Red, White & Black ：Cinema and the Structure of U.S. Antagonisms ( 1 )

Publication subTitle ：Cinema and the Structure of U.S. Antagonisms

Publication series ：1

Author： Frank B. Wilderson III  

Publisher： Duke University Press‎

Publication year： 2010

E-ISBN: 9780822391715

P-ISBN(Paperback): 9780822347019

P-ISBN(Hardback):  9780822346920

Subject： J9 Movies, TV

Keyword： Minorities in motion pictures., Race in motion pictures., African Americans in motion pictures., Indians in motion pictures., Motion pictures -- United States -- History.

Language： ENG

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Description

Red, White & Black is a provocative critique of socially engaged films and related critical discourse. Offering an unflinching account of race and representation, Frank B. Wilderson III asks whether such films accurately represent the structure of U.S. racial antagonisms. That structure, he argues, is based on three essential subject positions: that of the White (the “settler,” “master,” and “human”), the Red (the “savage” and “half-human”), and the Black (the “slave” and “non-human”). Wilderson contends that for Blacks, slavery is ontological, an inseparable element of their being. From the beginning of the European slave trade until now, Blacks have had symbolic value as fungible flesh, as the non-human (or anti-human) against which Whites have defined themselves as human. Just as slavery is the existential basis of the Black subject position, genocide is essential to the ontology of the Indian. Both positions are foundational to the existence of (White) humanity.

Wilderson provides detailed readings of two films by Black directors, Antwone Fisher (Denzel Washington) and Bush Mama (Haile Gerima); one by an Indian director, Skins (Chris Eyre); and one by a White director, Monster’s Ball (Marc Foster). These films present Red and Black people beleaguered by problems such as homelessness and the repercussions of incarceration. They portray

Chapter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Unspeakable Ethics

1. The Structure of Antagonisms

One - The Ruse of Analogy

Two - The Narcissistic Slave

2. Antwone Fisher and Bush Mama

Three - Fishing for Antwone

Four - Cinematic Unrest: Bush Mama and the Black Liberation Army

3. Skins

Five - Absurd Mobility

Six - The Ethics of Sovereignty

Seven - Excess Lack

Eight - The Pleasures of Parity

Nine - “Savage” Negrophobia

4. Monster’s Ball

Ten - A Crisis in the Commons

Eleven - Half-White Healing

Twelve - Make Me Feel Good

Epilogue

Notes

References

Index

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