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American Film Studies

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Full-Text Articles in African American Studies

Hollywood's White Legal Heroes And The Legacy Of Slave Codes, Katie Rose Guest Pryal Apr 2012

Hollywood's White Legal Heroes And The Legacy Of Slave Codes, Katie Rose Guest Pryal

Katie Rose Guest Pryal

This chapter explores the portrayal of black defendants in mainstream legal cinema and draws connections between these portrayals, the legacy of slave codes, and the Supreme Court's rejection of statistical and historical proof of racism in the application of the death penalty. I focus on a sub-genre of legal cinema, what I call the "White Legal Hero" narrative. The typical white legal hero film tells the story of an innocent or otherwise righteous black male defendant facing a capital charge. He is represented by a white male "hero" lawyer who tries to overcome the racist justice system. The failure of …

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Nostalgia For The Liberal Hour: Talkin' 'Bout The Horizons Of Norman Jewison's Generation, Daniel Mcneil Dec 2011

Nostalgia For The Liberal Hour: Talkin' 'Bout The Horizons Of Norman Jewison's Generation, Daniel Mcneil

Daniel McNeil

Throughout his career as a filmmaker Norman Jewison has confronted stereotypes that depict white liberals as hypocritical and insincere do-gooders. He has also seized and contested the position of victim against radicals on the left and right. This paper outlines some of the commonalities between the Canadian filmmaker and Robin Winks and Michael Banton, two prominent academics in the United States and the United Kingdom who also opposed the "unacceptable face of capitalism" and the “overly politicized” scholarship of radical intellectuals. My conclusion provides a counterpoint to the liberal humanism of Jewison, Winks and Banton by turning to the new …

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