City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2017 The Odyssey of African American Women in Films: From the Silent Era to the Post-War Years to the 1950s Elvera L. Vilson The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1928 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact:
[email protected] THE ODYSSEY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN FILMS: FROM THE SILENT ERA TO THE POST-WAR YEARS TO THE 1950S by ELVERA LORETTA VILSÓN A master’s thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Liberal Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, The City University of New York 2017 © 2017 ELVERA LORETTA VILSÓN All Rights Reserved ii THE ODYSSEY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN FILMS: FROM THE SILENT ERA TO THE POST-WAR YEARS TO THE 1950S By Elvera Loretta Vilsón This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Liberal Studies in satisfaction of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Arts. ________________________ _______________________________________ Date Professor Robert Singer Thesis Advisor ________________________ _______________________________________ Date Professor Elizabeth Macaulay-Lewis Acting Executive Officer THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT THE ODYSSEY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN FILMS: FROM THE SILENT ERA TO THE POST-WAR YEARS TO THE 1950S by Elvera Loretta Vilsón Advisor: Professor Robert Singer African American women were historically and traditionally depicted in Hollywood film productions as maids and servants, like actresses, Hattie McDaniel and Louise Beavers or sultry sirens like, Lena Horne, Theresa Harris, Fredi Washington and Dorothy Dandridge.