African American cinema

African American cinema
Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · source
Name	African American cinema
Years active	1890s–present
Country	United States
Notable films	Within Our Gates, The Birth of a Nation, Shaft (1971 film), Do the Right Thing, Moonlight (film), 12 Years a Slave
Notable filmmakers	Oscar Micheaux, D. W. Griffith, Gordon Parks, Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins, Ava DuVernay

Contents

African American cinema African American cinema refers to films created by, starring, or centrally concerning people of African descent in the United States, intersecting with movements, institutions, and audiences across the Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, and contemporary cultural arenas. It encompasses independent production, studio films, documentary work, and television projects, engaging with figures and organizations such as Oscar Micheaux, D. W. Griffith, Kathryn Bigelow, The NAACP, SNCC, and festivals like Sundance Film Festival and Pan African Film Festival.

Definition and Scope

The scope includes feature films, short films, documentaries, and television projects involving creators and performers like Paul Robeson, Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Mahershala Ali, Regina King, and institutions such as Alpha Phi Alpha, Howard University, Morehouse College, and companies like United Artists and Paramount Pictures. It covers works exhibited in venues such as Apollo Theater, Lincoln Center, Taschen galleries, and festivals including Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and Sundance Film Festival. The definition intersects with legal and policy frameworks shaped by rulings and laws like Plessy v. Ferguson (contextual), philanthropic actors such as Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and distribution outlets like Netflix, HBO, and Amazon Studios.

Early pioneers include Oscar Micheaux and companies like Lincoln Motion Picture Company during the era of Jim Crow laws, responding to films such as The Birth of a Nation by D. W. Griffith. The Harlem Renaissance and interwar period saw performers like Paul Robeson and directors like Gordon Parks, alongside studios such as Vitagraph Studios and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The mid-20th century involved breakthroughs by Hattie McDaniel at the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier in studio films, and documentary activism around events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and organizations like NAACP and CORE. The 1960s–1970s featured the Blaxploitation era with titles like Shaft (1971 film) and creators linked to Roger Corman and distributors like American International Pictures, while the Black Power movement produced independent work from filmmakers tied to Black Panther Party activists and community cinemas. The 1980s–2000s saw the rise of auteurs such as Spike Lee, supported by institutions like National Endowment for the Arts and festivals including Sundance Film Festival, with mainstream recognition for films like Do the Right Thing and awards for 12 Years a Slave at Academy Awards. Contemporary periods include works by Barry Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler, and distribution shifts involving Netflix, Amazon Studios, Hulu, and exhibition at Telluride Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival.

Recurring themes include resistance and liberation as in works responding to events like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Selma to Montgomery marches, portrayals of family and community akin to The Cosby Show-era debates, explorations of identity and migration tied to the Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance, and reckonings with slavery in films referencing 12 Years a Slave, Amistad (film), and historical figures like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. Representation debates involve awards institutions such as the Academy Awards, press outlets like The New York Times, Variety (magazine), and cultural critics including Richard Pryor (performative influence), bell hooks (theory applied), Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Cornel West. Genres span urban crime narratives exemplified by Shaft (1971 film), courtroom dramas like A Time to Kill (1996 film), romantic dramas such as Love & Basketball, and LGBTQ+ stories culminating in Moonlight (film). Music and performance link to figures like Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, and soundtracks that involve labels like Motown Records, Def Jam Recordings, and producers tied to Quincy Jones.

Key studios and distributors include Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., United Artists, MGM, and independent companies such as Lincoln Motion Picture Company, Blaxploitation-era distributors, and contemporary production houses led by Ava DuVernay's ARRAY. Academic and cultural institutions contribute via Howard University's film programs, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, USC School of Cinematic Arts, archives like the Library of Congress, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and collecting initiatives at Smithsonian Institution. Funding and policy actors include National Endowment for the Arts, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and guilds such as Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, and Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Exhibition involves venues like AMC Theatres, repertory cinemas such as Film Forum (New York), streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu, and festivals including Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, and Pan African Film Festival.

Critical reception ranges from mainstream coverage in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times to scholarship by academics at Harvard University, Yale University, University of California, Los Angeles, and critics writing for Sight & Sound and Film Comment. Debates over representation and inclusion have engaged the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, activist campaigns like #OscarsSoWhite, and cultural commentators such as Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ava DuVernay herself. The cultural impact is evident in crossover successes influencing television series on HBO and Showtime, pedagogical adoption in courses at Columbia University, public history projects at Smithsonian Institution, and political resonance with movements like Black Lives Matter. Awards and recognition include Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Cannes Film Festival prizes, and honors from institutions such as NAACP Image Awards and Sundance Institute, shaping how films circulate, are preserved by archives like the National Film Registry, and enter global conversations via festivals such as Cannes Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival.

Category:Film movements