Black Film As Genre

by Thomas Cripps

The history, roots, characteristics, and themes of the black film genre are illuminated in analyses of six films including The Scar of Shame, The St. Louis Blues, and Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

184 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1978

About the author

Thomas R. Cripps was an emeritus professor at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Reviews

[Daniel Kleven]

A fascinating look at Black cinema through a deep dive into 6 films, and includes a lengthy filmography spanning from 1916 to 1977. Originally published in 1978, obviously a lot has happened since then, but this was a great introduction to an earlier phase of Black film, and Cripps attempts to understand what the "genre" of Black film might be.

I should add that Cripps was a professor at Morgan State, an HBCU in Baltimore, so he had an abiding interest in the subject.

[Bill]

A groundbreaking study for its time. It has since been critiqued numerous times, but is widely acknowledged as the foundation for a growing body of black film scholarship.

[Dennis Greene]

An interesting study of African American film.