Description
Book SynopsisBette Davis’s career becomes a vehicle for a deep examination of American race relations.
Trade Review"A prescient book about white people who mean well but fall short . . . There is no other book in which the author takes herself as the object of reception study and, in so doing, exposes the lived aspect of the US race and class divide. The reader who is initially drawn to this book because of a fascination with stardom will find a deeply insightful, impeccably researched study of American culture."--Jane Gaines, author of Pink-Slipped: What Happened to Women in the Silent Film Industries? "A unique take on the work of Bette Davis, Bette Davis Black and White is important not only for extending an understanding of the actor's racial politics, attitudes and practices, but also for raising the profile of several important, but largely unknown, Black supporting actors. This book will appeal strongly to scholars of race, twentieth-century American history, film audiences, and fan studies."--Martin Shingler, author of Star Studies: A Critical Guide
Table of ContentsHistorical Note Chapter 1 Introduction: Black and White Chapter 2 Little Foxes and Little Brown Wrens Chapter 3 The Poetics of Color in Jezebel Chapter 4 Melodramas of Blood in In This Our Life Chapter 5 The Whiteness of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Chapter 6 Bette Davis Black and White Acknowledgments Notes Index
