Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication

PDF

2009

Civil Rights

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Troubled Waters: Mid-Twentieth Century American Society On "Trial" In The Films Of John Waters, Taunya Lovell Banks Nov 2009

Troubled Waters: Mid-Twentieth Century American Society On "Trial" In The Films Of John Waters, Taunya Lovell Banks

Taunya Lovell Banks

In this Article Professor Banks argues that what makes many of filmmaker John Waters early films so subversive is his use of the “white-trash” body—people marginalized by and excluded from conventional white America—as countercultural heroes. He uses the white trash body as a surrogate for talk about race and sexuality in the early 1960s. I argue that in many ways Waters’ critiques of mid-twentieth century American society reflect the societal changes that occurred in the last forty years of that century. These societal changes resulted from the civil rights, gay pride, student, anti-war and women’s movements, all of which used …


A Comparative Study Of African American Representations In Film From Original To Remake As Influenced By The Civil Rights Movement, Erica F. Berry May 2009

A Comparative Study Of African American Representations In Film From Original To Remake As Influenced By The Civil Rights Movement, Erica F. Berry

Honors College

Racial stereotypes in American films have reflected our society’s dominant ideologies and have influenced our belief systems since the film industry began. As social constructs shift and cultural norms change, so do the representations present in cinematic productions. This study is looking closely at the African American Civil Rights movement in the United States and how, and if, it correlates with changing representations and stereotypes of African Americans in film from the late 1960s to today. I begin by recognizing traditional representations of African Americans and identifying their use in two films in particular, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) …