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dreaming_ace's review
5.0
This was a fascinating look at the intersections of black films about black characters, how white films have portrayed black characters, and how Hollywood, racism, and civil rights have intertwined over the past 100 years.
I learned about so many films I never heard about and gained a deeper understanding about why certain movies and certain awards meant so much to so many. I also learned that several people I had herd of vaguely actually were in movies.
This book is a reminder about why we need to really look at our institutions and explore who is marginalized, who is being kept out, and what stories are not being awarded (or even deeper what stories are not being allowed to be told in the first place)
I learned about so many films I never heard about and gained a deeper understanding about why certain movies and certain awards meant so much to so many. I also learned that several people I had herd of vaguely actually were in movies.
This book is a reminder about why we need to really look at our institutions and explore who is marginalized, who is being kept out, and what stories are not being awarded (or even deeper what stories are not being allowed to be told in the first place)
mariahistryingtoread's review
2.0
I spent months carefully working through this book only for it to take a swan dive into mediocrity when I finally reached the halfway point rendering my careful consideration useless. Anyways, for non fiction reviews I usually do chapter by chapter breakdowns. It helps me recall the main points of a chapter because in nonfiction they can be long and/or cover a lot of material. Be forewarned it is kind of stream of consciousness at first. It becomes more cohesive as it goes on and then regresses again as I start to become disillusioned. Final thoughts at the end.
Chapter 1: covers some of Woodrow Wilson's impact on the country and how the failure of Reconstruction led to the rise of Birth of a Nation; cinema as we know it today has its roots in white supremacy as Birth of a Nation is why we have longer theater hours and snacks
Chapter 2: covers the pioneer Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux; the first Black director of an all Black feature length film - and his rise to fame in Negro spaces during the same time as the Birth of a Nation came to be; the films he made and how his early influence shaped film going forward even though he fell into obscurity in his later years and the Negro theater began to wane
Chapter 3: covers Fannie Hurst a tour de force white female author whose friendship and mentorship w/Zora Neale Hurston led to the seminal classic (a remake of an adaptation of Hurst's novel of the same name) Imitation of Life 1959: a groundbreaking interracial movie thats success forced mainstream white audiences to witness firsthand the trauma of being a Black American through its masterful interweaving of a Black mother daughter relationship fraught from internalized racism foisted onto the daughter into a purportedly white story; inspired in part by Hurston as Hurst was a purveyor of everyday struggles and used some of Hurston's experiences to feed the original novel; Black people were tickled by this opportunity to see themselves on screen in a major motion picture as actual people rather than caricatures especially in the midst of all the racial turmoil of the late 1950s (Brown vs Board of Education, Emmett Till and the Little Rock 9 to name a few)
Chapter 4: covers the still felt effects of Southern denial and revisionism; Harriet Beecher Stowe puts out Uncle Tom's Cabin by all accounts a riveting yet deeply tragic tale of how much slavery scars in 1852 only to see it maliciously perverted into 'Tom shows' where vaudeville acts would tour the South and put on twisted, offensive adaptations of her work using Blackface and stereotypical depictions of Black people for 'comedic' purposes; the Mammy archetype is born largely from these shows' interpretation of HBC's maid character of Chloe as the South loudly and ostentatious rebelled against the idea that their maids could be multifaceted people and/or unhappy choosing instead to find comfort in the facade these women were forced to put on; this extends to Margaret Mitchell a Southern woman grown up in the times after Reconstruction where Southern hate was particularly virulent, she wrote Gone with the Wind based on her limited, insular view of the world and as such Gone with the Wind while charming on the outside is rotten to its core, Gone with the Wind led to Hattie McDaniel being the first Black woman to win an Oscar but it also further cemented the Mammy as a concept in the minds of white people Southern or otherwise seeing as many Northerners shared similar sentiments even if it was unconsciously; in the end despite what was a groundbreaking moment in cinema little was changed for the better (as evidenced by the choice to cast a white woman as a passing Black character seven years later) and more was lost in the long run, Hattie McDaniel died in relative obscurity
Chapter 5: interlude: 2 and a half pages on Baby Face a Pre Hays movie that actually valued its Black actress and the success of the Help movies' harkening to the days of yore
Chapter 6: flashback: quick look at the night Hattie McDaniel won the Oscar, she donated it to Howard University upon her death as the theater troupe there threw her a luncheon one of the few celebrations for her after her win, they lost it sometime in 1992
Chapter 7: racism was so pervasive in Hollywood it extended to situations outside of their purview ie even actors' personal lives could be subjected to scrutiny and affect their ability to rise in the industry, Sammy Davis Jr, Dorothy Dandridge, James Edward's and Ike Jones all had dalliances or serious commitments to white people that all ultimately ended in tragedy or caused fatal ricochets for the career prospects,
Chapter 8: Porgy and Bess was at one time considered a trailblazer in its depiction of Black life. Published by a white ally in 1925 it was immediately beloved for its immersive, realistic look at Black people during the time period. For years afterwards through its retool into a play then a musical then a revolutionary touring musical at that over the course of 30 years it was mostly beloved. The Civil Rights Movement in the 50s changed all of that as Black people bolstered by the acts of courage in their community against the injustice white people had taken pains to normalize now were more critical of the story. As such the film version bombed leaving behind little more than a snapshot of how far we've come as a race in modern media.
Chapter 9: Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte were pivotal in changing the trajectory of the Black male actor in Hollywood. Their disparate yet parallel journeys led to Black male led movies being taken more seriously from the mid 1960s into the Blaxploitation flicks of the 70s.
Chapter 10: flashback, the year is 1965 and Sidney Poitier has just won the Oscar
Chapter 11: The 60s were historical for a multitude of reasons namely the broadening horizons for Black people. A refusal to take the previous mistreatment at the hands of the white powers that be on a societal level spawned a new genre of film that reflected the emerging status quo: Blaxploitation films. Martin Van Peebles used the favor he curried in the community from the 1970 release of satirical comedy The Watermelon Man to independently finance his film Sweetback i.e. the first X-Rated film (by white standards) in the US. On its heels came Gordon Parks' seminal classic Shaft and his sons' own directorial triumph Super Fly. Each of these movies cemented the Black man as a tour de force in cinema breaking out of the reductive mold that Hollywood pigeonholed them in for not fitting the archetypes set forth by Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte.
Chapter 12: Black women had their own Renaissance during the 70s. Lena Horne and Diana Sands attempted to crossover in the years before, however, they were barred by Hollywood's white ceiling. Though there was some acclaim and commercial success they were never able to definitely step outside of the racial constrictions of the time. Becoming increasingly disenchanted with film, Lena Horne focused on other exploits. Conversely, Diana Sands persevered only to die relatively young, robbed of the opportunity to breakout further. Pam Grier emerged as the Blaxploitation queen after her talents made her stand out in the schlocky, cheap pictures she debuted in. Going on to make movies like Coffy and Foxy Brown cemented her status in Black households. She was certified a Hollywood icon by the community at large (ie white, mainstream audiences and critics) after cinephile Quentin Tarantino used his Hollywood influence to write 1997's Jackie Brown just for her as a way of expressing his admiration for her acting expertise.
Chapter 13: flashback to the 1973 Oscar's when Marlon Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather to decline the award in his stead as a way of protesting the general mistreatment of Native Americans by Hollywood in film and in the wake of the standoff at Wounded Knee; not to make this about me/us but this aside doesn't seem necessary given this is a book about Black people in film?, I can see the point Haygood is making about how Hollywood has a storied history of misrepresenting all minorities but two pages on it doesn't seem like enough time to have a real go at exploring this, it feels like it was included to remain consistent formatting wise as there are other flashbacks rather than because it was something Haygood felt needed to be included/touched on
Chapter 14: History of Motown movies rise and near immediate fall. Berry Gordy encouraged Black people to raise their standards in regards to depiction on the big screen and finances (ie budget constraints) but he ultimately failed in creating a movie making empire the same way he did music. He succeeded in making Billy Dee Williams a household name in the Black community, however, it was a bittersweet victory as Billy Dee was never able to garner the same level of respect he deserved as an actor after Motown Movies folded due to Hollywood largely viewing the whole venture even when it did make money as exceptions rather than evidence Billy Dee could fill seats.
Chapter 15: encompasses the phenomena that was Roots, further solidifies how tv was more progressive than Old Hollywood as even after all the success offers for roles didn't come pouring in except for the white actors and only a few of the Black cast and those that did still only got them from TV spots
Chapter 16: covers the rise of Spike Lee one of the most impactful directors of the latter half of the 20th century and his magnum opus Malcolm X which was snubbed by the Academy, despite how far we've supposedly come we've still remained bogged down by racist exceptionalist thought patterns that deem our successes one offs and flukes even decades after our triumphs have been well documented, Sidney Poitier remained the only Black man to receive a Best Actor Academy Award until 2001 nearly 40 years after he won, Denzel Washington's arrival on the scene is detailed in order to establish how trailblazing he has been in the community and how that reflected in Black people's excitement for Malcolm X the movie
Chapter 17: the uptick in Black representation in film stalled as time progressed, moving into the 80s and 90s regardless of any social progress Black people did actually gain the level of progress espoused was far higher than it was in practice meaning as soon as Hollywood could get away with it they reverted to a white boys club mentality barring Black filmmakers from entering the same way Black actors and actresses always had been, going back to Spike Lee a huge part of his success was his ability to independently raise funds at crucial junctures allowing for control over some of the most important parts of the process and having to argue with big studios mostly when it came to finding distributors because their financial backings were minimal comparatively, in this new age Black filmmakers were once more attempting to break into white Hollywood and thus white Hollywood was allowed to dictate everything meaning that few chances were given and of those chances it was still rare to see a success as measured by white Hollywood's prejudice, conservative standards, and failing once as Black filmmaker (look at Love Jones) means you're basically blackballed as in their eyes you're lucky they gave you the once chance and you 'squandered' it
Chapter 18: interlude covering the Oscars when Denzel won for Training Day and Halle Berry made history for winning best actress
Chapter 19: entering the modern era ie the 2010s, continues the shift towards discussion Black filmmaking as a process and Black subject matter in film as a reflection of public sentiment at the time vs Black film stars
Chapter 20 and 21: Endless reiteration of how we were ignored at the Oscars for like 3 or 4 years straight, it's boring and redundant
Around the halfway point I started to feel my enjoyment flag. Eventually I came to the conclusion that my lack of interest stemmed from the dawning realization this book had no commentary to offer on its own. It works well when/if you don't know a lot about the time period which for me was when it predated the 80s. Once it started to get into movie periods I was familiar with its lack of depth became apparent. It bypasses discussion of many prominent Black actors who didn't have crossover appeal, but had success in the community or the discussion of how such a phenomena can occur because Haygood completely skims the successful independent (ie direct to DVD) 90s to early 2000s era. He doesn't discuss the Wayans Brothers nor does he talk about the comedian to actor or rapper to actor pipeline. In general, he completely drops the ball on Black women after moving out of the Blaxploitation era.
It feels like he ignored a lot of things that might harm his overall point that Hollywood is a racist industry which like a few positives doesn’t absolve a few thousand negatives, but that’s the best reason I could come up with for why he didn't include certain information.
If you don’t know a lot about Black film then you could get a lot out of this. If you are somewhat aware like I am then you’ll only get what parts out of it you don’t already know. It doesn’t give you any additional understanding or wisdom.
Chapter 1: covers some of Woodrow Wilson's impact on the country and how the failure of Reconstruction led to the rise of Birth of a Nation; cinema as we know it today has its roots in white supremacy as Birth of a Nation is why we have longer theater hours and snacks
Chapter 2: covers the pioneer Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux; the first Black director of an all Black feature length film - and his rise to fame in Negro spaces during the same time as the Birth of a Nation came to be; the films he made and how his early influence shaped film going forward even though he fell into obscurity in his later years and the Negro theater began to wane
Chapter 3: covers Fannie Hurst a tour de force white female author whose friendship and mentorship w/Zora Neale Hurston led to the seminal classic (a remake of an adaptation of Hurst's novel of the same name) Imitation of Life 1959: a groundbreaking interracial movie thats success forced mainstream white audiences to witness firsthand the trauma of being a Black American through its masterful interweaving of a Black mother daughter relationship fraught from internalized racism foisted onto the daughter into a purportedly white story; inspired in part by Hurston as Hurst was a purveyor of everyday struggles and used some of Hurston's experiences to feed the original novel; Black people were tickled by this opportunity to see themselves on screen in a major motion picture as actual people rather than caricatures especially in the midst of all the racial turmoil of the late 1950s (Brown vs Board of Education, Emmett Till and the Little Rock 9 to name a few)
Chapter 4: covers the still felt effects of Southern denial and revisionism; Harriet Beecher Stowe puts out Uncle Tom's Cabin by all accounts a riveting yet deeply tragic tale of how much slavery scars in 1852 only to see it maliciously perverted into 'Tom shows' where vaudeville acts would tour the South and put on twisted, offensive adaptations of her work using Blackface and stereotypical depictions of Black people for 'comedic' purposes; the Mammy archetype is born largely from these shows' interpretation of HBC's maid character of Chloe as the South loudly and ostentatious rebelled against the idea that their maids could be multifaceted people and/or unhappy choosing instead to find comfort in the facade these women were forced to put on; this extends to Margaret Mitchell a Southern woman grown up in the times after Reconstruction where Southern hate was particularly virulent, she wrote Gone with the Wind based on her limited, insular view of the world and as such Gone with the Wind while charming on the outside is rotten to its core, Gone with the Wind led to Hattie McDaniel being the first Black woman to win an Oscar but it also further cemented the Mammy as a concept in the minds of white people Southern or otherwise seeing as many Northerners shared similar sentiments even if it was unconsciously; in the end despite what was a groundbreaking moment in cinema little was changed for the better (as evidenced by the choice to cast a white woman as a passing Black character seven years later) and more was lost in the long run, Hattie McDaniel died in relative obscurity
Chapter 5: interlude: 2 and a half pages on Baby Face a Pre Hays movie that actually valued its Black actress and the success of the Help movies' harkening to the days of yore
Chapter 6: flashback: quick look at the night Hattie McDaniel won the Oscar, she donated it to Howard University upon her death as the theater troupe there threw her a luncheon one of the few celebrations for her after her win, they lost it sometime in 1992
Chapter 7: racism was so pervasive in Hollywood it extended to situations outside of their purview ie even actors' personal lives could be subjected to scrutiny and affect their ability to rise in the industry, Sammy Davis Jr, Dorothy Dandridge, James Edward's and Ike Jones all had dalliances or serious commitments to white people that all ultimately ended in tragedy or caused fatal ricochets for the career prospects,
Chapter 8: Porgy and Bess was at one time considered a trailblazer in its depiction of Black life. Published by a white ally in 1925 it was immediately beloved for its immersive, realistic look at Black people during the time period. For years afterwards through its retool into a play then a musical then a revolutionary touring musical at that over the course of 30 years it was mostly beloved. The Civil Rights Movement in the 50s changed all of that as Black people bolstered by the acts of courage in their community against the injustice white people had taken pains to normalize now were more critical of the story. As such the film version bombed leaving behind little more than a snapshot of how far we've come as a race in modern media.
Chapter 9: Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte were pivotal in changing the trajectory of the Black male actor in Hollywood. Their disparate yet parallel journeys led to Black male led movies being taken more seriously from the mid 1960s into the Blaxploitation flicks of the 70s.
Chapter 10: flashback, the year is 1965 and Sidney Poitier has just won the Oscar
Chapter 11: The 60s were historical for a multitude of reasons namely the broadening horizons for Black people. A refusal to take the previous mistreatment at the hands of the white powers that be on a societal level spawned a new genre of film that reflected the emerging status quo: Blaxploitation films. Martin Van Peebles used the favor he curried in the community from the 1970 release of satirical comedy The Watermelon Man to independently finance his film Sweetback i.e. the first X-Rated film (by white standards) in the US. On its heels came Gordon Parks' seminal classic Shaft and his sons' own directorial triumph Super Fly. Each of these movies cemented the Black man as a tour de force in cinema breaking out of the reductive mold that Hollywood pigeonholed them in for not fitting the archetypes set forth by Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte.
Chapter 12: Black women had their own Renaissance during the 70s. Lena Horne and Diana Sands attempted to crossover in the years before, however, they were barred by Hollywood's white ceiling. Though there was some acclaim and commercial success they were never able to definitely step outside of the racial constrictions of the time. Becoming increasingly disenchanted with film, Lena Horne focused on other exploits. Conversely, Diana Sands persevered only to die relatively young, robbed of the opportunity to breakout further. Pam Grier emerged as the Blaxploitation queen after her talents made her stand out in the schlocky, cheap pictures she debuted in. Going on to make movies like Coffy and Foxy Brown cemented her status in Black households. She was certified a Hollywood icon by the community at large (ie white, mainstream audiences and critics) after cinephile Quentin Tarantino used his Hollywood influence to write 1997's Jackie Brown just for her as a way of expressing his admiration for her acting expertise.
Chapter 13: flashback to the 1973 Oscar's when Marlon Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather to decline the award in his stead as a way of protesting the general mistreatment of Native Americans by Hollywood in film and in the wake of the standoff at Wounded Knee; not to make this about me/us but this aside doesn't seem necessary given this is a book about Black people in film?, I can see the point Haygood is making about how Hollywood has a storied history of misrepresenting all minorities but two pages on it doesn't seem like enough time to have a real go at exploring this, it feels like it was included to remain consistent formatting wise as there are other flashbacks rather than because it was something Haygood felt needed to be included/touched on
Chapter 14: History of Motown movies rise and near immediate fall. Berry Gordy encouraged Black people to raise their standards in regards to depiction on the big screen and finances (ie budget constraints) but he ultimately failed in creating a movie making empire the same way he did music. He succeeded in making Billy Dee Williams a household name in the Black community, however, it was a bittersweet victory as Billy Dee was never able to garner the same level of respect he deserved as an actor after Motown Movies folded due to Hollywood largely viewing the whole venture even when it did make money as exceptions rather than evidence Billy Dee could fill seats.
Chapter 15: encompasses the phenomena that was Roots, further solidifies how tv was more progressive than Old Hollywood as even after all the success offers for roles didn't come pouring in except for the white actors and only a few of the Black cast and those that did still only got them from TV spots
Chapter 16: covers the rise of Spike Lee one of the most impactful directors of the latter half of the 20th century and his magnum opus Malcolm X which was snubbed by the Academy, despite how far we've supposedly come we've still remained bogged down by racist exceptionalist thought patterns that deem our successes one offs and flukes even decades after our triumphs have been well documented, Sidney Poitier remained the only Black man to receive a Best Actor Academy Award until 2001 nearly 40 years after he won, Denzel Washington's arrival on the scene is detailed in order to establish how trailblazing he has been in the community and how that reflected in Black people's excitement for Malcolm X the movie
Chapter 17: the uptick in Black representation in film stalled as time progressed, moving into the 80s and 90s regardless of any social progress Black people did actually gain the level of progress espoused was far higher than it was in practice meaning as soon as Hollywood could get away with it they reverted to a white boys club mentality barring Black filmmakers from entering the same way Black actors and actresses always had been, going back to Spike Lee a huge part of his success was his ability to independently raise funds at crucial junctures allowing for control over some of the most important parts of the process and having to argue with big studios mostly when it came to finding distributors because their financial backings were minimal comparatively, in this new age Black filmmakers were once more attempting to break into white Hollywood and thus white Hollywood was allowed to dictate everything meaning that few chances were given and of those chances it was still rare to see a success as measured by white Hollywood's prejudice, conservative standards, and failing once as Black filmmaker (look at Love Jones) means you're basically blackballed as in their eyes you're lucky they gave you the once chance and you 'squandered' it
Chapter 18: interlude covering the Oscars when Denzel won for Training Day and Halle Berry made history for winning best actress
Chapter 19: entering the modern era ie the 2010s, continues the shift towards discussion Black filmmaking as a process and Black subject matter in film as a reflection of public sentiment at the time vs Black film stars
Chapter 20 and 21: Endless reiteration of how we were ignored at the Oscars for like 3 or 4 years straight, it's boring and redundant
Around the halfway point I started to feel my enjoyment flag. Eventually I came to the conclusion that my lack of interest stemmed from the dawning realization this book had no commentary to offer on its own. It works well when/if you don't know a lot about the time period which for me was when it predated the 80s. Once it started to get into movie periods I was familiar with its lack of depth became apparent. It bypasses discussion of many prominent Black actors who didn't have crossover appeal, but had success in the community or the discussion of how such a phenomena can occur because Haygood completely skims the successful independent (ie direct to DVD) 90s to early 2000s era. He doesn't discuss the Wayans Brothers nor does he talk about the comedian to actor or rapper to actor pipeline. In general, he completely drops the ball on Black women after moving out of the Blaxploitation era.
It feels like he ignored a lot of things that might harm his overall point that Hollywood is a racist industry which like a few positives doesn’t absolve a few thousand negatives, but that’s the best reason I could come up with for why he didn't include certain information.
If you don’t know a lot about Black film then you could get a lot out of this. If you are somewhat aware like I am then you’ll only get what parts out of it you don’t already know. It doesn’t give you any additional understanding or wisdom.
laz_'s review
4.0
4.5?? this was brilliant, informative, inspiring, etc. and gives a really thorough history retrospective to boot. the layout of the book with separate stories and their backgrounds was really cool, especially when they made frequent appearances. highly recommend if you love movies and/or history <33
pbraue13's review
4.0
An amazing catalogue of great and/or historic (and some previously unknown to me) moments in the history of black film. My only drawback is the chapter on Marlon Brando's refusal of the Best Actor Oscar by sending Sacheen Littlefeather in his place to protest the treatment of Native Americans in film. While I do think it is important to show how Hollywood exploited all minorities, I felt it pulled focus from the book a bit. I think the exploration of Native Americans in film could be its own book and something that deserves to be explored (as do the histories of other minorities overlooked in film). Otherwise, it is amazing. 4.5/5 stars
balletbookworm's review
5.0
Compelling and structured so well - I went in expecting more of a "list of films and how they were made" type of narrative. But Haygood went about this almost as a "what is happening in history and civil rights in this time period" and then brought the film world into it so the two subjects are almost constantly in dialogue with each other. And that highlights how out of step mainstream Hollywood was compared with the rest of the country.
The last chapter, "The Flayed Back" is a short summary of how cellphone cameras have changed how we use film and video, particularly in documenting police violence and hate crimes. An incredible piece of writing.
CW for descriptions of race-based violence and police violence, systemic racism, and use of hate speech in quotations (it would be impossible to get around using the N-word etc in historical documents or quotes, considering that the book opens with the adoration of Birth of a Nation and how that film and Griffiths's racist ideology pervades the movie industry for almost a century)
The last chapter, "The Flayed Back" is a short summary of how cellphone cameras have changed how we use film and video, particularly in documenting police violence and hate crimes. An incredible piece of writing.
CW for descriptions of race-based violence and police violence, systemic racism, and use of hate speech in quotations (it would be impossible to get around using the N-word etc in historical documents or quotes, considering that the book opens with the adoration of Birth of a Nation and how that film and Griffiths's racist ideology pervades the movie industry for almost a century)
buildingtaste's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
3.75
Picked it up for research into the less well-trod parts (i.e. less white) of Hollywood history. And it's a major part of the work, but it serves more as a jumping-off point for broader Black history in the period. The segment on Micheaux was very, very useful for me. Haygood's style is also fairly dense and sometimes repetitive. I have a feeling this material would make for an excellent university course, but was tougher to tackle as a solo read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Goes into brief but illustrative detail about anti-Black hate crimes, particularly lynchings.shoshzee's review
3.0
I read the first half very quickly. I clearly don't know enough about Black Films. I'd never hear of Oscar Micheaux, or about Woodrow Wilson being southern and showing The Birth of a Nation in the white house.
I'm still not so sure about why I'm having a problem with the second half. I guess partly it's his narrative style, and partly because I kind of wish it would go more into depth with certain concepts. He never really explains what blaxploitation really means? I had assumed it meant that the producer, director and screenwriter were white but the cast was black, but certain films that are lumped into that category aren't in this book.
It's mainly a masculine centric book and I don't see anything about LGBTQ Black creators or performers either but I haven't finished so maybe I just haven't gotten to them.
That said I'm learning a lot and the overall theme of so many brilliant and talented performers and filmmakers not being given the same chances because they were black is sad and yet not surprising.
And when I fall into thinking things have got to be better now it's quickly followed by, well are they?
Update: I gave up around page 300. The lack of focus got more noticeable in the second half.
I'm still not so sure about why I'm having a problem with the second half. I guess partly it's his narrative style, and partly because I kind of wish it would go more into depth with certain concepts. He never really explains what blaxploitation really means? I had assumed it meant that the producer, director and screenwriter were white but the cast was black, but certain films that are lumped into that category aren't in this book.
It's mainly a masculine centric book and I don't see anything about LGBTQ Black creators or performers either but I haven't finished so maybe I just haven't gotten to them.
That said I'm learning a lot and the overall theme of so many brilliant and talented performers and filmmakers not being given the same chances because they were black is sad and yet not surprising.
And when I fall into thinking things have got to be better now it's quickly followed by, well are they?
Update: I gave up around page 300. The lack of focus got more noticeable in the second half.
parkergarlough's review
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
a genuine masterpiece. its nature as a history book that went all the way up to the present inspired such complex emotions and a lot of reflection about where we stand in terms of "progress," to the extent that that concept is even worth thinking about.