Fall 2020 RTF 370: Black Filmmakers After “Blaxploitation” WB
Instructor: Adrien Sebro Email: [email protected] Seminar Day and Time: TTh 2:00PM-3:30PM Office Hours: Thursdays 1-2PM or by appointment
Course Description:
May it be the Harlem Renaissance, The L.A. Rebellion, or Blaxploitation, there has existed various U.S. arts movements with Black artists and Black culture at their center. Blaxploitation is a term coined in the early 1970s to refer to Black action films that were aimed at Black audiences. Featuring Black actors in lead roles and often having anti-establishment plots, these films were frequently condemned for stereotypical characterizations and the glorification of violence. The films, though receiving backlash for their stereotypical characters, are among the first in which Black characters and communities are the heroes and subjects of film and television, rather than sidekicks or villains or victims of brutality. The genre’s inception coincides with the rethinking of race relations in the 1970s. Blaxploitation films were originally aimed at an urban Black audience, but the genre’s audience appeal soon broadened across racial and ethnic lines. Hollywood soon realized the potential profit of expanding the audiences of Blaxploitation films across those racial lines. But what was to come after this movement? How can we label contemporary Black filmmakers and their works of art? Presently, with the robust number of Black filmmakers across Hollywood, what are the new ways in which Blackness is framed across dominant Hollywood cinema, independent film, animation, television, and experimental film? With this course we will use case studies of various contemporary Black filmmakers (1980s-Present) while working to question and complicate the ways in which they deploy images, understandings, and narratives of Blackness within American society. This course will work to answer questions such as; How have the filmmakers of the Blaxploitation Era inspired contemporary Black filmmakers? Have they? How have (or haven’t) contemporary Black filmmakers worked to resist Hollywood conventions? How has politics continued to evolve the ontological status of Blackness? How have technological advances changed the ways in which Black filmmakers contend with production, distribution, and exhibition? How is Blackness framed in these films? Through the myriad of Black filmmakers discussed, this course will build an understanding of Black film as art, resistance or compliance, and a pedagogy that is constantly evolving and taking new forms. As many of these Black filmmakers and their films have not (or have yet to be) been discussed in scholarly works, the weekly readings will be a mixture of scholarly published texts, journals, film reviews, newspaper articles, and trade press. With that in mind, course discussion will rely heavily on these various readings in conversation with the films themselves.
What Do I Need from You?
Your active participation is integral to the success of yourself and the seminar collective. What will drive this course are the discussions that will take place in response to screenings and readings. The readings for each week must be completed by the seminar section. It is important that you come to class on time, prepared, and stay until class is over. Also, paying attention during seminar and avoiding distracting behaviors like texting or doing other work in class will offer you the ability to actively contribute and get the most from discussion. If you foresee needing to miss class(es), then you’ll need to contact me via email.
This course will often discuss readings and view screenings that address gender, sexuality, race, religion, socioeconomics, etc. This classroom will be a safe space for these conscious discussions and opinions. Any prejudices, bigotry, homophobia, etc. will not be allowed. Every student’s discussions and opinions can of course be challenged but must be done respectfully.
*All films and readings will be available via PDF on the course website*
Overall Class Grade Breakdown:
1. Weekly Reading Responses 30% 2. Thesis Statement Submission 10% 3. Attendance/Participation 10% 4. Paper Presentation 10% 5. Final Paper 40%
Weekly Reading Responses To help drive seminar discussion and participation each student is required to submit at least a page double-spaced in response to one or more of the week’s readings and screening. Reading responses are due on the class canvas page every Wednesday at 11:59PM before lecture the next day, Thursday
Thesis Statement Submission By Monday of Week 12, each student is required to submit (via Canvas) a rough thesis statement and bibliography for their final papers. These statements will help with the direction, clarity, and organization for your final paper.
Attendance/Participation Active participation in class discussion will be noted as well as attendance on Zoom.
Paper Presentation
In Weeks 14 and 15 each student will virtually present a power point presentation to myself and the TA on the subjects that their final papers intend to cover. These presentations will aid in strengthening presentation skills as well as mining through any questions or concerns that one may still have while completing their final papers. Great work requires constructive peer feedback. The order of the virtual presentations will be announced in Week 13.
Final Paper The seminar final paper is due via Canvas during Finals week on Thursday Dec. 10. The final paper is to be 8-10 pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman 12-point font, and 1-inch margins.
Students have the choice of TWO options for the final paper:
1. Critically compare and contrast two Black films (one from a Blaxploitation Filmmaker and one contemporary) and the modes in which the characters, themes, and directors responded to their political moment. Textual analyses of films is encouraged. 2. Discuss popular themes, cultural impact, advertising/promotion, and critical reception of a single contemporary Black filmmaker and one of their films. Textual analysis of the film is strongly encouraged.
*If you are interested in writing a paper that doesn’t fall within these categories, we can discuss this possibility in office hours.
Plagiarism Plagiarism, or the manipulation of another’s work as your own of ANY kind is strictly prohibited by myself and the University at large. If you are confused whether something you are writing may be perceived as plagiarism, please do not hesitate to clear it with me first, before submission. If a plagiarized paper is submitted, a student will automatically fail the course.
Academic Integrity. Each student is expected to abide by the University of Texas Honor Code: “As a student of The University of Texas at Austin, I shall abide by the core values of the University and uphold academic integrity.” Plagiarism is taken very seriously at UT. Therefore, if you use words or ideas that are not your own (or that you have used in a previous class), you must cite your sources. Otherwise you will be guilty of plagiarism and subject to academic disciplinary action, including failure of the course. You are responsible for understanding UT’s Academic Honesty and the University Honor Code: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php.
Name and Personal Pronoun Preferences. Class rosters are provided to me with your legal name. I will honor your request to address you by a name that is different from what appears on the official roster, and by the gender pronouns you use (she/he/they/ze, etc). Please advise me of this preference early in the semester.
Writing and Learning Support
Moody College Writing Support Program.
The University Writing Center.
Please inform me early in the semester if you have a learning difference or other issue that could affect your performance in class or your work outside of class. I will work to accommodate you and will maintain the confidentiality of these discussions. For more information on learning accommodations, contact Services for Students with Disabilities, 512-471-6259 (voice) or 1-866- 329- 3986 (video phone).
University Resources for Self Care: Taking care of your general well-being is an important step in being a successful student. If stress, test anxiety, racing thoughts, feeling unmotivated or anything else is getting in your way, there are options available for support.
For immediate support, visit/Call the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC): M-F 8-5p | SSB, 5th floor | 512-471-3515 |cmhc.utexas.edu
• CMHC Crisis Line: 24/7 | 512.471.2255 |cmhc.utexas.edu/24hourcounseling.html • CARE Counselor in the Moody College of Communication is: Abby Simpson, LCSW o M-F 8-5p | CMA 4.134 | 512-471-7642 (Please *leave a message* if she is unavailable) • FREE Services at CMHC include: o Brief assessments and referral services o Mental health & wellness articles -cmhc.utexas.edu/commonconcerns.html o MindBody Lab - cmhc.utexas.edu/mindbodylab.html o Classes, workshops, & groups -cmhc.utexas.edu/groups.html
Title IX Reporting
Title IX is a federal law that protects against sex and gender based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, dating/domestic violence and stalking at federally funded educational institutions. UT Austin is committed to fostering a learning and working
environment free from discrimination in all its forms. When sexual misconduct occurs in our community, the university can:
1. Intervene to prevent harmful behavior from continuing or escalating. 2. Provide support and remedies to students and employees who have experienced harm or have become involved in a Title IX investigation. 3. Investigate and discipline violations of the university’s relevant policies. Faculty members and certain staff members are considered “Responsible Employees” or “Mandatory Reporters,” which means that they are required to report violations of Title IX to the Title IX Coordinator. I am a Responsible Employee and must report any Title IX related incidents that are disclosed in writing, discussion, or one-on-one. Before talking with me, or with any faculty or staff member about a Title IX related incident, be sure to ask whether they are a responsible employee. If you want to speak with someone for support or remedies without making an official report to the university, email [email protected] For more information about reporting options and resources, visit titleix.utexas.edu or contact the Title IX Office at [email protected]. The following recommendations regarding emergency evacuation from the Office of Campus Safety and Security, 512-471-5767, http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ Occupants of buildings on The University of Texas at Austin campus are required to evacuate buildings when a fire alarm is activated. Alarm activation or announcement requires exiting and assembling outside.
• Familiarize yourself with all exit doors of each classroom and building you may occupy. Remember that the nearest exit door may not be the one you used when entering the building. • Students requiring assistance in evacuation shall inform their instructor in writing during the first week of class. • In the event of an evacuation, follow the instruction of faculty or class instructors. Do not re- enter a building unless given instructions by the following: Austin Fire Department, The University of Texas at Austin Police Department, or Fire Prevention Services office. • Link to information regarding emergency evacuation routes and emergency procedures can be found at: www.utexas.edu/emergency
Important Safety Information: If you have concerns about the safety or behavior of fellow students, TAs or Professors, call BCAL (the Behavior Concerns Advice Line): 512-232-5050. Your call can be anonymous. If something doesn’t feel right – it probably isn’t. Trust your instincts and share your concerns.
The following recommendations regarding emergency evacuation from the Office of Campus Safety and Security, 512-471-5767, http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ Occupants of buildings on The University of Texas at Austin campus are required to evacuate buildings when a fire alarm is activated. Alarm activation or announcement requires exiting and assembling outside. • Familiarize yourself with all exit doors of each classroom and building you may occupy. Remember that the nearest exit door may not be the one you used when entering the building. • Students requiring assistance in evacuation shall inform their instructor in
writing during the first week of class. • In the event of an evacuation, follow the instruction of faculty or class instructors. Do not re-enter a building unless given instructions by the following: Austin Fire Department, The University of Texas at Austin Police Department, or Fire Prevention Services office. • Link to information regarding emergency evacuation routes and emergency procedures can be found at: www.utexas.edu/emergency
Scholastic Dishonesty: The University defines academic dishonesty as cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, falsifying academic records, and any act designed to avoid participating honestly in the learning process. Scholastic dishonesty also includes, but is not limited to, providing false or misleading information to receive a postponement or an extension on a test, quiz, or other assignment, and submission of essentially the same written assignment for two courses without the prior permission of the instructor. By accepting this syllabus, you have agreed to these guidelines and must adhere to them. Scholastic dishonest damages both the student’s learning experience and readiness for the future demands of a work-career. Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. For more information on scholastic dishonesty, please visit the Student Judicial services Web site at http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs.
Semester Schedule
*Each week represents what will be discussed on Tuesday-Thursday unless otherwise noted. Screenings are subject to change*
Week 1: Blaxploitation (Aug 27)- NO LECTURE Screening: Super Fly (1972)
Readings: • Guerrero, Ed, “Chapter 3: The Rise and Fall of Blaxploitation” in Framing Blackness: The African American Image in Film. pp. 69-112. • Cunningham, Mark D., “No Getting around the Black” Cinema Journal Vol. 53, No. 4 (Summer 2014), pp. 140-146.
Week 2: Michael Schultz and Julie Dash (Sept 1-3) Screening: Cooley High
Clips from: Car Wash, Krush Groove, The Last Dragon-Schultz Four Women, Illusions, Daughters of the Dust-Dash
Readings: • Corson, K. “Our Man in Hollywood: Creativity and Compromise in the Films of Michael Schultz” in Trying to Get Over: African American Directors After Blaxploitation 1977- 1986, 2016. Pg. 24-64. • Corson, K. “Outside of Society: Jamaa Fanaka, the L.A. Rebellion, and the complications of Independent Filmmaking” in Trying to Get Over: African American Directors After Blaxploitation 1977-1986, 2016. Pg. 112-140.
Week 3: Spike Lee (Sept 8-10) Screening: Clockers
Clips from: Do The Right Thing, Crooklyn, Clockers, Mo’Betta Blues, School Daze, Bamboozled, Four Little Girls, Malcolm X, She’s Gotta Have It (Film and Netflix series), BlacKKKlansman
Readings: • Grant, William, “Reflecting the Times: Do the Right Thing Revisited” in ed. Mark A. Reid, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, pp. 16-30. • Johnson, Victoria E., “Polyphony and Cultural Expression: Interpreting Musical Traditions in Do the Right Thing” in ed. Mark A. Reid, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, pp. 50-72.
• Mitchell, W. J. T., “The Violence of Public Art: Do The Right Thing” in ed. Mark A. Reid, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, pp. 107-128. • Everett, Anna, “‘Spike, Don’t Mess Malcolm Up’: Courting Controversy and Control in Malcolm X” in ed. Paula Masood, The Spike Lee Reader, pp. 91-114. • Harris, Keith M.,“Clockers (Spike Lee, 1995): Adaptation in Black” in ed. Paula Masood, The Spike Lee Reader, pp. 128-141.
Optional: • Lee, Spike. Spike Lee’s Gotta Have it: Inside Guerrilla Filmmaking • Ed. Paula Masood, The Spike Lee Reader • Bailey, Jason, “Second Glance: Spike Lee’s Powerful, Underrated Crime Drama Clockers” http://flavorwire.com/586303/second-glance-spike-lees-powerful-underrated-crime-drama- clockers
Week 4: Cheryl Dunye (Tuesday Sept 15)
Clips from: Janine, Greetings from Africa, The Watermelon Woman
Readings: • Richardson, Matt “Our Stories Have Never Been Told: Preliminary Thoughts on Black Lesbian Cultural Production as Historiography in The Watermelon Woman” in Black Camera (Spring 2011), pp. 100-113. • Lebow, Alisa, “Lesbians Make Movies” Cinéaste Vol. 20, No. 2 (1993), pp. 18-23 • Sullivan, Laura L. “Chasing Fae: ‘The Watermelon Woman’ and Black Lesbian Possibility” in Callaloo Vol. 23, No. 1, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender: Literature and Culture (Winter, 2000), pp. 448-460.
Week 4/5: John Singleton (Thursday Sept 17 and Tuesday Sept 22) Screening: Boyz n the Hood
Clips from: Higher Learning, Poetic Justice, Baby Boy Readings: • Nadell, James, “Boyz N The Hood: A Colonial Analysis” in Journal of Black Studies Vol. 25, No. 4 (Mar., 1995), pp. 447-464. • Dyson, Michael Eric, “Between Apocalypse and Redemption: John Singleton's ‘Boyz N the Hood’” Cultural Critique No. 21 (Spring, 1992), pp. 121-141.
• Massood, Paula J., “Mapping the Hood: The Genealogy of City Space in ‘Boyz N the Hood’ and ‘Menace II Society’” Cinema Journal Vol. 35, No. 2 (Winter, 1996), pp. 85-97.
Optional: • Natale, Richard, “Violence Erupts in Opening Weekend of ‘Higher Learning’” Los Angeles Times 01/20/1995. • Fox, David, “'Poetic’ Finds Justice at Box Office: Movies: The film takes largest share of weekend ticket sales, despite decision by one Cineplex theater not to run it” in Los Angeles Times 07/26/1993. • Giroux, Henry, A. “From ‘Manchild’ to ‘Baby Boy’: Race and the Politics of Self-Help” in JAC Vol. 22, No. 3 (Summer 2002), pp. 527-560. • Steptoe, Tyina, “‘JODY’S GOT YOUR GIRL AND GONE’: GENDER, FOLKLORE, AND THE BLACK WORKING CLASS” in The Journal of African American History Vol. 99, No. 3 (Summer 2014), pp. 251-274. • Guerrero, Ed, “Chapter 5: Black Film in the 1990s: The New Black Movie Boom and Its Portents” in Framing Blackness: The African American Image in Film. pp. 157-214.
Week 5: Isaac Julien (Thursday Sept 24) Screening: Looking for Langston
Clips from: Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask, The Attendant
Readings: • Kahana, Jonathan, “Cinema and The Ethics of Listening: Isaac Julien's Frantz Fanon” in Film Quarterly Vol. 59, No. 2 (Winter 2005-06), pp. 19-31. • Orgeron, Devin, “Re-Membering History in Isaac Julien's ‘The Attendant’” in Film Quarterly Vol. 53, No. 4 (Summer, 2000), pp. 32-40. • Shin, Chi-Yun, “Reclaiming the Corporeal: The Black Male Body and the ‘Racial’ Mountain in ‘Looking for Langston’” in Paragraph Vol. 26, No. 1/2, MEN'S BODIES (March/July 2003), pp. 201-212.
Week 6: Robert Townsend (Sept 29-Oct 1) Screening: Carmen a HipHopera
Clips from: Hollywood Shuffle, The Five Heartbeats (and “Making Of” documentary), Eddie Murphy: RAW, The Meteor Man, The Parent ‘Hood
*Friday 2/28 Guest Lecturer, Daelena Tinnin, Ph.D. Student
Readings: • Tia C. M. Tyree and Liezille J. Jacobs, “Can You Save Me?: Black Male Superheroes in Hollywood Film” Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men Vol. 3, No. 1 (Autumn 2014), pp. 1-24. • Wartofsky, Alona, “MTV’s ‘Carmen’: No Way Bizet” in The Washington Post 05/05/2001. • Reviewed Work: Hollywood Shuffle by Robert Townsend, Review by: Rob Edelman in Cinéaste Vol. 16, No. 1/2 (1987-88), pp. 71-72. • Margolis, Harriet, “Stereotypical Strategies: Black Film Aesthetics, Spectator Positioning, and Self-Directed Stereotypes in ‘Hollywood Shuffle’ and ‘I'm Gonna Git You Sucka’” in Cinema Journal Vol. 38, No. 3 (Spring, 1999), pp. 50-66.
Week 7: Keenan Ivory Wayans (Oct 6-8) Screening: I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
Clips from: In Living Color, A Low Down Dirty Shame, Scary Movie
Readings:
• Cunningham, Phillip Lamarr, “The Limits of Neo-Blaxploitation: Considering David F. Walker's Nighthawk and Power Man and Iron Fist” in Fire!!! Vol. 4, No. 2, Paneling Blackness (2015), pp. 94-112. • Peisner, David. “Part 2: Keenan Was Always the Pioneer” in Homey Don't Play That!: The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution • Gray, Herman,“Spectacles, Sideshows, and Irreverence: In Living Color” in Watching Race: Television and the Struggle for “Blackness” pp.130-147. • “A Low Down Dirty Shame” in Jet Magazine 11/14/1994 pp. 36-40. • Greven, David, “Dude, Where’s My Gender? Contemporary Teen Comedies and New Forms of American Masculinity” in Cinéaste Vol. 27, No. 3 (SUMMER 2002), pp. 14-21
Week 8: Barry Jenkins (Oct 13-15) Screening: Medicine for Melancholy
Clips from: Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk
Readings: • Gillespie, Michael Boyce, “Black Maybe: Medicine for Melancholy, Place, and Quiet Becoming in Film Blackness: American Cinema and the Idea of Black Film, pp. 119-156.
• Palvic, Ed, “Speechless in San Francisco” in Transition, No. 110, Fais Do-Do (2013), pp. 103- 119. • Allen, Reniqua, “From Love to Melancholy: The Evolution of the Black Bohemian Identity in Black Indie Love Films From Gen-X to Gen-Y” in Journal of Black Studies Vol. 44, No. 5 (JULY 2013), pp. 508-528. • Hamid, Rahul, “Review of ‘Moonlight’” in Cinéaste, Vol. 42, No.2 (Spring 2017), pp. 44-45. • Kilday, Gregg, “How ‘Moonlight’ Became a ‘Personal Memoir’ for Director Barry Jenkins: ‘I Knew the Story Like the Back of My Hand’” in The Hollywood Reporter, 11/11/2016. • Woubshet, Dagmawi, “How James Baldwin’s Writings About Love Evolved” in The Atlantic, 01/09/2019. • Dorman, John, “‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ Offers a Tour of a Lost New York” in The New York Times, 02/03/2019.
Week 9: Tyler Perry (Oct 20-22) Screening: Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Clips from: Madea’s Family Reunion, Why Did I Get Married?, I Can Do Bad All By Myself
Readings: • Alexander, Bryant Keith, “Bootlegging Tyler Perty/Tyler Perry as Bootlegger: A Critical Mediation on Madea’s Family Reunion” in eds, Jamel Santa Cruze Bell and Ronald L. Jackson II, Interpreting Tyler Perry: Perspectives on Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality, pp. 15-31. • Dunn, Stephane, “Black Masculinity in Big Mama Disguise” in eds, Jamel Santa Cruze Bell and Ronald L. Jackson II, Interpreting Tyler Perry: Perspectives on Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality, pp. 57-68. • Balaji, Murali, “New Model of Cultural Production or a Re-Visioning of the Old” in eds, Jamel Santa Cruze Bell and Ronald L. Jackson II, Interpreting Tyler Perry: Perspectives on Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality, pp. 81-97. • Bishetta D. Merrit and Melbourne S. Cummings, “The African American Woman on Film: The Tyler Perry Image” in eds, Jamel Santa Cruze Bell and Ronald L. Jackson II, Interpreting Tyler Perry: Perspectives on Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality, pp. 187-195. • Brown White, Shauntae, “Let the Church Say, ‘Amen!’: Tyler Perry’s Treatment of the African American Church and Pastor in I Can Do Bad All by Myself” in eds, Jamel Santa Cruze Bell and Ronald L. Jackson II, Interpreting Tyler Perry: Perspectives on Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality, pp. 141-151. • Cherise A. Harris and Keisha Edwards Tassie. “The Cinematic Incarnation of Frazier's Black Bourgeoisie: Tyler Perry’s Black Middle-Class” in Journal of African American Studies Vol. 16, No. 2 (June 2012), pp. 321-344.
Optional: • Morris, Wesley, “The year of Tyler Perry. Seriously,” in Film Comment Vol. 47, No. 1 (JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011), pp. 59-61
Week 10: Peter Ramsey -Animation (Tuesday Oct 27)
Clips from: Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space, Rise of the Guardians, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Readings: • Barker, Jennifer L., “Hollywood, Black Animation, and the Problem of Representation in ‘Little Ol’ Bosko’ and ‘The Princess and the Frog’” in Journal of African American Studies Vol. 14, No. 4, Special Issue: Animated Representations of Blackness (December 2010), pp. 482-498. • Riesman, Abraham, “Is Miles Morales Finally Getting His Due As Spider-Man?” in Vulture 12/14/2018. • White, Armond, “Into the Spider-Verse’s Tangled Web” in National Review 12/14/2018. • Garcia-Navarro, Lulu, “Peter Ramsey Put The 1st Afro-Latino Spider-Man On Screen. It May Win Him An Oscar,” NPR, 02/24/2019.
Week 10: Dee Rees (Thursday Oct 29) Screening: Mudbound or Pariah
Clips from: Pariah, Bessie Readings: • Archer, Ina, “Reviewed Work: Pariah by Dee Rees” in Film Comment Vol. 47, No. 6 (NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011), pp. 70-71. • Declue, Jennifer, “The Circuitous Route of Presenting Black Butch: The Travels of Dee Rees’s Pariah” in eds. Yvonne Welbon and Alexandra Juhasz. Sisters in the Life: A History of Out African American Lesbian Media-Making pp. 225-248. • Kornhaber, Spencer, “Bessie: The Song of a Self-Made Woman” in The Atlantic, 05/16/2015. • Thompson, Anne, “‘Mudbound’: Dee Rees, Faith, and the Long Path She Took to Make Her Epic Oscar Contender” in IndieWire 11/13/2017. • Scott, A.O. “Review: ‘Mudbound’ Is a Racial Epic Tuned to Black Lives, and White Guilt” The New York Times, 11/16/2017.
Week 11: Jordan Peele (NO CLASS NOV 3rd, VOTE) Class will resume Thursday Nov. 5
*Thesis Statement Discussion in Class *
Screening: Get Out
Clips from: Us Readings: • Means Coleman, Robin R., “Studying Black in Horror Films” in Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present, pp. 1-14 • Means Coleman, Robin R., “Catching Some Zzzzzs—Blackz and Horror in the Twenty-First Century” in Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present, pp. 198-216. • Erickson, Steve, “Reviewed Work: Get Out by Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr., Jordan Peele” in Cinéaste Vol. 42, No. 3 (Summer 2017), pp. 51-53. • Sims, David, “What Made That Hypnosis Scene in Get Out So Terrifying” in The Atlantic 12/05/2017. • Guerrasio, Jason, “Jordan Peele explains why his horror movie about racism is what we need in the Trump era” in Business Insider 02/22/2017. • Romano, Aja, “From Key & Peele to Us: how Jordan Peele’s comedy evolved into groundbreaking horror” in Vox 03/25/2019. • Week 12: Gina Prince-Bythewood (Nov 10-12) *THESIS STATEMENTS Due via Canvas on Tuesday*
Clips from: Disappearing Acts, Love and Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, Beyond the Lights
Readings: • Alexander, George, “Gina Prince-Bythewood” in Why We Make Movies: Black Filmmakers Talk About the Magic of Cinema, pp. 381-396. • Jet Magazine, “Disappearing Acts” 12/11/2000 pp. 58-62. • Jet Magazine, “Love and Basketball” 05/08/2000 pp. 60-64. • Brodnax, Shana, “Review: One Woman's Hoops & Dreams” in Black Camera Vol. 15, No. 2 (Fall/Winter, 2000), p. 6. • Larkin, Alile Sharon, “Cinematic Genocide” in Black Camera Vol. 18, No. 1 (Spring/Summer, 2003), pp. 3-4, 15 • Scott, A.O., “A Golden Dollop of Motherly Comfort” The New York Times 10/16/2008. • Hastie, Amelie, “The Vulnerable Spectator: On the Contagion of Vulnerability” in Film Quarterly Vol. 68, No. 4 (Summer 2015), pp. 63-69.
Week 13: Ava DuVernay and Ryan Coogler (Nov 17-19) Screening: I Will Follow or Black Panther
Clips from: Middle of Nowhere, Selma, 13th, A Wrinkle in Time, When They See Us, Fruitvale Station, Creed
Readings: • Martin, Michael T. “Conversations with Ava DuVernay—“A Call to Action”: Organizing Principles of an Activist Cinematic Practice,” in Black Camera Vol. 6, No. 1 (Fall 2014), pp. 57-91. • Ava DuVernay and Bradford Young, “Black Lives, Silver Screen” in Aperture No. 223, Vision & Justice (Summer 2016), pp. 34-41. • Obenson, Tambay A., “Before ‘Middle of Nowhere’ & ‘Selma,’ There Was ‘I Will Follow’ – Now Streaming on Netflix” on IndieWire 01/14/2015. • Easton, Claire, “Ava DuVernay, Sundance Award-Winner for ‘Middle of Nowhere,’ On Why It’s Important That Stories About Black Women Be Told By Black Women” in IndieWire 10/10/2012. • Maule, Rosanna, “Ava Duvernay and the Digital Promotion of African American Cinema” in Digital Platforms and Feminist Film Discourse: Women’s Cinema 2.0, pp. 41-49. • Boyd, Herb, “Reviewed Work: Selma by Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Ava DuVemay, Paul Webb” in Cinéaste Vol. 40, No. 3 (Summer 2015), pp. 57-58. • Combs, Rhea L., “Black Lives Matter, Then and Now” in The Public Historian Vol. 37, No. 3 (August 2015), pp. 128-136. • Juarez, Sara E., “The Power of the Documentary: Examining the Effectiveness of Ava DuVernay’s 13th” in Cinesthesia Vol. 8, Issue. 1 04/24/2018. • McDonald, Soraya Nadia, “Ava DuVernay’s ‘13th’ proves black people are not crazy” in The Undefeated 10/7/2016. • Ryzik, Melena, “Ava DuVernay’s Fiercely Feminine Vision for ‘A Wrinkle in Time’” in The New York Times 03/01/2018.
Coogler Readings: • Davis, Angela Y., “Race and Criminalization” in The House That Race Built pp.264-279 • Smith, Mychal Denzel. “Rewriting Black Manhood: A Conversation With ‘Fruitvale Station’ Director Ryan Coogler” in The Nation 07/18/2013. • Zuckerman, Esther, “Ryan Coogler on Humanizing a Movement for ‘Fruitvale Station’” in The Atlantic 07/12/2013.
• Priyadarshi, Muhit, “Why Fruitvale Station — and not Black Panther — remains Ryan Coogler’s most important film?” in Medium 02/27/2018. • Whipp, Glenn, “For Ryan Coogler, making 'Creed' was deeply personal” Los Angeles Times 01/05/2016. • Eells, Josh, “Ryan Coogler: Why I Needed to Make ‘Black Panther’” in Rolling Stone 02/26/18. • Toldson, Ivory A. “In Search of Wakanda: Lifting the Cloak of White Objectivity to Reveal a Powerful Black Nation Hidden in Plain Sight” The Journal of Negro Education Vol. 87, No. 1, Special Focus: Black Power, Politics, and the Black Press: Resiliency and Engaged Learning in Education (Winter 2018), pp. 1-3. • Thompson, Anne, “Ryan Coogler Changed the Rules of Hollywood With ‘Black Panther’ — IndieWire Honors” in IndieWire 11/01/2018.
Week 14: Paper Presentations (Tuesday Nov 24), No Class Nov 26 Thanksgiving
Week 15: Paper Presentations (Dec 1-3)
Week 16: Final Paper Due (Thursday, December 10, by 5PM CST)