Black City Cinema: African American Urban Experiences In Film

281 Pages·2003·27.47 MB·English

by  Paula J. Massood

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In the series
Culture and the Moving Image
edited by Robert Sklar
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AFRICAN AMERICAN
URBAN EXPERIENCES
IN FILM
Paula J. Massood
Temple University Press
PHILADELPHIA
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Temple University Press, Philadelphia 19122
Copyrighr © 2003 by Temple University
All rights reserved
Published 2003
Primed in the Unired Srares of America
@The paper used in this publication meers the requirements of the American National Sran
dard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Primed Library Marerials, ANSI
Z3 9 .48-1984
Library of Congress Caraloging-in-Publication Dara
ISBN-13 978-1-59213-003-0
Massood, Paula]., 1965-
Black city cinema: African American urban experiences in film / Paula]. Massood.
p. cm. - (Culrure and the moving image)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-59213-002-X (cloth: alk. paper) - ISBN 1-59213-003-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. African Americans in motion picrures. 2. City and [Own life in motion picrures.
3. Motion picrures-Unired Srates. I. Tide. II. Series.
PN19959.N4 MB 2003
791.43 '6520396073-dc21 2002020421
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to maHhew boyd goldie,
with love
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If, after years of travel, the city on a hill appears no
closer, should we ask whether or not it's a mirage?
-Charles Scruggs (1993)
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Contents
Acknowledgments IX
Introduction: Migrations, Movies, and African American
Cities on the Screen
The Antebellum Idyll and Hollywood's Black-Cast
Musicals 11
2 Harlem is Heaven: City Motifs in Race Films from
the Early Sound Era 45
3 Cotton in the City: The Black Ghetto,
Blaxploitation, and Beyond 79
4 Welcome to Crooklyn: Spike Lee and the Rearticulation
of the Black Urbanscape 117
5 Out of the Ghetto, into the Hood: Changes in the
Construction of Black City Cinema 145
6 Taking the A-Train: The City, the Train, and Migration
in Spike lee's Clockers 175
Epilogue: New Millennium Minstrel Shows?
African American Cinema in the Late 1990s 207
Notes 227
Index 257
VII
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Acknowledglllents
xpressing my gratitude to the individuals and institutions
who supported me is both the most daunting and the most
pleasurable part of this whole process. It's daunting because
it has made me realize the unlimited generosity of the many
colleagues, friends, and family members who helped made
this book possible. It's pleasurable because it is a reminder
that writing a book is never really an individual act and that
the author is surrounded by supporters even when writing
seems so terribly solitary. The thanks that I've listed here can
only begin to convey my gratitude to all who helped along
the way. I hope that everyone involved realizes the true ex
tent of my appreciation for everything they've done toward
the completion of this study.
I would like to thank the Cinema Studies Department at
New York University, where the seeds of this book were
first sown. Robert Starn has been a principal influence since
the very beginning of this project, offering his insights into
many of the texts discussed. His seminal work on Mikhail
Bakhtin and his unceasing encouragement have shaped this
study every step of the way. Ed Guerrero's scholarship has
also been an influence on my work and began even before
he came to NYU. For that, and all his comments, sugges
tions, questions, and friendship, I'm eternally grateful. Chris
Straayer has been unflagging in her enthusiasm and support,
no matter how many pages I asked her to read. She is a model
scholar and teacher. Many thanks also to Toby Miller and
Manthia Diawara; Toby, for offering support and guidance
IX
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