Black Los Angeles

THE BRIDGE: Black History In Film

By Darryl James

It¹s Black History Month all over the nation, so I thought it appropriate to provide a Black History lesson.

In the movie Hollywood Shuffle, film maker Robert Townsend attempted to deal with Blacks who play demeaning roles in films just to get paid. Townsend's character admonished the "sellouts" with the tagline: "There is always work at the post office."

That statement is very true indeed. The defending line for every demeaning role in the history of film, from Hattie McDaniels all the way to the new "Blaxploitation" era of today is that for many Black actors, these are the only roles available. Yet, no one is forced to take a demeaning role in film, or to work for wages not to scale and in fact, there have been Blacks participating in the independent side of film for a very long time.

The difference between African Americans and nearly every other ethnic group in American is that we have done a poor job of controlling our own image. We can take control of our own image by taking control of the manufacturing and distribution of our own films.

For all the ranting and raving I do about Black-owned businesses and how integration hurt us in many ways, I always get confused looks and questions from the people who have no idea that we were making things happen in a real way when we had real Black communities with real Black commerce.

One such shining example was a Black man from Metropolis, Illinois named Oscar Micheaux, who in 1919, made his own full-length feature film from his novel called "The Homesteader." He was the first African-American to do so, and served as inspiration for Townsend, as well as Spike Lee, Tim Reid and Carl Franklin, among other filmmakers.

The son of former slaves, Micheaux worked in Chicago as a shoe shine boy while pursuing his dream of being a writer, moving to South Dakota, where he penned several novels, formed his own publishing company and sold copies of his books door to door.

Please read carefully, because while this story is nearly obscure, it should serve as inspiration for every Black person in America today with a dream.

During Micheaux's era, most of the films made were silent, and for the most part, Blacks were silent as well as invisible, save for the buck-dancing, shuffling, demeaning images of self-effacing actors such as Hattie McDaniel and Lincoln Perry, also known as Stepin¹ Fetchit.

Our very relationship with film was initiated with the early "classic," Birth Of A Nation. The "talkies" ushered in the era of Blacks as weak buffoons and idiots or manly mammies when most of the actors were dark-skinned Negroes who continuously bucked their eyes for outlandish comedic and demeaning effect.

Actor Ving Rhames, Keenan Ivory Wayans and other confused Negroes have been outspoken about calling Stepin¹ Fetchit a hero, claiming that the shuffling, foolish actor from the early days of film opened doors for today¹s Black actors. What doors were opened by an embarrassment who claimed his fame by bucking his eyes out of his head in childlike fear, or by speaking in a slow, dull-witted cartoonish voice, designed to provide comedy relief to racists?

There were real doors opened for Blacks, but they came in the form of high quality films with Blacks as protagonists in respectable roles, written by a Black man named Oscar Micheaux.

Micheaux understood the game and as an entrepreneur, knew that he would have to start his own film company in order to get his stories to film. He did just that and launched a successful film business with more than forty-three movies to his credit.

Micheaux's film business was just that--a business. He hired all of the actors, made the movies and even handled his own distribution to the seven hundred-plus Black theatres in existence in the nation at that time. Do I have to repeat that there were more than seven hundred Black theatres in existence before integration?

Currently, Earvin "Magic" Johnson is revolutionary for attempting to rebuild what once was, taking theatres into parts of Black America which haven¹t held first-run theatres in decades. His revolution is to build the future by revisiting the past.

Today, generations after Oscar Micheaux¹s revolution in film making, it makes no sense for anyone to say that they are taking a demeaning role because there is nothing else, or that they have to avoid their dream because it is simply unavailable. Micheaux was not a rich man, but he was able to accomplish his dreams by relying on resources found within his own community.

In order to generate funding for his films, Micheaux began shopping the concept of an all-Black film to the Black theatres and asking for payment in advance, which he would use to make the film.

Micheaux wanted to make Black films with positive roles for Black actors. Think about that the next time you are in front of the television when the new House Niggers make everyone laugh on UPN or when the latest film featuring Blacks over-exaggerating their own behavior for a punchline rolls through Hollywood for a bellylaugh at us.

If we were controlling our own images, we would not have to worry about what anyone thinks about us. We would be the heroes as well as the villains, the lovers as well as the thieves and defining those roles ourselves. Further, the good roles wouldn¹t be relegated to a handful of shining Black princes and princesses who refuse to clown their race for a punchline and a paycheck.

As I always assert, if we wish to move beyond our present, we have only to revisit our past. Let¹s make Black history a part of the Black future.




			THE BRIDGE: Black History In Film By Darryl James It¹s Black History Month all over the nation, so I thought it appropriate to provide a Black History lesson. In the movie Hollywood Shuffle, film maker Robert Townsend attempted to deal with Blacks who play demeaning roles in films just to get paid. Townsend's character admonished the "sellouts" with the tagline: "There is always work at the post office." That statement is very true indeed. The defending line for every demeaning role in the history of film, from Hattie McDaniels all the way to the new "Blaxploitation" era of today is that for many Black actors, these are the only roles available. Yet, no one is forced to take a demeaning role in film, or to work for wages not to scale and in fact, there have been Blacks participating in the independent side of film for a very long time. The difference between African Americans and nearly every other ethnic group in American is that we have done a poor job of controlling our own image. We can take control of our own image by taking control of the manufacturing and distribution of our own films. For all the ranting and raving I do about Black-owned businesses and how integration hurt us in many ways, I always get confused looks and questions from the people who have no idea that we were making things happen in a real way when we had real Black communities with real Black commerce. One such shining example was a Black man from Metropolis, Illinois named Oscar Micheaux, who in 1919, made his own full-length feature film from his novel called "The Homesteader." He was the first African-American to do so, and served as inspiration for Townsend, as well as Spike Lee, Tim Reid and Carl Franklin, among other filmmakers. The son of former slaves, Micheaux worked in Chicago as a shoe shine boy while pursuing his dream of being a writer, moving to South Dakota, where he penned several novels, formed his own publishing company and sold copies of his books door to door. Please read carefully, because while this story is nearly obscure, it should serve as inspiration for every Black person in America today with a dream. During Micheaux's era, most of the films made were silent, and for the most part, Blacks were silent as well as invisible, save for the buck-dancing, shuffling, demeaning images of self-effacing actors such as Hattie McDaniel and Lincoln Perry, also known as Stepin¹ Fetchit. Our very relationship with film was initiated with the early "classic," Birth Of A Nation. The "talkies" ushered in the era of Blacks as weak buffoons and idiots or manly mammies when most of the actors were dark-skinned Negroes who continuously bucked their eyes for outlandish comedic and demeaning effect. Actor Ving Rhames, Keenan Ivory Wayans and other confused Negroes have been outspoken about calling Stepin¹ Fetchit a hero, claiming that the shuffling, foolish actor from the early days of film opened doors for today¹s Black actors. What doors were opened by an embarrassment who claimed his fame by bucking his eyes out of his head in childlike fear, or by speaking in a slow, dull-witted cartoonish voice, designed to provide comedy relief to racists? There were real doors opened for Blacks, but they came in the form of high quality films with Blacks as protagonists in respectable roles, written by a Black man named Oscar Micheaux. Micheaux understood the game and as an entrepreneur, knew that he would have to start his own film company in order to get his stories to film. He did just that and launched a successful film business with more than forty-three movies to his credit. Micheaux's film business was just that--a business. He hired all of the actors, made the movies and even handled his own distribution to the seven hundred-plus Black theatres in existence in the nation at that time. Do I have to repeat that there were more than seven hundred Black theatres in existence before integration? Currently, Earvin "Magic" Johnson is revolutionary for attempting to rebuild what once was, taking theatres into parts of Black America which haven¹t held first-run theatres in decades. His revolution is to build the future by revisiting the past. Today, generations after Oscar Micheaux¹s revolution in film making, it makes no sense for anyone to say that they are taking a demeaning role because there is nothing else, or that they have to avoid their dream because it is simply unavailable. Micheaux was not a rich man, but he was able to accomplish his dreams by relying on resources found within his own community. In order to generate funding for his films, Micheaux began shopping the concept of an all-Black film to the Black theatres and asking for payment in advance, which he would use to make the film. Micheaux wanted to make Black films with positive roles for Black actors. Think about that the next time you are in front of the television when the new House Niggers make everyone laugh on UPN or when the latest film featuring Blacks over-exaggerating their own behavior for a punchline rolls through Hollywood for a bellylaugh at us. If we were controlling our own images, we would not have to worry about what anyone thinks about us. We would be the heroes as well as the villains, the lovers as well as the thieves and defining those roles ourselves. Further, the good roles wouldn¹t be relegated to a handful of shining Black princes and princesses who refuse to clown their race for a punchline and a paycheck. As I always assert, if we wish to move beyond our present, we have only to revisit our past. Let¹s make Black history a part of the Black future. What do you think about this article? Click Here Darryl James is a syndicated columnist and the author of three books, including "Bridging The Black Gender Gap," a mini-book series on relationships, which is also the basis of his lectures and seminars. James was awarded the 2004 Non-fiction Award for his book on the Los Angeles Riots at the Seventh Annual Black History Month Book Fair and Conference in Chicago. Darryl can be reached at djames@TheBlackGenderGap.com., and back editions of this column can now be viewed at www.bridgecolumn.com.