Reinterpreting the Past

The slave narrative tradition remains a fertile ground for excavating and visually recontextualizing the lived experiences of formerly enslaved people in the United States. This book explores how the slave narrative tradition appears in cinematic offerings directed by persons of African descent. Films and directors analyzed include Nate Parker's The Birth of a Nation, Kasi Lemmons' Harriet, Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave, Antoine Fuqua's Emancipation, Ryan Coogler's Sinners, Haile Gerima's Sankofa, Gerald Bush's and Christopher Renz's Antebellum, and Jordan Peel's Get Out. This book provides an original approach for studying the slave narrative tradition using a modern lens. It contains a useful bibliography and filmography. The key audience for the book is researchers and teachers interested in media studies, Black History, Cultural Studies, and Education