1.Screening: Ethnic Notions (dir. Marlon Riggs, 1985, 55 mins.)

Reading: Bogle—Chapter 1: Black Beginnings: From Uncle Tom’s cabin to Birth of the Nation

·          Diwara—” Black Spectatorship: Problems of Identification and Resistance” In Diawara, p.211-220.  BB

·       Snead–“Images of Blacks in Black Independent Films: A Brief Survey” BB

2.Screen: Sweet Sweetback’s Baaadassss Song (dir. Melvin Van Peebles, 1974, 90 mins

·        Baaadassss Cinema (dir. Isaac Julien, 2004,58mins

Reading: Massood—“Cotton in the City: The Black Ghetto, Blaxploitation, and Beyond.”BB

Choose one topic you like. Please follow the instructions. And give me a 1-page proposal first.

Your paper will be based on one of the course films or filmmakers of your choice. Develop a thesis concerning the critical and analytical issues related to style, genre, race, class, gender, sexuality, politics, capitalism, nation or other social/cultural issues as related to the film. Draw on articles, literature, interviews, historical studies and visual sources for your material.

Paper Proposal

1.    Brief description (one-half page) of your proposed final research project, including its central argument or thesis.

2.    In developing your thesis, see above paragraph for context and details

3.    Bibliography including at least five sources

4.    Length of Proposal: 1-page