Description
Book SynopsisBlack women and Hollywood in the pre-Civil Rights era
Trade ReviewRegester's work is an important synthesis of previous studies in the fields of film studies and history. Vol. 98.1, June 2011
* The Journal of American History *
African American Actresses is an important addition to film history, film studies, and African American studies because it illuminates those who were often invisible. Regester's historical work is to be lauded as it uncovers significant information.
* Black Camera *
What Regester does well is present a holistic portrait of the lives of these women. She fuses both the personal and the professional into this narrative. Reviews of films, personal statements by the actresses to the press, and newspaper articles referencing the actresses' private lives provide the reader with a behind the scenes portrait of their struggles. Vol. 23 Issue 2, 2011
* Film History *
A major tribute to nine talented black actresses and their complicated negotiations with white mainstream entertainment industry before Civil Rights, African American Actresses is an invaluable asset for students of ethnicity and race in Hollywood. Not only does Regester bring the early twentieth century American racial scene alive by detailing the politics that informed choices and roles of African American women actors, she also contributes richly to studies of stardom as refracted by the socio-cultural and political status of black people and women in America.
* Scope *
An exemplary study of race in US cinema, this is easily the best book on the subject to date. . . . Essential.
* Choice *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. Madame Sul-Te-Wan: The Struggle for Visibility
2. Nina Mae McKinney: Early Success and Tumultuous Career
3. Louise Beavers: Negotiating Racial Difference
4. Fredi Washington: The Masquerades and the Masks
5. Hattie McDaniel: Centering the Margin
6. Lena Horne: Actress and Activist
7. Hazel Scott: Resistance to Othering
8. Ethel Waters: Personification of Otherness
9. Dorothy Dandridge: Intertwining the Reel and the Real
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
