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Introduction to Race & Hollywood
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With this month-long programming event, TCM examines the
varied concepts, stereotypes and imagery of
African-Americans as represented in classic Hollywood
cinema. Film historian Donald Bogle serves as special
consultant and will appear on-air to introduce and discuss
the films in the series, which range from D.W. Griffith's
The Birth of a Nation (1915) to Spike Lee's Get
on the Bus (1996, TCM premiere). Reflecting changing
attitudes over the decades are such landmark movies as
The Jazz Singer (1927), Gone With the Wind
(1939), Cabin in the Sky (1943), Bright Road
(1953), and Shaft (1971, TCM premiere). TCM will
also be airing interviews with notable African-American
actors and film industry professionals who will share their
perspectives.
The series represents a study of how African-Americans have
been portrayed by Hollywood, and the cultural impact of
this depiction upon American society. Its goals include
tracking the history of the movies' relationship with
African-Americans, and provoking thoughtful discussion and
debate about how this relationship has evolved and where it
stands today. In this festival, TCM puts this aspect of
film history into academic context. Donald Bogle will take
each film and dissect it, providing viewers with his
insight. For example, Bogle will discuss films like
Cabin in the Sky and why the film was important to
black and white audiences during World War II.
Bogle is one of the foremost authorities on
African-Americans in film and the author of prize-winning
books including Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and
Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American
Films; Blacks in American Films and Television: An
Illustrated Encyclopedia; Primetime Blues:
African-Americans on Network Television; the biography
Dorothy Dandridge, which became the basis for the TV
movie starring Halle Berry; and Bright Boulevards, Bold
Dreams, which recounts what happened before the cameras
rolled and after
performers left the studio. Bogle adapted his book Brown
Sugar: Eighty Years of America's Black Female
Superstars into a four-part documentary series for PBS.
He has taught and lectured at universities and museums
around the country and contributed to such publications as
Essence, Film Comment, Spin, Ebony and
Freedomways.
by Roger Fristoe
For additional photos and video on TCM's "Race and Hollywood" Festival, visit AOLBlackVoices.com.
 
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31 Days of Oscar Highlights for March 1
Among the many award-winning films scheduled on this day are Days of Heaven, Terrence Malick's visually eloquent tale of migrant workers, plus Richard III, (1955), Little Big Man (1970), Quo Vadis (1951) and 6 more.
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