Abstract
This paper discusses the exploitation of Blacks in the American filmmaking industry and looks at the role of the Civil Rights movement in eliminating blaxtiploitation. It describes and discusses different films that were created in response to this phenomenon of exploitation and their impact on it. The paper specifically focuses on the Oscar award that was awarded to Sydney Poitier and its impact on the filmmaking industry.

From the Paper
"It is evident that in the progress of Black filmmaking in the nation there was a great upheaval in the country and that few Black individuals were ever recognized for their efforts. Sydney Poitier and Hattie McDaniel were capable of receiving Oscars for their work, although the massive amount of other Black actors and filmmakers were ignored. While many would contend that blaxtiploitation films played a significant role in brining the plight of Black filmmakers to the nation, the fact is that most blaxtiploitation films were created by whites. Yet, the period of filmmaking is significant because through it emerged a new philosophy about portraying cultures in cinema and that philosophy was finally to tell the story as it really occurred. Once this happened the films of individuals such as Burnett and his counterparts were capable of presenting the views of varied lives before the public in a manner that educated and informed."

Tags:Poitier, McDaniel, civil, rights

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that in 1963 Sydney Poitier won an Academy Award for Best Actor. The writer points out that this feat would have been uneventful except for the fact that Poitier was the first Black actor to have ever won the coveted award. The writer looks at American film and Black cinema and race related issues.

From the Paper
"Poitier recalled that when he was offered the role of Homer Schmidt in Lillies of the Field, the role that he received the honors for, he was told by many within the Black community that he would be seen as an "uncle Tom", cowtowing to the white community. However, Poitier did not view the role in that manner and proceeded with the film making. Following his best actor win a press conference was held in which Poitier was ask questions such as, "How does it feel to be the first Black man to win an Oscar?" and "Do you think you winning the Oscar will have any affect on the parts that are offered to Blacks in film?". Poitier listened to the questions for a few moments and then responded to the reporters by stating that he wanted them to stop asking questions that related to race."

Tags:black, film, makers

Abstract
This paper discusses how American cinema from 1896 and thereafter really has its roots in Thomas Edison's early inventions relating to film projectors. The paper then takes a look at the development of early film and cinematography throughout the 1880s and 1890s, starting from the invention of the kinetophonograph. It also tracks the history of films beginning with the first motion picture called "Monkeyshines", filmed in 1891, through the building of the first film studio and movie theaters. In addition, the paper discusses how, by the 1920s, American film and cinematography seemed to mature as an industry and how the technology had advanced to such a degree that producers and directors could shift their attention from the technology to the actual making of a film and directing of the storylines.

From the Paper
"The development of cinema into an art form in its early years is inextricably related to the development and advances associated with the film technology itself. Eventually the dominance of the East coast film companies which had advanced various film projection technologies in tandem with film production such as Edison's own Edison Company and the American Mutoscope Company among others, gave way to film production companies which began to concentrate solely on film production rather than on the technology development as well as film production. This shift in focus from the film projector itself to actual film production began in earnest in the US with the work of Edwin Porter who is known as the father of the story film (Bordwell 57)."

Tags:kinetophonograph, Monkeyshines, edison

Abstract
The paper examines the film "Birth of A Nation" and explores how it changed film and also how it influenced racist and bigoted perceptions of certain groups. The paper uses one other source besides the film and discusses the film's influence at length.

From the Paper
"D.W. Griffith's "Birth of A Nation" is both influential and controversial in the canon of film history. Innovative filmic methods, a classical and overarching storyline and poignant social lessons all contribute to D.W. Griffith's ideologies, the quintessentially bigoted and violent ideas that he aims to promote through "Birth of a Nation". These stereotypes and social relations introduced in 1915 (when the film was released for major audiences) are still prevalent in both filmic and real race and social relationships."

Tags:dw griffith, film, birth of a nation

Abstract
The paper explains how American cinema from 1896 and thereafter really has its roots in Thomas Edison and his early inventions relating to film projectors. The paper points out that although Edison is more recognized for his invention of the light bulb as well as alternating current electricity he was also instrumental in the development of early film and cinematography throughout the 1880s and 1890s.

From the Paper
"American cinema from 1896 and thereafter really has its roots in Thomas Edison and his early inventions relating to film projectors. Although Edison is more recognized for his invention of the light bulb as well as alternating current electricity he was also instrumental in the development of early film and cinematography throughout the 1880s and 1890s. Edison, and his assistant William Dickson, first developed the kinetophonograph which led to his invention of the kinetograph in 1891 which successfully allowed film to be synchronized with appropriate shutter speeds that allowed picture frames to be taken in rapid succession..."

Tags:american, filmd, history

Abstract
The paper portrays how the United States in the twentieth century was characterized by a degree of political and social upheaval, which effected an equivalent response of the mass media to such turmoil. The paper describes how over the period spanning 1930-1960, Americans reeled in response to World War II, flocking to the cinema against a backdrop of major political and economic change, which in turn colored the cultural trends of the period.

Tags:latino, asian, film

Abstract
This paper discusses three factors contributing to the development of the American film industry since 1970 The factors mentioned are the blockbuster film, corporate mergers and the surge in demand for filmed entertainment.

From the Paper
"The American film industry has undergone considerable change from the 70s to the present. During the 70s audiences were offered independent films that were successful at the box office and which reflected the changing political and cultural environment ..."

Tags:film industry, filmmaking, studios, motion picture industry, movies, films

Abstract
This essay looks at the issues of gender and ethnic identity in two films and one novel, Double Happiness, The Wedding Banquet, and Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. These works provide the framework from which a reconsideration of ethnic and gender identity can take place. In these works, this reconsideration of identity centers on balancing old structures of identity with new experience and searching for a potential empowerment and confluence in the balancing the formation of a new identity.

Abstract
This film study reflects the central American identity of the conscientious loner that must explore the new frontiers of the Old West. The films analyzed here depict a post-Vietnam point of view of the western hero, which define an American identity that becomes increasingly Leftist in a political and social context. However, the violent and oftentimes white hero of the Old West is still preserved, since the World War II Era heroics of John Wayne.

From the Paper
"This film study will analyze the evolution of the western film genre through a heroic perspective. The centrality of the American western was a major part of historical and social of western heroes, such as John Wayne, after WWII. The evolution of Eastwood's hero in the 60s makes no less a reflection American life, as does Costner does in the Post-Vietnam Era. In essence, although the social context of the various western hero changes in how filmmakers approach this issue, the lone frontier explorer is an important mythos that is central to American cultural identity. The western hero after WWII was an independent, but loyal solider or frontiersman that was not truly concerned with a conscientious view other races or cultures in American society."

Tags:wayne, western, film