birth.html
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2010/02/100_years_of_black_cinema_oscar_mic
heaux_melvin_van_peebles_spike_lee_kasi_lemmons.html