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Articles 1 - 13 of 13
Full-Text Articles in African American Studies
When Language Fails: A Critical Analysis Essay Of Kathryn Stockett’S The Help:, Evan Mccreary
When Language Fails: A Critical Analysis Essay Of Kathryn Stockett’S The Help:, Evan Mccreary
Black Album Mixtape
A critical analysis essay of Kathryn Stockett's New York Times Bestselling book, The Help, and it's subsequent film adaptation, and how in recent years, particularly following the murder of George Floyd, the story has been used as a classroom tool for teaching students about racism and its effects. Written by a Black student in a primarily white school community, this essay was written as an antithesis to the ideology that the book and movie exceed their intended intentions of being a beneficial teaching tool to youth.
The Hidden Figures Of Cognitive Dissonance, Jennifer Berkebile
The Hidden Figures Of Cognitive Dissonance, Jennifer Berkebile
Senior Honors Theses
In utilizing cognitive dissonance theory (CDT) as postulated by Festinger (1957), this research sought to identify how European American (EA) superiors Paul Stafford and Vivian Mitchell were influenced by EA coworkers while interacting with African American (AA) subordinates Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan, respectively, within the film Hidden Figures. Based upon a thorough review of the literature on CDT and its relationships with racism and sexism, this research examined specific scenes in which the pair interacted individually and around coworkers before determining the impact of external interpersonal relationships upon the central biracial relationships. Conclusions demonstrated the key principle of …
"What If We're On The Wrong Side?": Police Brutality, Protest, And Player Culpability In Heavy Rain And Detroit: Become Human, Karmann E. Ludwig
"What If We're On The Wrong Side?": Police Brutality, Protest, And Player Culpability In Heavy Rain And Detroit: Become Human, Karmann E. Ludwig
All NMU Master's Theses
Choice-based video games have often been called “interactive movies” for their unique position as a genre that lets players craft a unique story by making decisions that alter the game’s narrative. Two well-known examples in this genre, Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, offer a variety of possible story lines and outcomes for players to experience. However, because these two narratives are steeped in themes of police brutality, systemic racism, and protest, the way a player shapes a story does not exist in a relatively “moral-free” vacuum. Rather, the legal and social precedents that are often used to …
Afroam: A Virtual Film Production Group, Bill Taylor Jr.
Afroam: A Virtual Film Production Group, Bill Taylor Jr.
Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses
Because of the gatekeeping practices of the Hollywood film industry, and the high cost of both filmmaking and distribution in general, Afro-American filmmakers have struggled to produce films with “global reach.” This study visits the possibility of Afro-American filmmakers using alternative technologies and infrastructures to produce high-quality films, thereby bypassing the high cost and exclusionary practices of Hollywood studios. Using new 21st-century digital technology, this study involved the creation of a small geographically dispersed virtual film production team. The study’s foundational framework was a constructivist qualitative research paradigm, using Action Research, and supported by 24 months of triangulated data from …
Blindspotting And Covid: The Gentrification Of Racism, Ashley Starr-Morris
Blindspotting And Covid: The Gentrification Of Racism, Ashley Starr-Morris
Journal of Religion & Film
The novel Coronavirus is not only exposing old patterns of racism and systemic inequalities, but deepening them as well. The notion of blindspotting, as described in the film by the same name, is used to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the “spiritual emergency” or crisis of racism in America. "Blindspotting" is an image or situation that can be interpreted in two ways but is understood by some in only one way, thereby producing a blind spot. In 2020 and 2021, we see segments of American society, from politics to white Christian nationalism, upholding a sacred canopy of exceptionalism by …
Exploring Black "Saviors": A Content Analysis Of Black Characters And Racial Discourses In Obama-Era Films., Eric A. Jordan
Exploring Black "Saviors": A Content Analysis Of Black Characters And Racial Discourses In Obama-Era Films., Eric A. Jordan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation analyzes how black characters across twenty movies released in the years 2006-2018 inspire, coach, “save,” or “rescue” other characters. Studies on “savior” characters in film tend to focus on white savior characters who seek to “save” people of color from harm. When comparing black characters and white saviors, I find that black characters use three specific strategies—revolution, vigilantism, and altruism —to help other characters. The characters who use the revolution and vigilantism strategies seem to be what I call “black saviors” who work to fight against institutional and systemic racism to save the black diaspora. Altruistic characters seem …
Burden, John C. Lyden
Burden, John C. Lyden
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Burden (2020) directed by Andrew Heckler.
The Sigh Of Triple Consciousness: Blacks Who Blurred The Color Line In Films From The 1930s Through The 1950s, Audrey Phillips
The Sigh Of Triple Consciousness: Blacks Who Blurred The Color Line In Films From The 1930s Through The 1950s, Audrey Phillips
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This thesis will identify an over looked subset of racial identity as seen through film narratives from the 1930’s through the 1950’s pre-Civil Rights era. The subcategory of racial identity is the necessity of passing for Black people then identified as Negro. The primary film narratives include Veiled Aristocrats (1932), Lost Boundaries (1949), Pinky (1949) and Imitation of Life (1934). These images will deploy the troupe of passing as a racialized historical image. These films depict the pain and anguish Passers endured while escaping their racial identity. Through these stories we identify, sympathize and understand the needs of Black …
Lazercism, Rubina Ramji
Lazercism, Rubina Ramji
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of LaZercism (2018), dir. Shaka King.
Monsters And Men, William L. Blizek
Monsters And Men, William L. Blizek
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Monsters and Men (2018), directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green.
Man On Fire, William L. Blizek
Man On Fire, William L. Blizek
Journal of Religion & Film
This is a film review of Man on Fire (2018) directed by Joel Fendelman.
The Loving Story: Using A Documentary To Reconsider The Status Of An Iconic Interracial Married Couple, Regina Austin
The Loving Story: Using A Documentary To Reconsider The Status Of An Iconic Interracial Married Couple, Regina Austin
All Faculty Scholarship
The Loving Story (Augusta Films 2011), directed by Nancy Buirski, tells the backstory of the groundbreaking U.S. Supreme Court case, Loving v. Virginia, that overturned state laws barring interracial marriage. The article looks to the documentary to explain why the Lovings should be considered icons of racial and ethnic civil rights, however much they might be associated with marriage equality today. The film shows the Lovings to be ordinary people who took their nearly decade long struggle against white supremacy to the nation’s highest court out of a genuine commitment to each other and a determination to live in …
The Birth Of A Nation: The Case For A Tri-Level Analysis Of Forms Of Racial Vindication, Charles Fred Hearns
The Birth Of A Nation: The Case For A Tri-Level Analysis Of Forms Of Racial Vindication, Charles Fred Hearns
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Early American film scholars often critique the relative ineffectiveness of a single literary work, protest movement or silent film to achieve racial vindication following the release of The Birth of a Nation in 1915. Thomas Cripps, for example, examines a relatively ineffective isolated attempt to counter the notions of White supremacy promoted in the film. This study makes the case for applying a non-traditional tri-level analysis when measuring the effectiveness of such attempts. The paper focuses on efforts to redeem the image and the potential of African Americans after 1915 in the Black public sphere in three concurrent vehicles: the …