Shaping the Future of African American Film: Color-Coded Economics and the Story Behind the Numbers

Acknowledgments

ix ACkNoWLEdgMENtS Studios don’t give a damn how they make their money. it’s business. history has said that African American movies don’t translate. they have on occasion, but it’s the exception rather than the rule. —Casey Silver, chairman and CEo of universal Pictures, 1998 As a scholar and as an artist with experience in directing, acting, and writing , as well as an avid film viewer who also happens to be an African American woman, I set out to determine if the above statement is true. What I discovered in the process has altered my approach to every aspect of my work. It has been an inspiring and at times overwhelming journey that continues in spite of the publication of this text. I am grateful for so much and so many, especially my family, friends, mentors, and students. My husband, Victorien, has been a consistent source of encouragement and inspiration, providing technical and emotional support through every incarnation of this project. Our fabulous children, Joshua and Jazmyne, have displayed the patience of saints throughout this process . My mother and role model, Esther Robinson Dixon, has also consistently reminded me to continue to stand and walk tall, regardless. Without all of you, and my siblings, I would be truly lost. To my grandmother, Jesse Mae White, your strength and courage inspire me. To my great-grandmother, Ella Mae Patterson, and grandfather, Bishop William White Jr., who joined the ancestors early on in this project: I miss you dearly and treasure your legacy. This project had a number of inspirations but Sankofa, Haile Gerima’s classic film and an oft-cited example in many preceding studies about African American film, is especially important. “Sankofa” is also an Akan proverb that means, “It is not forbidden to go back and reclaim what you have forgotten.” The film and proverb have inspired this work, as have Beloved (1998), Jonathan Demme’s cinematic adaptation of Toni Morrison’s novel, and Spike Lee’s Bamboozled (2000). Although I began this project long before I started teaching film and theater courses at Tufts University, I would still like to acknowledge my students and colleagues. Your interest in this study and appreciation for its revelations x ACkNoWLEdgMENtS has contributed to its current form. My teachers and mentors have been invaluable at every stage of development, especially Dr. Stratos Constantinidis , who has been honest and supportive every step of the way. I also want to thank Dr. Anthony Hill and Dr. Linda James Myers for their very helpful suggestions and support of early incarnations of the project. Dr. Mark A. Reid, Dr. Debra Walker King, Dr. Mikell Pinkney, Dr. Leah Rosenberg, Dr. Apollo Amoko, Dr. James Upton, Dr. Alamin Mazrui, Dr. Pam Monteleone, Dr. Sam Kimball, and Dr. James Smethurst, my teachers at various points in time, exposed me to the material that would later shape my scholarly and creative development. I would like to thank all the scholars, artists, and allies who helped inform this work, including those listed above and the many cited throughout this text. Special thanks to those scholars who have offered support and encouragement , including members of the Black Performance Theory Working Group, the ASTR Diasporic Imaginations Working Group, and the New England Black Scholars Collective (Soyica Diggs Colbert, Aliyyah Abdur-Rahman, Sandy Alexandre , Nicole Aljoe, Alisa Brathwaite, Kimberly Juanita Brown, Régine JeanCharles , Stéphanie Larrieux, and Sam Vasquéz). Most importantly, I would like to thank my editor, Leslie Mitchner, the staff of Rutgers University Press, copyeditors Adi Hovav and Eric Schramm, my assistant indexer, Katherine J. Swimm, and anonymous reviewers of this book, all of whom have guided my extraction of the fundamental elements from the original 876-page text. Creation is truly a collaborative effort, and I am in awe of the support the universe has provided throughout this process. This also includes the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship and The Ohio State University Presidential Fellowship . I sincerely appreciate the countless others who have provided familial support and encouragement. Shaping the Future of African American Film ...