Description
Book SynopsisEithne Quinn reveals how Hollywood catalyzed racial politics in the decade after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, through representation on screen as well as in battles over jobs and resources behind the scenes. Based on extensive archival research and detailed discussions of films, this book examines the limits of Hollywood liberalism.
Trade ReviewQuinn’s conclusion provides the reader with two prescient, convincing, and well-earned macroscopic takeaways. -- AMIR KHAN, Dalian Maritime University, PRC * Historical Journal of Film, Radio, and Television *
Well-written, meticulously researched, critical, and smart,
A Piece of the Action may be the most important book on black American cinema in the last quarter century. Enjoyable and highly informative, this book will quickly emerge as a classic and must-read among those interested in film history, black cinema, race and popular culture, and the sociology of culture. -- S. Craig Watkins, author of
Don't Knock the Hustle: Young Creatives, Tech Ingenuity, and the Making of a New Innovation EconomyA Piece of the Action is a story about the interconnections between white privilege, “colorblind” ideology, and Hollywood business-as-usual practices. With a historian’s nose for detail, Quinn reveals in sharp relief how an industry filled with self-proclaimed white progressives manages to reproduce—to this very day—its infamous legacy of racial exclusion and marginalization. This book is a must-read for anyone hoping to make sense of Hollywood’s integral role in the shaping of American racial politics. -- Darnell M. Hunt, author of
Channeling Blackness: Studies on Television and Race in AmericaQuinn offers a revelatory account of resistance and reaction unfolding in Hollywood between
In the Heat of the Night (1967) and
Blue Collar (1978). She chronicles black creatives struggling to get black experiences on screen and black labor on the set. Powerful and richly insightful,
A Piece of the Action details black filmmakers’ and their white allies’ attempts to counter liberal tokenism and colorblindness only to come up against the industry’s neoconservative retreat from racial and economic justice. -- Judith E. Smith, author of
Becoming Belafonte: Black Artist, Public RadicalTable of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. “The Screen Speaks for Itself”: Institutional Discrimination and the Dawning of Hollywood Postracialism
2. Racializing the Hollywood Renaissance: Black and White Symbol Creators in a Time of Crisis
3. Challenging Jim Crow Crews: Federal Activism and Industry Reaction
4. “Getting the Man’s Foot out of Our Collective Asses”: Black Left Film Producers and the Rise of the Hustler Creative
5. Color-Blind Corporatism: The Black Film Wave and White Revival
Conclusion: Race, Creative Labor, and Reflexivity in Post–Civil Rights Hollywood
Notes
Index
