In 1915 David W. Griffith published the film Birth of a Nation. As a post-reconstruction justification for political developments in the South, its infamously racist depictions of African Americans would give rise to the Ku Klux Klan. Griffith’s portrayal of Black Americans was rooted in a history and culture of derogatory media representations spanning both art and literature. This one-sided depiction did not disappear anytime soon, but mainstream media representation was diversified and expanded once African Americans participated in mainstream cultural production. This class will take a look at the development of African American (self-)portrayals across different (audio-)visual sources (film, tv, photography, comics) from minstrel shows of the mid 19th century to the modern-day gangster aesthetic.
- Trainer/in: Gloria Fears-Heinzel