Oscar Micheaux, Revolutionary Filmmaker

by Samuel Nash Essex County College

April 14, 2011

Oscar Micheaux, January 2, 1884 – March 25, 1951

Outline•Biography of Oscar Micheaux (1-2 min)•Films and Books by Oscar Micheaux (2-3 min)•Race Films (1-2 minutes)•How is religion and morality portrayed in his works

Micheaux’s Works The Homesteader (1919). First

feature length film by an African American

Within Our Gates (1920). Response to D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation

Body and Soul (1924). With Paul Robeson.

The Exile (1931). First African American feature length sound film.

The Works of Oscar Micheaux

Micheaux's work was prolific. He produced, directed and distribution more than 40 films during his career. He also published several novels.With Micheaux's success, other black production companies quickly popped up.

Race Movies Race movies or race films was a genre that existed in the United States between about 1915 and 1950. Approximately 500 race films were made during that time period.

They were films produced for an all-black audience, featuring all-black casts, primarily by black directors.

Race movies are of great interest to students of African-American cinema, they have historical significance but they also showcased the talents of actors who were relegated to stereotypical supporting roles in mainstream studio films.

THE BIRTH OF A NATION

D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation1915 Civil War epic, The Birth of a Nation, with its groundbreaking camerawork -- including close-ups, night photography, and tracking shots -- transforms forever the way films are made and images perceivedwww.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/theater/birthofanation_a.html

Stereotypes embodied in the stock characters of blackface minstrels not only played a significant role in cementing and proliferating racist images, attitudes and perceptions worldwide, but also in popularizing black culture. In some quarters, the caricatures that were the legacy of blackface persist to the present day and are a cause of ongoing controversy.

BLACKFACE

News of the lynching spread across the world. Local photographer Lawrence Beitler took what would become the most iconic photograph of lynching in America. The photograph shows two bodies hanging from a tree surrounded by a crowd of ordinary citizens, including women and children. Thousands of copies were made and sold. The photograph helped inspire the poem and song "Strange Fruit" written by Abel Meeropol — and performed around the world by Billie Holiday.

Eighty years ago, two young African-American men, Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith, were lynched in the town center of Marion, Ind. The night before, on Aug. 6, 1930,

STRANGE FRUIT

Only a fraction of his films have been found. “Within Our Gates, The Brute, The Unconquered Symbol, Body and Soul”

Flora Cameron runs away from Gus.library.kiwix.org

 Armand Gridlestone attempts to rape Sylvia Landry. From WITHIN OUR GATES.albany.edu

xroads.virginia.edu

Paul Robeso

n r

Body and Soul “A bold and

controversial film by pioneer filmmaker Oscar Micheaux marked Paul Robeson's screen debut ,and was the only motion picture he made with an African-American director”

Body and Soul was Paul Robeson’s first film in 1930.Robeson played thedual role of two brothers, one a slick preacher and the other-his brotherwho was decent and honest.

Photo Credits •Race Movies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_films•Filmmaker Micheaux countered stereotypes of black America... consultant, one of the first known "race films" was a 1909 documentary commissioned by Booker T. Washington ... Oscar Micheaux's 1938 film "Swing!" will be included in a ...post-gazette.com/magazine/20000202micheaux3.asp

Birth of a Nation www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/theater/birthofanati

on_a.html(p5)•http://www.reasonpad.com/2009/06/the-most-iconic-photographs-ever-

taken/•Photo Courtesy of Lawrence Beitler who took this iconic photograph on August 7, 1930, showing the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith.

Modern-day manifestations en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface -

Booker T. Washington photo courtesy of gardenofpraise.com

Oscar Micheaux the Filmmaker, Revolutionary, and Prophet

If you would like to learn more about the life of Oscar Micheauxor the author, you may contact Samuel Nash 973-803-2817 or e-mailgloriouskingsau@yahoo.com.