Black Oscars: From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us about African Americans

by Frederick Gooding Jr.

Overview

A timely exploration of 'scar-nominated Black actors and the complicated legacy of the Academy Awards.

In Black 'scars: From Mammy to Minny, What the Academy Awards Tell Us about African Americans, Frederick W. Gooding Jr. draws on American, African American, and film history to reflect on how the 'scars have recognized Black actors from the award’s inception to the present. Starting in the 1920s, the chapters provide a thorough overview and analysis of Black actors nominated for their Hollywood roles during each decade, with special attention paid to the winners. Historical patterns are scrutinized to reveal racial trends and open the question of whether race relations have truly changed substantively or only superficially over time.

Given the 'scars’ presence and popularity, it begs the question of what these awards reflect and reinforce about larger society. In the meticulously-researched Black 'scars, we see how the Academy Awards are an indispensable guide to understanding race in mainstream Hollywood and beyond.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538123720
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/24/2020
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Frederick W. Gooding Jr. holds the Dr. Ronald E. Moore Professorship in Humanities within the Honors College at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX. He is the author of You Mean, There’s RACE in My Movie? The Complete Guide to Understanding Race in Mainstream Hollywood and American Dream Deferred: Black Federal Workers in Washington, D.C., 1941-1981.

Table of Contents

PART I: INTRODUCTION

Introduction: Setting the Stage: What’s So 'scar Worthy?
Chapter 1: Lights, Camera, Analysis!
Chapter 2: Early Drama behind Early Black Images (1927-1939)

PART II: CONFLICT & CLIMAX

Chapter 3: 'scar’s Uneasy Breakthrough (1940–1949)
Chapter 4: New Roles Not Leading Anywhere (1950-1959)
Chapter 5: Sidney in the Sixties (1960-1969)
Chapter 6: The Blaxploitation Effect (1970–1979)
Chapter 7: The Color Purple through the Bluest Eye (1980–1989)
Chapter 8: The Denzel Effect (1990–1999)
Chapter 9: New Century, New Beginning? (2000-2009)
Chapter 10: 'scars So White (2010–2019)

PART III: CONCLUSION

Conclusion: Have We Seen This Movie Before? A Critical Analysis

Appendices
Appendix A, Black 'scar Nomination and Wins Overview, by Decade
Appendix B, List of All Movies with Black 'scar Nominations
Appendix C, List of All Black 'scar Acting Nominees and Wins
Appendix D, List of All Black, Non-Acting 'scar Winners

Editorial Reviews

Highly Recommended. .. [Gooding] views the process of nominating films and actors for Academy Awards in the context of color. With the exception of chapter 1, the book is arranged chronologically by decade—from 1927–39 to 2000–19. Gooding starts with solid background on early Black roles in film and goes on to discuss the nominations and wins, starting of course with Hattie McDaniel, whose moving and quite humble acceptance speech has inspired actors of color since her 1939 win for her role in Gone with the Wind. Including an extensive bibliography, this book is noteworthy for its solid research and readability.

Choice

Highly Recommended . . . [Gooding] views the process of nominating films and actors for Academy Awards in the context of color. With the exception of chapter 1, the book is arranged chronologically by decade—from 1927–39 to 2000–19. Gooding starts with solid background on early Black roles in film and goes on to discuss the nominations and wins, starting of course with Hattie McDaniel, whose moving and quite humble acceptance speech has inspired actors of color since her 1939 win for her role in Gone with the Wind. Including an extensive bibliography, this book is noteworthy for its solid research and readability.

CHOICE

[Gooding] approaches the subject with clarity and compassion. .. refusing to judge ambitious performers for accepting roles as mammies and slaves or branching out from other fields into acting, while acknowledging that the prevalence of these characterizations and the failure of studios to hire trained black actors causes harm. He not only understands the complexity of the matter, but is able to pick apart the various elements and present them in a compelling matter. His thinking is academic, but he writes with fluidity, making the subject accessible.

A Classic Movie Blog

This rigorous and lively examination of the Black 'scar-winning experience with Hollywood’s exploitation and oppression can easily be one of the most comprehensive [books] for anyone who is interested in the African American experience in film. Brimming with compelling examples and critical analyses, this text not only shows how the industry reinforces and perpetuates racism but also illuminates the ways in which Black artists tirelessly resist such forces in multiple forms of filmic presentation.

An Tuan Nguyen

Highly Recommended. .. [Gooding] views the process of nominating films and actors for Academy Awards in the context of color. With the exception of chapter 1, the book is arranged chronologically by decade—from 1927–39 to 2000–19. Gooding starts with solid background on early Black roles in film and goes on to discuss the nominations and wins, starting of course with Hattie McDaniel, whose moving and quite humble acceptance speech has inspired actors of color since her 1939 win for her role in Gone with the Wind. Including an extensive bibliography, this book is noteworthy for its solid research and readability.

Choice Reviews

[Gooding] approaches the subject with clarity and compassion . . . refusing to judge ambitious performers for accepting roles as mammies and slaves or branching out from other fields into acting, while acknowledging that the prevalence of these characterizations and the failure of studios to hire trained black actors causes harm. He not only understands the complexity of the matter, but is able to pick apart the various elements and present them in a compelling matter. His thinking is academic, but he writes with fluidity, making the subject accessible.

Highly Recommended . . . [Gooding] views the process of nominating films and actors for Academy Awards in the context of color. With the exception of chapter 1, the book is arranged chronologically by decade--from 1927-39 to 2000-19. Gooding starts with solid background on early Black roles in film and goes on to discuss the nominations and wins, starting of course with Hattie McDaniel, whose moving and quite humble acceptance speech has inspired actors of color since her 1939 win for her role in Gone with the Wind. Including an extensive bibliography, this book is noteworthy for its solid research and readability.

This rigorous and lively examination of the Black Oscar-winning experience with Hollywood's exploitation and oppression can easily be one of the most comprehensive [books] for anyone who is interested in the African American experience in film. Brimming with compelling examples and critical analyses, this text not only shows how the industry reinforces and perpetuates racism but also illuminates the ways in which Black artists tirelessly resist such forces in multiple forms of filmic presentation.

From the Publisher