Josephine Baker's Cinematic Prism

by Terri Simone Francis

Josephine Baker, the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, was both liberated and delightfully undignified, playfully vacillating between allure and colonialist stereotyping. 
 
Nicknamed the "Black Venus," "Black Pearl," and "Creole Goddess," Baker blended the sensual and the comedic when taking 1920s Europe by storm. Back home in the United States, Baker's film career brought hope to the Black press that a new cinema centered on Black glamour would come to fruition. In  Josephine Baker's Cinematic Prism , Terri Simone Francis examines how Baker fashioned her celebrity through cinematic reflexivity, an authorial strategy in which she placed herself, her persona, and her character into visual dialogue. Francis contends that though Baker was an African American actress who lived and worked in France exclusively with a white film company, white costars, white writers, and white directors, she holds monumental significance for African American cinema as the first truly global Black woman film star. Francis also examines the double-talk between Baker and her characters in  Le Pompier de Folies Bergère ,  La Sirène des Tropiques ,  Zou Zou , Princesse Tam Tam , and The French Way, whose narratives seem to undermine the very stardom they offered. In doing so, Francis artfully illuminates the most resonant links between emergent African American cinephilia, the diverse opinions of Baker in the popular press, and African Americans' broader aspirations for progress toward racial equality. 
 
Examining an unexplored aspect of Baker's career,  Josephine Baker's Cinematic Prism  deepens the ongoing conversation about race, gender, and performance in the African diaspora.

Genres: Paris, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

Published January 19, 2021

Reviews

[Steve Brown]

I often say that "This book, conference, or speech was good because it made me want to learn more about the subject." Well, I stopped reading this book about 10 pages in to go find some footage of Ms. Baker and add a couple of her films to my watch list. At that point, I realized the author already had me hooked.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style. I could feel her love and admiration for Josephine Baker play out on every page. I appreciated the way the author embraced Beyonce's homage to Baker during a live rendition of déjà vu in 2006 as well as remembered Dianna Ross' tribute to her in the '70's. The list of performers Ms. Baker has inspired is noteworthy.

It's interesting how her work 100 years ago and still today brings about disagreement as to whether her work is worthy of praise for being empowering or scorn for being exploited.

Baker's life serves as a backdrop for American and French history at the time noting how the French felt superior for being open to black performers, while hypocritically still having colonies around the globe. It was also interesting to see how Baker's career compared to Saarjtie Baartman's. Admittedly, I didn't even know who Baatman was, but found myself researching her as well.

In the end, this was not a quick or easy read but a very worthwhile one. I knew almost nothing about Josephine Baker, nor her historical context, and therefore often found myself curious enough to stop and watch video clips or look up some of the people referenced in the book. I'm grateful to the author for exposing me Josephine Baker and to a world unknown to me.

Note: I've downloaded a bunch of free, (mostly) random, pre-releases of books with the idea of expanding my range and helping authors get reviews. #netgalley #JosephineBakersCinematicPrism

[Melissa Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josephine Baker's Cinematic Prism is a well researched and thorough telling of Baker's impact both in the scope of the arts and civil rights as a whole. I personally had no idea of the scope of her craft and it was enlightening to read about. The author weaves in background information on topics focused on the arts for those that may be unfamiliar for example with various forms of burlesque which I appreciated.

My only criticism is that it reads more like a textbook than a biography. I was hoping for a little more poetic description of, for example, scenes mentioned based on the description of the book, beautiful cover, and ties to the arts.

[Cam's Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Josephine Baker's Cinematic Prism by Terri S. Francis is a throughly researched story of Baker's impact & influence both in the art/dance world and the Civil Rights Movement.

I agree with another reviewer that it does read more like a textbook than a biography. It’s a bit unfortunate because, as a full time graduate student, I was hoping to take a break from the academic life for a moment & relax. Beautiful book tho, nonetheless.

[Shannan Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well researched book into the life of one of the greatest entertainers to grace us, the Legendary, Ms. Josephine Baker. Once I got through the introduction section, I was able to enjoy the book. Although it does read like a textbook,, and I've read other book regarding her life, there were some things that I was not aware of while reading this book. It is well worth the read, especially if you want to know more about her. This was such a very good read.