
Fade In, Crossroads
A History of the Southern Cinema
Robert Jackson(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 13. July 2017
Book
Hardback
344 pages
978-0-19-066017-8 (ISBN)
Description
Fade In, Crossroads is a history of the relations between southerners and motion pictures from the silent era to midcentury. Examining the ways in which the South contributed to the development of the film medium from the late nineteenth century through the golden age of Hollywood, it sheds light on early production centers within the region, such as Jacksonville, Florida and Asheville, North Carolina. It also explores the migration of millions of black and white southerners beyond the South to such destinations as Los Angeles, and their impact on the industry. Fade In, Crossroads tells the story of how the rise and fall of the American film industry coincided with the rise and fall of the South's most important modern product and export: Jim Crow segregation.
This work details the varied encounters of southern literary figures including William Faulkner, Richard Wright, and many others with the medium as viewers, screenwriters, critics, and filmmakers, and considers the medium's influence on their literary writings. It takes a crucial look at southern historical legacies on film: the prolific Civil War film tradition; the notorious tradition of lynching films during an era of widespread lynching in the South; and the remarkable race film industry, whose independent African American filmmakers forged an important cinematic tradition in response to the racial limitations of both the South and Hollywood. Fade In, Crossroads also maps the influence of film on future participants in the Civil Rights Movement, from prominent leaders such as Martin Luther King and Thurgood Marshall to film-industry veterans like Lena Horne and Paul Robeson to the millions of ordinary people, black and white, who found themselves caught up in the struggle for racial equality in the modern United States.
This work details the varied encounters of southern literary figures including William Faulkner, Richard Wright, and many others with the medium as viewers, screenwriters, critics, and filmmakers, and considers the medium's influence on their literary writings. It takes a crucial look at southern historical legacies on film: the prolific Civil War film tradition; the notorious tradition of lynching films during an era of widespread lynching in the South; and the remarkable race film industry, whose independent African American filmmakers forged an important cinematic tradition in response to the racial limitations of both the South and Hollywood. Fade In, Crossroads also maps the influence of film on future participants in the Civil Rights Movement, from prominent leaders such as Martin Luther King and Thurgood Marshall to film-industry veterans like Lena Horne and Paul Robeson to the millions of ordinary people, black and white, who found themselves caught up in the struggle for racial equality in the modern United States.
Reviews / Votes
[A] comprehensive study of the cinema of the American South...meticulously researched. * Keith Hopper, Times Literary Supplement *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
38 Halftone, 1 Line art
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
678 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-066017-8 (9780190660178)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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Book
07/2017
Oxford University Press Inc
€61.60
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E-Book
05/2017
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€26.49
Available for download

E-Book
05/2017
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€26.49
Available for download
Person
Robert Jackson is an James G. Watson Professor of English at the University of Tulsa, where he is also affiliated with programs in Film Studies and African American Studies. Specializing in cultural studies of the modern United States, he works at the intersection of literature, film and media studies, and social history. Among his prior publications is Seeking the Region in American Literature and Culture: Modernity, Dissidence, Innovation (2005).
Content
Introduction At the Crossroads
Chapter 1. This Southern Advent
Chapter 2. Migrant Media
Chapter 3. The Silver Dream Accumulated
Chapter 4. And the War Came
Chapter 5. A Theater of Violence
Chapter 6. The Matter of Treatment
Chapter 7. Pruning Knife Busy
Conclusion Scattering into Every Crossroad
Index
Chapter 1. This Southern Advent
Chapter 2. Migrant Media
Chapter 3. The Silver Dream Accumulated
Chapter 4. And the War Came
Chapter 5. A Theater of Violence
Chapter 6. The Matter of Treatment
Chapter 7. Pruning Knife Busy
Conclusion Scattering into Every Crossroad
Index