Black Oscars - by Frederick Gooding (Paperback)

About the Book

Black Oscars is a timely exploration of the complicated legacy of the Academy Awards and African American participation in film. Reflecting on how the Oscars have recognized Black actors from the award's inception to the present, this book is an indispensable guide to understa...

Book Synopsis

Black Oscars is a timely exploration of the complicated legacy of the Academy Awards and African American participation in film. Reflecting on how the Oscars have recognized Black actors from the award's inception to the present, this book is an indispensable guide to understanding race in mainstream Hollywood and American history.

Review Quotes

[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.

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.