Black Manhood on the Silent Screen

Ed Guerrero

A defining work that fills in significant gaps in our knowledge of early African American cinema and its critical discourse.

J. Ronald Green

Butters's analysis of a large body of important films that are rarely discussed is a significant contribution to the field of film studies.

Mark A. Reid

Performs an invaluable service to early American film studies and the overall study of gender and race in popular entertainment.

Paula J. Massood

A meticulously researched work that contributes to our understanding of a vastly underrepresented area in film studies.

Library Journal

Butters (history, Aurora Univ.) argues that from its inception motion pictures reflected and reinforced the hostility of the white majority toward African Americans. Early comedies negatively stereotyped them as thieving and lazy, while more serious films often portrayed black males as a physical danger to their "betters." In most cases, white actors in blackface demeaningly played such characters. Within the framework of contemporary film theory, Butters examines films from the 1890s to the dawn of sound. He argues that D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation led to the establishment of several, usually short-lived, film companies devoted to black audiences. Of these pioneering companies, Oscar Micheaux's is the best remembered. The author's research is impressive, but while he has managed to discover some very obscure movies, it is not always clear whether he has actually viewed them. Although it could use some judicious editing (certain points are made over and over), this book is well recommended for academic libraries.-Roy Liebman, California State Univ. Lib., Los Angeles Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.