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Film Theory and Philosophy$
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Richard Allen and Murray Smith

Print publication date: 1997

Print ISBN-13: 9780198159216

Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011

DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198159216.001.0001

Aesthetics and Politics in Contemporary Black Film Theory

Chapter:
(p. 282 ) 12 Aesthetics and Politics in Contemporary Black Film Theory
Source:
Film Theory and Philosophy
Author(s):

Tommy L. Lott

Publisher:
Oxford University Press
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198159216.003.0013

This chapter aims to question the aesthetic merit of a black film as this is sometimes treated as inseparable from questions regarding the film's political perspective. This chapter makes several considerations on the recent endeavors to meet the demand of a growing number of Hollywood movies by independent black film makers for a more nuanced black film commentary through the definition of independent black cinema and the sweetback debate and black spectatorship. The aspirations of black people are often misrepresented when they are framed to accord with the views of the white mainstream. Critics have objected to the recording of a negative portrayal of black people through inversion. This practice reiterates an ideology designed to mainstream white hegemony.

Keywords:   black film, political perspective, sweetback debate, black spectatorship, white mainstream, inversion

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