Film Persona

  Oscar Micheaux's "Birthright" By 1939, Oscar Micheaux was a near-forgotten director of the silent era. His silent films " Within Our Gates " and " Body and Soul " were considered masterworks of silent film. Another film that was considered this, 1924's " Birthright " is now considered lost. He remade the picture in 1939. Because of the new mainstream model of sound pictures, Micheaux could incorporate dialogue to further drive home the themes and ideas found in the film. " Birthright " centers on an educated black man who travels south to build a new school for black youth. While there, he begins to realize the powers of law in the South actively work against the black community. The land he purchases for the school has a hidden clause that prohibits black people from stepping on the premises. The scholar he begins to work for forbids him from dating a "Nigresse," as he believes them to be thieves. The police provide...

  Oscar Micheaux's "The Girl from Chicago" As he kept experimenting with sound, Oscar Micheaux continued to make independent films throughout the 1930s. " The Girl from Chicago ," released in 1932, was a film that centered on a woman who falls in love with an FBI agent who is investigating a local gangster. The film was largely made with amateur actors. It also features many musical moments that incorporate sound, allowing Micheaux to experiment more. The film is notable amongst Micheaux's catalog.

  Oscar Micheaux's "The Exile" Oscar Micheaux is commonly referred to as the Father of Black Cinema. After the advent of sound at the end of the 1920s, filmmakers began to slowly transition to integrating sound in their films. With his 1931 film, " The Exile ," Micheaux created the first ever sound film made by and for black audiences. The film was marketed as a 'mighty epic of modern Negro life."  The film centers on a man named Jean Baptiste who is to marry Edith Duval. Edith has obtained great power in the African-American community after she comes into possession of a Chicago mansion where she was once a servant. Baptiste rejects Edith after he discovers her plans of converting the house into a nightclub. He moves to South Dakota, where he becomes a rancher. Five years later, he falls in love with Agnes, a white woman. Despite their love, he leaves to avoid getting her into trouble. Once back in Chicago, he reunites with Edith. Edith then is murdere...

  Oscar Micheaux's "Body and Soul" With the breakthrough success of his 1920 film " Within Our Gates ," Oscar Micheaux demonstrated his abilities to write and direct his own feature length film. One of the elements of the film was his condemnation of religious ideaology. His critisism seemed to stem from how religious doctrine could manipulate and dissuade them from scientific reason. His 1925 film, " Body and Soul ," seemed to be a continuation of this theme.  Starring Paul Robeson, the film centers on an escape prisoner named Jenkins who seeks refugee in Georgia by passing himself off as a reverend. Jenkins, along with his fellow cellmate, Hinds, steal money from his church's congregation. After spending time with a mother and daughter named Martha Jane and Isabelle, respectively, Isabelle leaves her mother. Martha Jane comes home to find her daughter gone, along with all the money they've been saving. After searching for her, she finds her i...

  Oscar Micheaux's "Within Our Gates" After D.W. Griffith's " The Birth of a Nation " debuted in 1915, anti-black sentiment rose dramatically in the United States. The number of black lynchings and violence against black individuals reached astounding numbers. The sole cause of this racist behavior was not on " The Birth of a Nation " alone, despite it adding more fuel to the already burning fire. Jim Crow laws, the revival of the Ku Klux Kan, and the political power of the Sisters of the Confederacy were factors in the rising numbers of violence against black Americans.  One such black American, Oscar Micheaux, was a renowned writer and novelist. His 1917 novel " The Homesteader " was a semi-autobiographic self-published work that recounted his experiences in a white America. The novel attracted the attention of George Johnson, the manager of the Lincoln Motion Picture Company. Johnson wanted to adapt Micheaux's novel into a film. Ho...

  Abel Gance's "La Roue" In 1923, Abel Gance made a film that centers on the heartbreak of life. The film is about a man who rescues a small orphan from a train accident. After raising the orphan with his son, the man eventually falls in love with his growing daughter. After discovering that his sister is not his sister, the son does the same. The film was meant to display a Shakespearian tragedy on film, incestual romances and all. The film is about how difficult life is. It is about how we continue to suffer over and over again, making all the same mistakes along the way. Life is like a wheel, continuing to turn. With the film, Gance used incredible editing techniques. He would rapidly edit images together to give a greater intensity to a scene. An example of this is when two train cars are about to crash into each other. Gance edits the images rapidly, using a single frame for only a split second. The effect induces a greater anxiety in the audience. This is something ...