Representation of African Americans in Films: Two Significant Periods in Black Film History

Abstract

In my thesis, I am going to analyze three films from two periods which were decisive in black people’s life. These periods are the era of Civil Rights Movement and years of Barack Obama’s presidency. On the one hand, two films Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, made during the period of the Civil Rights Movement, will be subject of my analysis, to show how the ongoing historical and social changes altered the representation of African Americans. In fact, as a result of the movement two kinds of African Americans appeared on the screen. First, a respectable African American, and later a rather masculine black man was portrayed in films. On the other hand, from the 2010s, I am going to analyze Django Unchained to find out what had changed in the representation of blacks when Obama became president.