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Sidney Poitier wasn’t the first great African-American actor, nor was he the first black actor to be nominated for an Academy Award. What he did do was break the color barrier and gain widespread acceptance by audiences of all races because of his acting abilities and on screen presence.
Sidney Poitier was born in Miami in 1927 to Bahamian parents but was raised on Cat Island in the Bahamas. As a newborn, he weighed only three pounds. His father had a shoebox waiting to bury him in. he, of course, survived. His birth served as a fitting representation for a lifetime of shattering the odds against him. As the youngest of eight children, he grew up in poverty and had little formal education. At the age of thirteen, he dropped out of school to help support his family. At fifteen, he was sent to Miami to live with his brother. After living in Miami for a year, Poitier went to New York. In his first few months in New York, he was so poor that he slept in the washroom of a bus station. With no money (only three dollars in his pocket) and nowhere to live, he lied about his age and enlisted in the army and served as a medical assistant in World War II for a year.
After returning from the war, Poitier auditioned for the American Negro Theatre. Because of his accent, he was laughed at by the producers. He spent the next six months working on his elocution and enunciation skills and returned once again to audition. This time, he was accepted.
Poitier made his Broadway debut in Lysistrata. Four years later, he made his film debut in No Way Out. Throughout the 1950’s, he made some of the most important and controversial movies of the time. In 1951, he addressed the issues of racial inequality overseas in Cry, The Bel...
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...him as "His Excellency Sir Sidney Poitier".
It is impossible to overstate the influence that Sidney Poitier had on African Americans and white Americans in the 1950's and 1960's, as both a role model and image maker. With an integrity that never failed, Poitier broke the color barrier, and forever changed the racial perceptions held by both motion picture audiences and executives in an industry dominated on both sides of the Atlantic by whites.
Bibliography
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/13/newsid_2524000/2524235.stm
Goudsouzian, A. (2004). Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon. Chicago, IL: Lawrence Hill Books.
Keyser, L. J. & Ruszkowski, A. H. (1980). The cinema of Sidney Poitier: the black man’s changing role on the American screen. San Diego, CA: A. S. Barnes.
Poitier, S. (1980). This Life. Toronto: Random House of Canada
Film Historian Donald Bogle, the author of “Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, & Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks in American Films,” offers compelling and informative examples of various stereotypes of African-Americans performers. He emphasizes on historical characteristics of gifted black actors/entertainers; renovating their roles to disseminate specific representations that are significant to the economics and history of America’s shifting environmental circumstances.
Lewis, J. (2008). American Film: A History. New York, NY. W.W. Norton and Co. Inc. (p. 405,406,502).
Ira Aldridge’s early life is one of the reasons why Aldridge was such an important actor. Aldridge was born in New York sometime in 1807 (Evans). When he was a teenager, Aldridge acquired his education at one of New York’s African Free Schools, earning an education most African-Americans did not receive in Aldridge’s time (Evans). In essence, the extra schooling Ira Aldridge received helped him to advance his career, because most African-Americans at the time were still working in low ranking jobs and did not get the opportunity to further themselves as Aldridge did. Aldridge went even further to get into an acting career. The first taste of theatre Ira Aldridge got that sparked his interest was at The African Grove Theatre performi...
The history of Hollywood cinema in the past is marked by the exclusion and marginalization of colored actors, but more and more African American actors have appeared on the Hollywood screen since 1890s. Sydney Poitier is one of them who was perceived as the most important African American integrationist due to his plenty of outstanding works. The film No Way Out is Poitier’s first movie, but audiences can see all the shining points from Doctor Brooks that would make Poitier’s characters laudable for the future decades (Bogle, 2001).
The Birth of a Nation (1915) is one of the most controversial movies ever made in Hollywood, some people even consider it the most controversial movie in the long history of Hollywood. Birth of a Nation focuses on the Stoneman family and their friendship with the Cameron’s, which is put into question due to the Civil War, and both families being on different sides. The whole dysfunction between the families is carried out through important political events such as: Lincoln’s assassination, and the birth of the Ku Klux Kan. D.W. Griffith is the director of the movie, and him being born into a confederate family in the South, the movie portrays the South as noble and righteous men, who are fighting against the evil Yankees from the North, who have black union soldiers among them, whom overtake the town of Piedmont, which leads the KKK to take action and according to the movie become the savior of white During this essay, I will focus on the themes of racial inequality, racism, and the archetypical portrayal of black people in the movie, which are significant, especially during the era when the film was released. Black face in Hollywood was very common, especially during the time the film Birth of a Nation was released.
In Souls of Black folk in 1903, W.E.B. DuBois urged African Americans to aspire to professional careers, fight for their civil rights, and whenever possible get a college education. It was not only important to change the image of the African American for the White people it was important for the African Americans as well. African Americans from the time of slavery wanted to move past the racist images of them that were always being portrayed. Many felt that to be portrayed in a positive way would help to unite them. Also, as more African Americans became skilled, educated, and cultured it would give a sense of hope that in the face of aversion anything could be achieved. This is evidenced by seventeen-year-old African American boy who created and autobiography of his movie going experience as a child. In the autobiography he
Woll, Allen L and Randall M Miller. Ethnic and Racial Images in American Film and Television: Historical Essays and Bibliography. n.d. Print.
Although blacks have won Academy Awards for acting, screenwriting, and music production they still find trouble in getting quality roles within the film industry. (Common Black Stereotypes) Long before television and films were being produced, there were plays and different forms of entertainment where blacks were stereotyped. They were often played by white people in a demoralizing fashion. Over time blacks became seen as the same and that was bad people.
Spike Lee is a filmmaker who has generated numerous controversial films that unapologetically bring delicate social issuest o the media forefront. He honestly portrays life's societal obstacles. He challenges the public to cogitate on the world's glitches and disunion. Spike Lee created a name for himself with films such as Do the Right Thing (1989) and Malcolm X (1992), and with documentaries such as 4 Little Girls (1997) and When the Levees Broke (2006). Lee’s goal was to portray African Americans in a more accurate light. Even today Lee still produces films that directly address modern society's most significant historical movements and episodes. His productions analyze themes of race and discrimination. His work can be analyzed in academic studies such as Philosophy, African Studies, and literary concepts. I am interested in Spike Lee because his craft and career choice is somewhat similar to my future career endeavors. He not only exalted his skills to produce films but he broke barriers of stereotypical Hollywood movies. His works address issues in society such as political, racial, and environmental influences on African American culture. Given that society has evolved into a technology dependent culture; using this talent to visibly shed light to these concerns is an ability I hope to obtain one day.
The first social issue portrayed through the film is racial inequality. The audience witnesses the inequality in the film when justice is not properly served to the police officer who executed Oscar Grant. As shown through the film, the ind...
Often racial injustice goes unnoticed. Television tries to influence the mind of their viewers that blacks and whites get along by putting them on the screen to act as if interracial relationships has been accepted or existent. “At the movies these days, questions about racial injustice have been amicably resolved (Harper,1995). Demott stresses that the entertainment industry put forth much effort to persuade their audience that African Americans and Caucasians are interacting and forming friendships with one another that is ideal enough for them to die for one another. In the text, Demott states “A moment later he charges the black with being a racist--with not liking whites as much as the white man likes blacks--and the two talk frankly about their racial prejudices. Near the end of the film, the men have grown so close that each volunteer to die for the other” (Harper,1995). Film after film exposes a deeper connection amongst different races. In the text, Demott states “Day after day the nation 's corporate ministries of culture churn out images of racial harmony” (Harper, 1995). Time and time again movies and television shows bring forth characters to prove to the world that racial injustice has passed on and justice is now received. Though on-screen moments are noticed by many people in the world it does not mean that a writer/ director has done their
He received a good education and lived a normal life. After his father died, he was forced to live in a run-down neighborhood. He received a good income but did not have enough to qualify him for military service. He became a play writer, and made many friends in the theater where family background didn't matter. Shortly before his 30th birthday, something significant occurred.
Sklar, Robert. Movie-made America: A Social History of American Movies. New York: Random House, 1975. Print.
Brando was by all accounts "difficult" even as a youngster, having been expelled from sev eral schools, including a military academy. Upon being prodded by his father to find some direction for himself, he chose to follow his muse to New York. Brando made his debut on the boards of Broadway. Brando was invited by talent scouts to screen test for the studios they represented, but it came to naught as he refused to be bound by the then-standard seven-year contract. Brando made his screen debut in The Men (1950), studying for his part as an embittered paraplegic by lying in bed for a month at a veterans' hospital.
Reid, M. (2005). Black lenses, Black voices: African American film now. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.