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| | Title: |
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| Educator: |
Setsuko Matsuyama |
| Educator Affiliation: |
n.a., MN |
| Overview: |
Motion pictures are not just entertainment, but also a powerful means of communication. Films often reflect, inspire or further popular attitudes. Many so-called “Negro” performers in the early days of film-making were not blacks, but whites in black face makeup, especially those in leading roles. Through this unit of film study, students will watch and investigate the popular culture medium of films which stereotype African Americans, and learn about the origins and influences of stereotypes.
This unit could be taught in conjunction with Susan Clabo’s “The Emperor Jones” which studies the play by Eugene O’Neill and film in which African Americans are powerfully and positively presented. “The Emperor Jones” unit is available through the African American Curriculum Exchange.
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| Grade Levels: |
9-12
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| Subjects: |
Media - Film, Video, and TV
Reading
Speaking, Discussion and Debate
Writing
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| Lesson Goals: |
Students will:
1. Learn to analyze the film portraits of African Americans created by a white-dominated industry during the time period of 1920 - 1930; and
2. Investigate the influence of the Harlem Renaissance on subsequent film portraits of African Americans.
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| Text & Materials: |
Films:
Henriquez, Stephan and Bowma, William (producers). York, Steven (director). Black Shadows on a Silver Screen, film. Los Angeles, CA: Republic Pictures. 1986. 52 minutes. Narrated by Ossie Davis. Post-Newsweek Stations, Inc., in color and b&w. The American documents series.
Griffith, D.W., director (Lang, Robert, editor). The Birth of a Nation, film. 1915. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. 1994. 175 minutes.
Books:
Hughes, Langston, and Meltzer, Milton. Black Magic: A Pictorial History of the African-American in the Performing Arts. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1990. (ISBN: 0-306-80406-9)
Null, Gary. Black Hollywood: from 1970 to Today. Secaucus, N.J.: Carol Publishing Group, 1993. (ISBN: 0-806-51216-4)
Noble, Peter. The Negro in Films. New York: Arno Press. 1970. (ISBN: 0-405-01629-8) (Series Name: The Literature of Cinema)
Brown, Sterling. “Negro Character as Seen by White Authors.” (1933) in Dark Symphony: Negro Literature in America. Eds. James A. Emanuel and Theodore L. Gross. NY: Free Press, 1968. 139 - 171 (Describes 7 types of stereotypes.)
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| Activities: |
1. Show the film, Black Shadows on a Silver Screen, as an introduction to the portrayal of blacks in the early days of film-making in America.
Ask students to take notes regarding the film’s portraits of African Americans.
2. Assign students the essay, “The Negro in Silent Films” from the book, The Negro in Films.
3. Present more information and discuss silent and sound films from the 1910s through the 1930s, focusing on how blacks are portrayed on the screen and what social values or fears their images reflect. Ask students to look at the photographs in Black Magic and Black Hollywood.
Present information and facilitate discussion on:
a. What the “Negro” stereotypes are. A text which discusses seven types of stereotypes is Sterling Brown’s “Negro Character as Seen by White Authors” in Dark Symphony: Negro Literature in America.
b. Who performs black roles.
c. What happened to the Hollywood attitudes toward black actors and actresses after D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation?
5. Show the film, The Birth of a Nation.
6. Ask students to respond to these questions in writing and justify their opinions:
a. Do you think it is true that the African American images in film in the early part of the 1900s were reflections of white prejudice related to ex-slave freedmen? Why or why not?
b. How do you think these stereotyped images affected African Americans living at the time?
c. Do you think contemporary media, including films, continues to stereotype African Americans? Give evidence related to your opinion.
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| Supplemental Resources: |
n.a. |
| Web Links: |
None.
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| Posting Date: |
2001-03-28 |
Comments: |
Read Educator Comments Add Your Comments |
| Standards: |
View Minnesota Content Standards information |
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