Representing race on screen: The concept of African-American pain through the lens of European-American filmmakers

• Název práce v češtině: Zobrazení rasy na plátně: Koncept Afro-americké bolesti skrz objektivy euro-amerických filmařů
• Název v anglickém jazyce: Representing race on screen: The concept of African-American pain through the lens of European-American filmmakers
• Klíčová slova: Afro-američané, film, stereotypy, americký film, rasa, Julian Schnabel, Basquiat, Quentin Tarantino, Nespoutaný Django, Tate Taylor, Černobílý svět, Hollywood
• Klíčová slova anglicky: African-American, film, stereotypes, american film, race, Julian Schnabel, Basquiat, Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained, Tate Taylor, The Help, Hollywood
• Akademický rok vypsání: 2013/2014
• Typ práce: diplomová práce
• Jazyk práce: angličtina
• Ústav: Ústav anglofonních literatur a kultur (21-UALK)
• Vedoucí / školitel: doc. Erik Sherman Roraback, D.Phil.
• Řešitel: skrytý - zadáno a potvrzeno stud. odd.
• Datum přihlášení: 28.04.2014
• Datum zadání: 28.04.2014
• Schválení administrátorem: zatím neschvalováno
• Datum potvrzení stud. oddělením: 12.05.2014
• Datum a čas obhajoby: 04.02.2015 09:00
• Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: 13.01.2015
• Datum proběhlé obhajoby: 04.02.2015
• Odevzdaná/finalizovaná: odevzdaná studentem a finalizovaná
• Oponenti: Mgr. Pavla Veselá, Ph.D.

Zásady pro vypracování

When creating a film or any other form of art, the ideas of representation, perception and directorial vision are crucial. For most directors and screenwriters, the process of storytelling begins with a personal experience, a close observation, or a profound study of a given matter. Film, as an art form, allows them to articulate the chosen issues through artistically handled imagery that could be – in the real world – observed from countless perspectives, with every moviegoer, film critic or fellow filmmaking professional professing their own view. We are often confronted with the notion of film being perceived as a mirror of reality, a testimonial of the historical period in which it was shot. Nevertheless, it should be the primary goal of all filmmakers to strive to persuade their audience that what they are watching is, indeed, the closest representation of reality or at least a realistic image of an imaginary world the authors designed for the purposes of a film. On numerous occasions, this reality proved hard to achieve when it comes to depiction of race on screen.

My BA final thesis dealt with the stereotypical depictions of African-Americans on American film. At the beginning of the moving pictures, the African-American stereotypes were developed by the white filmmakers in order to fuel the racist feelings towards black people. Throughout the movie history, there have been numerous stereotypes established and used in all film genres – from teenage comedies to musicals, to thrillers and „gangsta“ movies. It is important to stress that even though the stereotypes were mostly started by white filmmakers, they were often strengthened by African-Americans themselves in their own film productions. A good example of such treatment of stereotypes can be seen in Blaxploitation era – the black filmmakers took what was ridiculed by white people (e.g. the outrageous dressing style) and incorporated it in their film stories, making the stereotypical depictions even more valid than they used to be. In fact, their perception of the matter was that they were the sole storytellers who could use these elements, granted that they were telling stories of themselves and creating their own characters that had their predecessor in real-life figures, as the African-American community. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that even in times when stereotypes were not used as racist propaganda anymore, any (now read as) stereotypical African-American character placed on screen by a white filmmaker was regarded in the least as inappropriate.

We could easily draw a parallel between white filmmakers working with African-American characters and issues, and non-Jewish film directors dealing with themes such as the persecution of Jews during the WWII in their work. Such films were all similarly subjected to merciless criticism because according to the „accusers“ – the filmmakers had „no right“ to work with subjects that they had no connection to or personal experience with. Often, there were opinions that the „disinterested“ are not able to truthfully capture the profound pain of racism or xenophobia as realistically as an African-American or Jewish writer or filmmaker could. Even nowadays, the negative reactions usually appear at the very beginning of the process of creating a film: already the decision to engage in a subject that is not personal to the film’s creator is doomed to cause disagreement. Therefore, we could argue that making a film of this nature can present a challenge to the filmmaker and as a result, fuel his desire to finish the project despite the criticism.

One of the most discussed verbal combats (this time lead through media) is the one between Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood. In 2008, Lee accused Eastwood of completely omitting black characters from his war films Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers. This is a perfect example of a type of representation that uses the notion of “invisibility” of people of different race. Rather than using stereotypical figures, or even nameless and faceless black characters, some filmmakers chose to pretend as if they did not exist at all. This approach was typical for Hollywood production in the past: in order to prevent criticism for ridiculing African-Americans, they were not used as characters at all – they simply ceased to exist. With time, this has of course changed, however, the comeback of African-Americans on American screens was very slow and even to present day, they are used more as “sidekicks” to white characters than major figures in movie plots.

The secondary focus of the dissertation, the primary one being the questioning of the ability of white filmmakers to depict the “pain” of African-Americans on screen, should be the analysis of black psyche in the mostly white film industry. First, they were ridiculed, afterwards omitted and now they are slowly making their way to “Oscars” and lifetime achievement awards. The question remains: What are their options? The never ending struggle for recognition continues; starting with Blaxploitation film era when African-Americans were finally able to make films about themselves for their own audience, through being officially comprehended when criticizing white filmmakers’ attempts to turn their life experiences into films, to becoming respected movie making professionals.

The sources for the dissertation should – apart from numerous books dealing with the topic of African-Americans on white screens – include original critiques published through African-American media, interviews with living filmmakers and film professionals on the topic and most importantly the very films that would be analyzed in depth throughout the entire dissertation.

Seznam odborné literatury

Bogle, Donald: Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films (New York: Continuum, 2001)
Cripps, Thomas: Slow Fade to Black: The Negro in American Film: 1900-1942 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977)
Dates, Janette L.: Split Image: African Americans in the Mass Media (Washington D.C.: Howard University Press, 1982)
Guerrero, Ed: Framing Blackness (Culture and the Moving Picture) (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1993)
Fanon, Frantz: Black Skin, White Masks (New York: Grove Press, 2008)
Hooks, Bell: Black Looks: Race and Representation (New York: South End Press, 1999)
King, Debra Walker: African Americans and the Culture of Pain (Cultural Frames, Framing Culture, (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008)
Kochmann, Thomas: Black and White Styles in Conflict (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983)
Reid, Mark A.: Black Lenses, Black Voices: African American Film Now (Genre and Beyond) (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005)
Snead, James: White Screens/Black Images (New York: Routledge, 1994)
Watkins, Craig S.: Representing (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999)