African American women in the silent film era

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During the beginning stages of film, African American people indeed partook in the early film industry. Specifically, African American women played a very influential role and made an impact on cinema during the silent film era.

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The American film industry can be viewed as one of America's best creations. Cinema was not only enormously popular but was tremendously powerful. It was economically powerful by being one of the most profitable industries but it was also socially and politically powerful through the types of representations and portrayals of types of people that were being displayed in the media. This visual medium has the power to tell stories and depict narratives.

History of film

Technology advancement

This tool was utilized to capture a still photograph of an image in real life. The following theory was configuring how to take that still image and transform it into a moving image. The first introduction to motion picture history was through the creation of the kinetoscope invented in 1893 by a man named William Kennedy Dickson, an assistant of famous American inventor Thomas Edison. And through that invention the cinematograph was invented in 1895 by the Lumière brothers. These inventions opened the gates for the future of film industry and created the art of film making. The concept of motion picture was almost unfathomable but it gained such a huge popularity amongst people. The birth of cinema originated in the mid-late 1800s, through the advancement of the invention called a camera. The film industry became very popular and still is one of the greatest forms of American entertainment as of today.

Important people

The film industry were initially predominately controlled by white men. White men were the ones who had power when it came to how certain images and stereotypes were portrayed. African Americans were not often given a chance to advance in the film industry because of prejudice and institutional racism that stemmed from American history as it relates to slavery. The way that society felt about African Americans enforced these negative images and stereotypes of African Americans. The best way for African Americans to break those negative stereotypes was to create positive ones and take control over the type of content and portrayal that was being pushed in the media. For better representation, is to create the representations. Both African American women and men took part taking the role of the director, producer and screenwriter of films created by film companies that gave African Americans a chance. Influential women such as Dorothy Davenport and Maria P. Williams worked very hard to break female and racial stereotypes. Eloyce King Patrick Gist is recognized as the first African American woman filmmaker. She was born on October 21, 1892 and died in 1974. She worked besides her husband in films such as Hell Bound Train (1929-1930) and Verdict Not Guilty (1930-1933). [1] According to The Library of Congress publication on silent era women behind the camera, the role of an editor was viewed as a women's job. During this time, women were still viewed as primarily having a role inside of the home and wasn't initially recognized as having the intelligence to hold powerful positions; especially in film. But it was these pioneers who helped shift and change the stereotypical image of not only women or African Americans in America but African American women. Their aim was to shift the negative perspective and bring positive depiction. African American women had a great influence on the silent film era. The concept of race in America was and still is very influential in America in terms of social equality.

Silent film era

The Silent film era in the United States was from 1912 to 1922. [ dubious – discuss ] To capture an idea or concept without sound simply just an image is an art form within itself and requires a lot of time effort and skill. Silent film was an art form within an art form because it was able to tell a story with only motion picture, without sound. But with the new technological advancement of audio on motion picture, silent films seemed to have quickly disappeared soon after the sound was introduced to film. Which makes them so difficult to find because very few still exist today. [2] “There is no single number for existing American silent-era feature films, as the surviving copies vary in format and completeness” (Pierce, pg.1) There are silent films that would only some portions of it that have survived such as its title, but would be missing one or two reels of film. Only 2,749 (25%) of American silent feature films survive in complete form. Another 562 (17% of the surviving titles and 5% of total production) (Pierce, pg. 6) survive in incomplete form.

In the silent film industry, women were not just screen actresses in the silent era (Gaines & Vatsal). Women had more participation in the film industry in a wider sense than perceived. Some women held the role of not only the predictable costume designer, which was a role based on gender-typing, but twenty-nine different positions. Some include film editor, camera operator, colorist, reader, script girl and even the casting director. Some worked their way up to become directors, producers, and writers of films as well.

Like most media, the type of stories that were being told in films had a direct correlation to the current events that were occurring at the time. In film, the director, producer, and writer are the key components of production. A majority of film industry position holders were white males. In films that would include other races, and ethnicities, these roles would often still be played by white males. They were the ones in power of the type of representation that other races in particular, African Americans were being depicted. Due to the racial issues that was occurring in the United States, these depictions of Blacks were from a single perspective. Their perspective of African Americans was promoted by negative stereotypical views of this group of people as being “less than” and “second-class citizens”. The only way to change these perspective was to get in the position of the filmmaker and create their own stories through film. African American men began to create films to provide an authentic view of Black life in America, and the Black lifestyle. But it was usually their wives who were aiding them and essentially co-directing, co-producing and co-writing their work.

In the United States women, especially African American women, were underrepresented and there were a few African American women who are pioneers of the filmmaking industry. Among them include Alice B. Russell, Eslanda Robeson, Eloyce King Patrick Gist, Zora Neale Hurston, Tressie Souders, Madame E. Toussaint Welcome, Mrs. M. Webb and Birdie Gilmore.

Related Research Articles

Feminist film theory is a theoretical film criticism derived from feminist politics and feminist theory influenced by Second Wave Feminism and brought about around the 1970s in the United States. With the advancements in film throughout the years feminist film theory has developed and changed to analyse the current ways of film and also go back to analyse films past. Feminists have many approaches to cinema analysis, regarding the film elements analyzed and their theoretical underpinnings.

Film stock Medium used for recording motion pictures

Film stock is an analog medium that is used for recording motion pictures or animation. It is recorded on by a movie camera, developed, edited, and projected onto a screen using a movie projector. It is a strip or sheet of transparent plastic film base coated on one side with a gelatin emulsion containing microscopically small light-sensitive silver halide crystals. The sizes and other characteristics of the crystals determine the sensitivity, contrast and resolution of the film. The emulsion will gradually darken if left exposed to light, but the process is too slow and incomplete to be of any practical use. Instead, a very short exposure to the image formed by a camera lens is used to produce only a very slight chemical change, proportional to the amount of light absorbed by each crystal. This creates an invisible latent image in the emulsion, which can be chemically developed into a visible photograph. In addition to visible light, all films are sensitive to X-rays and high-energy particles. Most are at least slightly sensitive to invisible ultraviolet (UV) light. Some special-purpose films are sensitive into the infrared (IR) region of the spectrum.

Silent film Film with no synchronized recorded dialogue

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound. Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements or key lines of dialogue may, when necessary, be conveyed by the use of title cards.

Special effect Illusions or tricks to change appearance

Special effects are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual world.

Stock character Literary or social stereotype used to create characters or determine their role in a story

A stock character is a stereotypical fictional person or type of person in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of stock characters, covering men and women of various ages, social classes and demeanors. They are archetypal characters distinguished by their simplification and flatness. As a result, they tend to be easy targets for parody and to be criticized as clichés. The presence of a particular array of stock characters is a key component of many genres, and they often help to identify a genre or subgenre. For example, a story with a knight-errant and a witch is probably a fairy tale or fantasy.

Cinematography Art of motion picture photography

Cinematography is the art of motion picture photography.

Mammy stereotype USA historical stereotype

A mammy, also spelled mammie, is a U.S. historical stereotype, originating from the South, depicting black women who work in a white family and nurse the family's children. The fictionalized mammy character is often visualized as a larger-sized, dark-skinned woman with a motherly personality. The origin of the mammy figure stereotype is rooted in the history of slavery in the United States. Black slave women were tasked with domestic and childcare work in white American slaveholding households. The mammy stereotype was inspired by these domestic workers. The mammy caricature was used to create a false narrative of black women being happy within slavery or within a role of servitude. Though there were women who worked within the domestic roles like maid or caregiver, there is no real evidence that there were women who existed within the mammy stereotype. The mammy stereotype associates black women with domestic roles, and has played a role in limiting job opportunities for black women.

Lost film Feature or short film that is no longer known to exist

A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress.

This article contains a list of cinematic techniques that are divided into categories and briefly described.

Color motion picture film

Color motion picture film refers both to unexposed color photographic film in a format suitable for use in a motion picture camera, and to finished motion picture film, ready for use in a projector, which bears images in color.

Stereotypes of African Americans Generalizations and stereotypes linked to racism against African Americans

Stereotypes of African Americans and their culture have evolved within American society dating back to the period of African enslavement during the colonial era. These stereotypes are largely connected to the persistent racism and discrimination faced by African Americans residing in the United States.

Film Sequence of images that give the impression of movement, stored on film stock

A film, also called a movie, motion picture or moving picture, is a work of visual art used to simulate experiences that communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images. These images are generally accompanied by sound, and more rarely, other sensory stimulations. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to filmmaking and the film industry, and to the art form that is the result of it.

Racism in early American film is the negative depiction of racial groups, racial stereotypes, and racist ideals in classical Hollywood cinema from the 1910s to the 1960s.

William D. Foster, sometimes referred to as Bill Foster, was a pioneering African-American film producer who was an influential figure in the Black film industry in the early 20th century, along with others such as Oscar Micheaux laying the groundwork for the modern black film industry. He was the first African American to found a film production company, establishing the Foster Photoplay Company in Chicago in 1910. Foster had a vision for the African-American community to portray themselves as they wanted to be seen, not as someone else depicted them. He was influenced by the black theater community and wanted to break the racial stereotyping of blacks in film. He was an actor and writer under the stage name Juli Jones, as well as an agent for numerous vaudeville stars. His film The Railroad Porter, released in 1912, is credited as being the world's first film with an entirely black cast and director. The film is also credited with being the first black newsreel, featuring images of a YMCA parade. Foster's company produced four films that were silent shorts.

The representation of African Americans in media – speech, writing, still or moving pictures – has been a major concern in mainstream American culture and a component of media bias in the United States.

Since the transition into the modern-day gay rights movement, homosexuality has appeared more frequently in American film and cinema.

Media and gender refers to the relationship between mass media and gender, and how gender is represented within media platforms. These platforms include but are not limited to film, radio, television, advertisement, social media, and video games. Initiatives and resources exist to promote gender equality and reinforce women's empowerment in the media industry and representations. For example, UNESCO, in cooperation with the International Federation of Journalists, elaborated the Gender-sensitive Indicators for Media contributing to gender equality and women's empowerment in all forms of media.

Arabs are portrayed in film as film characters in both Arab films as well as non-Arab films, and both Arabs and non-Arabs take the role of an Arab. These portrayals often depict an ethnocentric perception of Arabs rather than an authentic and realistic depiction of Arabic cultures, religions, dialects, as well as customs and traditions. Common characteristics that are implemented in the role of Arab characters include speaking in a heavy accent, being hostile and vicious, and are in the context of terrorism. Key issues that have been explored in these portrayals include how Arabs are identified in mainstream Hollywood film, how Arabs self-represent themselves in their own film, with examples from Egyptian cinema, Palestinian cinema, as well as Syrian cinema. This article will also cover the emphasis on Islamophobia and its impacts on film. There has also been the portrayal of Arab women in film, the portrayal of Arabs post 9/11, the portrayal of Arabs in silent film, and positive portrayals and negative portrayals of Arabs. Lastly, the United States efforts to avoid the stereotyping of Muslims/Arabs and shifting the focus onto a positive outlook.

Womens suffrage in film

Women's suffrage, the legal right of women to vote, has been depicted in film in a variety of ways since the invention of narrative film in the late nineteenth century. Some early films satirized and mocked suffragists and Suffragettes as "unwomanly" "man-haters," or sensationalized documentary footage. Suffragists countered these depictions by releasing narrative films and newsreels that argued for their cause. After women won the vote in countries with a national cinema, women's suffrage became a historical event depicted in both fiction and nonfiction films.

References

  1. ↑ Morgan, Kyna; Dixon, Aimee. "Eloyce King Patrick Gist". Women Film Pioneers Project. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  2. ↑ Pierce, David. "The Survival of American Silent Films:1912-1929" (PDF). Council on Library and Information Resources And the Library of Congress.
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