Monday, February 8, 2010

A History of Black Cinema





There's a fascinating article up at The Root called 100 Years of Black Cinema. A terrific piece of historical writing, it traces the history of African American made cinema back to the notable figure of Oscar Micheaux, a pioneering writer/director/producer, and back even further to the often overlooked figure of William D. Foster, director of 1912's The Railroad Porter which was the Birth of a Nation of black cinema.

Written by Nsenga Burton, 100 Years of Black Cinema is essential reading for students of American film. Check it out. Good stuff.

1 comment:

shawnak said...

Thanks for linking to this article. It comes on the tail of me watching "Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy," which also offered some rich food for thought.