Oscar Micheaux and His Circle: African-American Filmmaking and Race Cinema of the Silent Era Book

"An extremely valuable contribution to the history of African American art." --Toni Morrison "Oscar Michaeux and His Circle is a marvel of scholarly cooperative effort, an omnibus book of heroic scope befitting its authors ambition to recreate the complex African-American world of the 1920s that Micheaux and his movies meant to serve. . . . the book features an uncommonly rich trove of photographs, stills from his movies, advertisements, and other ephemera of his age . . . [the book is] remarkably free of the sort of opaque critical jargon that might have limited its access to the broad audience that should be drawn to it." --Thomas Cripps, author of Black Film as Genre and Making Movies Black This is a landmark text, essential for teaching and reference. . . . A splendid collective achievement. --Hazel V. Carby, author of Cultures in Babylon: Black Britain and African America and Race Men In this important, sumptuous new book, prominent scholars examine the surviving silent films of Oscar Micheaux--the most prolific African-American filmmaker to date and a filmmaking giant of the silent period. Both artist and showman, Micheaux stirred controversy in his time as he confronted issues such as lynching, miscegenation, peonage and white supremacy, passing, and corruption among black clergymen. His films were completely different from Hollywood pictures in the ways they spoke to black moviegoers. These essays shed light not only on Micheaux's films but also on his immense influence on other filmmakers, actors, and writers. What these authors have to say will fascinate the general public as well as scholars in the fields of film studies, cultural studies, and African-American history. This thoroughly readable collection is a superb reference work lavishly illustrated with rare photographs.Read More