VM100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Oscar Micheaux, Vincente Minnelli, King Vidor
1 Jul 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
VM100
Semester #1 Lecture #9
Prof. Michael Selig
Imitation of Life
Representations of black subjectivity/desire
-Black stereotypes but emotional responses, white paternal has progressive attitude towards
race relations
-Louise Beavers known for playing characters
-Spectator positioning: In sympathy (not ‘identification’ or ‘alignment’)
-Addressing characters instead of racial relationships
Hollywood and all-black cast short films- Late 1920s-1930s, “jazz” series by paramount
-Symphony in black
All black Hollywood features- Hallelujah (1929, MGM), dir. King Vidor, Cabin in the Sky (1943)
dir. Vincente Minnelli, Stormy Weather (1943) with Lena Horne
Race Films- Teens through WWII, over 500 features, produced by black and white producers,
for segregated black audiences
-Midnight rambles- white theaters opening doors for black audiences late at night
-Almost all of the black owned companies put out of business by cost of sync-sound film
Historical Context for Development of Films- Intellectual figures such as WEB DuBois, Marcus
Garvey and Booker T. Washington
Social and Cultural Context- Migration to industrial north (early 1900s), Jim Crow legislation/
segregation, Harlem Renaissance
-Lincoln Motion Picture Co. (Silents), success until sound
-Oscar Micheaux- Most prolific and successful, over 40 features from 1919-1948, well into the
silent era!
-God’s step children- Micheaux film similar to Imitation of Life
Domestic Melodrama vs. theatrical melodrama!
Also known as ‘women’s pictures’,
-Narrative determined by female subjectivity and desire
-Irreconcilable desires…and an unhappy ending?
Example: Career vs. family career vs. romance, romance vs. family, public vs. private spheres
of life- women pursuing something in one that causes risks in the other
Dark victory- Domestic melodrama oil
Depression-era Hollywood films- Fantasies of economic success, fantasy in spectacle of wealth:
sets and costumes, narrative fantasy of economic success
The “talkie” style- Long take, medium two-shot style so characters can talk to each other
-Talkies vs. contrapuntal sound- Contrapuntal is a more imaginative way to use sound, sound is
a counterpoint to image
Document Summary
Black stereotypes but emotional responses, white paternal has progressive attitude towards race relations. Spectator positioning: in sympathy (not identi cation" or alignment") Hollywood and all-black cast short lms- late 1920s-1930s, jazz series by paramount. All black hollywood features- hallelujah (1929, mgm), dir. King vidor, cabin in the sky (1943) dir. Vincente minnelli, stormy weather (1943) with lena horne. Race films- teens through wwii, over 500 features, produced by black and white producers, for segregated black audiences. Midnight rambles- white theaters opening doors for black audiences late at night. Almost all of the black owned companies put out of business by cost of sync-sound lm. Historical context for development of films- intellectual gures such as web dubois, marcus. Social and cultural context- migration to industrial north (early 1900s), jim crow legislation/ segregation, harlem renaissance. Lincoln motion picture co. (silents), success until sound. Oscar micheaux- most proli c and successful, over 40 features from 1919-1948, well into the silent era!
