In this Book
- Black Film as Genre
- Book
- 1978
- Published by: Indiana University Press
-
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

summary
Cripps delineates the elements of black film genre in a brilliant essay, and then analyzes six films and their position in the genre. The Scar of Shame, a silent classic, is a social drama which expresses black economic aspiration. The St. Louis Blues uses the black musical idiom to express dramatic conflict, and features Bessie Smith's only film appearance. The Blood of Jesus speaks with primitive conviction to a black religious fundamentalism. The U.S. Army film, The Negro Soldier, is a strong advocate for black social goals, despite the constraints imposed by its sponsor. The critically acclaimed Nothing but a Man celebrates a heroic pastoralism through a visually symbolic narrative. The author's final example is Sweet Sweet - back's Baadasssss Song, the most notorious of the recent "blaxploitation" films. The book concludes with a useful survey of black film criticism and features a bibliography, a filmography, and illustrations from the films.
Table of Contents

- Half Title Page
- pp. i-ii
- Title Page
- p. iii
- Dedication
- p. vi
- Part 1. Black Film as Genre
- pp. 1-2
- 1 Definitions
- pp. 3-12
- 2 The Evolution of Black Film
- pp. 13-62
- 3 The Scar of Shame
- pp. 65-74
- 4 The St. Louis Blues
- pp. 75-85
- 5 The Blood of Jesus
- pp. 86-99
- 6 The Negro Soldier
- pp. 100-114
- 7 Nothing But a Man
- pp. 115-127
- 8 Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
- pp. 128-140
- Bibliography
- pp. 157-164
- Appendix A The Credits
- pp. 165-172
- Appendix B Filmography of Black Genre Films
- pp. 173-176
Additional Information
ISBN
9780253050977
MARC Record
OCLC
1259583981
Launched on MUSE
2021-07-11
Language
English
Open Access
Yes
Creative Commons
CC-BY-NC-ND