{"product_id":"black-film-isbn-9781984860163","title":"Black Film","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn illustrated history that celebrates the legacy of Black actors, films, and filmmakers from the silent era through today and explores the deeply embedded racism of the film industry, from the award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Black Panther Party\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eBlack Film\u003c\/i\u003e, Eisner Award-winning author David F. Walker presents an immersive dive into the crucial history of Black actors, films, and filmmakers. Following closely behind the very first moving picture captured by Eadward Muybridge in 1872, Thomas Edison's thirty-second \"actualities\" from the late 1890s, including \u003ci\u003eA Watermelon Contest\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDancing Darkey Boy\u003c\/i\u003e, are among the first short films to depict Black people. These can be considered the earliest examples of how the film industry would go on to exploit, appropriate, and shape the narrative of Black people for the duration of its development.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDivided by decade, each section of the book covers an important era and milestone for Black film, highlighting both difficulties and triumphs through time. For example:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe harmful popularization of blackface and minstrel shows (1890-1914)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe emergence of racist feature-length movies such as \u003ci\u003eBirth of a Nation\u003c\/i\u003e after the advancement of sound in film, countered by the success of pioneering Black filmmakers such as Oscar Michaeux and brothers George and Noble Johnson  (1915-1928)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe rise of trailblazing actors such as Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge (1950-1959)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe roots of Blaxploitation as a subgenre and how Black people ultimately saved Hollywood during trying times (1970-1979)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe exciting crossover of hip-hop music into film (1980-1989)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe box office success of Marvel's \u003ci\u003eThe Black Panther\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMoonlight\u003c\/i\u003e's history-making Best Picture win, and more. \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith gorgeous illustrations, film stills, and rare pieces of ephemera, \u003ci\u003eBlack Film\u003c\/i\u003e celebrates the glowing contributions of Black actors and filmmakers, without shying away from discussing the racism that is rooted in Hollywood—an important reality to address in order to make progress.\u003cb\u003eDavid F. Walker\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning comic book writer, author, filmmaker, journalist, and educator. His work in comic books includes \u003ci\u003eShaft\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the Glyph Award for Story of the Year, \u003ci\u003ePower Man and Iron Fist\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Nighthawk\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Fury\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSecret Wars: Battleworld, Cyborg, The Army of Dr. Moreau\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNumber 13\u003c\/i\u003e. He is also the creator of the critically acclaimed YA series The Adventures of Darius Logan and the author of the Eisner-winning graphic history \u003ci\u003eThe Black Panther Party\u003c\/i\u003e and graphic biography \u003ci\u003eThe Life of Frederick Douglass.\u003c\/i\u003e Recognized as a leading scholar and expert of African-American cinema, Walker produced one of the definitive documentaries on the topic of Blaxploitation films, \u003ci\u003eMacked, Hammered, Slaughtered, and Shafted.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Power of Pictures \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the motion picture industry was just coming into existence, record numbers of Black Americans were being lynched throughout the United States. While pioneering filmmakers like inventor Thomas Edison worked to further the technology, craft, and business of motion pictures, civil rights leaders such as Ida B. Wells fought to keep Blacks from being murdered with impunity. While one segment of America had an eye on entertainment and commerce, another segment of the country struggled for equality and survival. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEdison was responsible for some of the earliest motion pictures, short films called “actualities,” which were precursors to the modern documentary and ran for less than thirty seconds. Edison’s actualities and other similar shorts didn’t have story lines, but even at its most primitive, moving pictures had the power to elicit thoughts and feelings from an audience. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe first known moving pictures showing Black people were in a series of actualities produced in 1895, the same year that the abolitionist Frederick Douglass died. A former slave who became a respected author and outspoken advocate for civil rights, Douglass was the most photographed American of the nineteenth century. Douglass saw power in photography and used the medium to present himself with dignity, standing in direct and defiant contrast to the negative depictions of Black Americans in mass media. Douglass became one of the nation’s first major celebrities, speaking and writing at length about the art of “picture making.” He said that photography helped “the process by which man is able to invert his own subjective consciousness, into the objective form.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDouglass believed that photography did not hold the biases and prejudices found in illustrations or cartoons and that through photos the only thing that could be revealed was the objective truth. The two things Douglass did not take into consideration, however, were the subjective perceptions of people looking at photographs—the prejudices they held in their hearts and minds—and what could happen if pictures were able to move. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAmong the Edison-produced actualities were the films \u003ci\u003eA Watermelon Contest\u003c\/i\u003e (1896) and \u003ci\u003eNative Woman Washing a Negro Baby in Nassau, B.I. \u003c\/i\u003e(1903). And while these actualities had no story other than what the titles implied, movies like \u003ci\u003eDancing Darkey Boy\u003c\/i\u003e (1897) brought established prejudices and racist thinking into the emerging medium. Produced a year after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld segregation in the landmark case of \u003ci\u003ePlessy v. Ferguson\u003c\/i\u003e, by simply adding the word “darkey” to the title, \u003ci\u003eDancing Darkey Boy\u003c\/i\u003e became more than just a simple moving picture; it became an extension of America’s systemic racism. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNot all the early moving pictures of the 1890s featuring Black people carried the same kind of bias and racism as \u003ci\u003eDancing Darkey Boy\u003c\/i\u003e or\u003ci\u003e A Watermelon Contest\u003c\/i\u003e. Produced in 1898, and shot by the cameraman William “Daddy” Paley during the Spanish-American War, \u003ci\u003eColored Troops Disembarking\u003c\/i\u003e presented the Second Battalion of Colored Infantry marching down the gangplank of a steamship anchored in Havana Harbor and was praised for its positive presentation of African Americans. That same year saw the release of Lubin Manufacturing Company’s Cake Walk, featuring a dance routine by a group of vaudeville performers, and William Selig’s \u003ci\u003eSomething Good—Negro Kiss\u003c\/i\u003e. Considered lost until a print was discovered in 2017, \u003ci\u003eSomething Good—Negro Kiss\u003c\/i\u003e featured the vaudeville performers Saint Suttle and Gertie Brown and is believed to be the first on-screen kiss by African Americans.","brand":"Ten Speed Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48232984772837,"sku":"NP9781984860163","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781984860163.jpg?v=1767722689","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/black-film-isbn-9781984860163","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}