Race in American film : voices and visions that shaped a nation / Daniel Bernardi and Michael Green, editors.

This expansive three-volume set investigates racial representation in film, providing an authoritative cross-section of the most racially significant films, actors, directors, and movements in American cinematic history. Hollywood has always reflected current American cultural norms and ideas. As such, film provides a window into attitudes about race and ethnicity over the last century. This comprehensive set provides information on hundreds of films chosen based on scholarly consensus of their importance regarding the subject, examining aspects of race and ethnicity in American film through the historical context, themes, and people involved.This three-volume set highlights the most important films and artists of the era, identifying films, actors, or characterizations that were considered racist, were tremendously popular or hugely influential, attempted to be progressive, or some combination thereof. Readers will not only learn basic information about each subject but also be able to contextualize it culturally, historically, and in terms of its reception to understand what average moviegoers thought about the subject at the time of its popularity--and grasp how the subject is perceived now through the lens of history.

Author Notes

Daniel Bernardi , PhD, is professor of cinema at San Francisco State University. Michael Green is professor of film studies and screenwriting at Arizona State University.

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Choice Review

This latest Greenwood omnibus work reviews how race has been depicted in American film. Race is defined as the portrayal of African Americans, Arabs, Asians, Jews, Latinos, and Native Americans as a counter to whiteness and as opposed to ethnicity (e.g., Irish). Edited by film-studies scholars Bernardi (San Francisco State Univ.) and Green (Arizona State Univ.), the volume has 90-plus contributors who have authored its 337 entries. Arranged alphabetically, these signed essays analyze specific films (e.g., Alien, The Help, Song of the South, West Side Story, Scarface) and the careers of specific directors (Steven Spielberg, John Ford, Robert Rodriquez, etc.) and actors (Delores del Rio, Sidney Poitier, Cheech and Chong, etc.). There are also lengthier expositions on genres and subjects, such as interracial buddy films, blackface (also redface and yellowface), the "noble native" figure, white savior films, the role of Jewish Americans in American cinema, and Blaxploitation films. Each essay includes useful see also cross-references and sections headed "further viewing" (films to see) and "further readings" (articles and books to consult). Various indexes help users navigate the three volumes and additional recommended readings. The essays are consistently readable, and the spectrum of film history covered is impressive. Considering the current political climate and racial tensions that divide the US, the set seems an apropos addition to most library collections. North American filmmakers are making progress but, as these essays demonstrate, they still have a long ways to go. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All libraries. All levels. --Joe Arky Badics, Eastern Michigan University

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