THE HOLLYWOOD DREAM FACTORY AND AMERICAN REALITIES

An interactive presentation at Beijing University

By Dr. Harold (Hal) Weaver

17 May 2002

 

I. Introduction: Defining, “Hollywood dream factory”.

II. Demystification of Hollywood, a brief review

Industry

Production

Distribution (wholesale)

Exhibition (retail)

Art form

Images (camera angle, camera movement, subject movement,

      decors/costumes, film stock (color vs. black and white)

Sound (music, dialogue/narration, sound effects, silence)

Editing (mis-en-scene, invisible, montage)

Communications medium

III. Representation of African Americans in Hollywood films/History on Film

Persistent Stereotypes

Donald Bogle (1973): Toms, Coons, Bucks, Mammies, Mulattos

Marlon Riggs (Ethnic Notions, 1987): Loyal Toms, carefree Sambos, faithful Mammies, grinning Coons, wide-eyed Pickaninnies

The African American Freedom Movement

Distortion of history by commission

Distortion of history by omission (banned from U.S. T.V.) Paul Robeson: American artist and world citizen.

Artist: screen and stage actor, concert singer, recording artist

Artist as political activist on behalf of human rights: banned, censored, passport lifted

IV. Conclusion

Clips will be drawn from films on the following list: MALCOLM X (Spike Lee, 1992), ETHNIC NOTIONS (Marlon Riggs, 1987), MISSISSIPPI BURNING (Alan Parker, 1988), FREEDOM ON MY MIND (Connie Field and Marilyn Mulford, 1994), DO THE RIGHT THING (Spike Lee, 1989), MAKING OF DO THE RIGHT THING (St. Clair Bourne, 1989), PAUL ROBESON: TRIBUTE TO AN ARTIST (Saul 1978), and FOUR LITTLE GIRLS (Spike Lee, 1997)

 

Dr. Harold (Hal) Weaver, Curator, The ChinaFilm Project at the Harvard Film Archive, and Fellow, W.E. B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research, Harvard University, and Founder/Director, CINE’-FEST PLUS and IMAGES. E-mail address: weaverhal@yahoo.com .