Judith Weisenfeld
Hollywood Be Thy Name
African American Religion in American Film, 1929–1949
A George Gund Foundation Book in African American Studies
$65.00, £44.95 hardcover
9780520227743
Available Now
$25.95, £17.95 paperback
9780520251007
Available Now
355 pages, 6 x 9 inches, 39 b/w photographs
June 2007, Available worldwide
June 2007, Available worldwide
From the earliest years of sound film in America, Hollywood studios and independent producers of "race films" for black audiences created stories featuring African American religious practices. In the first book to examine how the movies constructed images of African American religion, Judith Weisenfeld explores these cinematic representations and how they reflected and contributed to complicated discourses about race, the social and moral requirements of American citizenship, and the very nature of American identity.
Drawing on such textual sources as studio production files, censorship records, and discussions and debates about religion and film in the black press, as well as providing close readings of films, this richly illustrated and meticulously researched book brings religious studies and film history together in innovative ways.
Drawing on such textual sources as studio production files, censorship records, and discussions and debates about religion and film in the black press, as well as providing close readings of films, this richly illustrated and meticulously researched book brings religious studies and film history together in innovative ways.
"The author's magic in this volume is her ability to juggle African American history, film history, and black religiosity in a manner that is highly readable. It is indeed a major accomplishment."—Reviews In American History
"Weisenfeld has deepened and expanded our understanding of the stuff of African American religious life and blacks' place in the American cultural imagination."
"Judith Weisenfeld's richly documented book uncovers an aspect of
cultural images of African American religion that has been missing up
to now. Readers will find a treasure trove of fresh insights and new
angles even on previously researched aspects of black religion."—Church History Stds In Christiany And Culture
"Weisenfeld is a professor of religion, but Hollywood Be Thy Name proves amply that she is also a first-rate cinema scholar, at home both when working as a cultural historian and when working as a textual interpreter."—Film Quarterly
"The intriguing narrative will enrich undergraduate courses across fields of study in the humanities, and the volume's sophisticated style of mapping race and religion in popular culture will challenge and rarefy graduate seminars while advancing future scholarship on the subject."—American Historical Review
"An interesting text of value in both film and religion course."—Communication Booknotes Quarterly
"Weisenfeld has deepened and expanded our understanding of the stuff of African American religious life and blacks' place in the American cultural imagination."—Church History Stds In Christiany And Culture
"Weisenfeld has deepened and expanded our understanding of the stuff of African American religious life and blacks' place in the American cultural imagination."
"Judith Weisenfeld's richly documented book uncovers an aspect of
cultural images of African American religion that has been missing up
to now. Readers will find a treasure trove of fresh insights and new
angles even on previously researched aspects of black religion."—Church History Stds In Christiany And Culture
"Weisenfeld is a professor of religion, but Hollywood Be Thy Name proves amply that she is also a first-rate cinema scholar, at home both when working as a cultural historian and when working as a textual interpreter."—Film Quarterly
"The intriguing narrative will enrich undergraduate courses across fields of study in the humanities, and the volume's sophisticated style of mapping race and religion in popular culture will challenge and rarefy graduate seminars while advancing future scholarship on the subject."—American Historical Review
"An interesting text of value in both film and religion course."—Communication Booknotes Quarterly
"Weisenfeld has deepened and expanded our understanding of the stuff of African American religious life and blacks' place in the American cultural imagination."—Church History Stds In Christiany And Culture
"This is a ground-breaking book. The text is remarkable in its use of MPAA files and studio archives; Weisenfeld uncovers all sorts of side stories that enrich the larger narrative. The writing is clear and concise, and Weisenfeld makes important theoretical interpretations without indulging in difficult jargon. She incorporates both film theory and race theory in graceful, non-obtrusive ways that deepen understanding. This is an outstanding work."—Colleen McDannell, author of Picturing Faith: Photography and the Great Depression
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. "'Taint What You Was, It's What You Is Today": Hallelujah and the Politics of Racial Authenticity
2. "'De Lawd' a Natchel Man": The Green Pastures in the American Cultural Imagination
3. "A Mighty Epic of Modern Morals": Black-Audience Religious Films
4. "Saturday Sinners and Sunday Saints": Urban Commercial Culture and the Reconstruction of Black Religious Leadership
5. "A Long, Long Way": Religion and African American Wartime Morale
6. "Why Didn't They Tell Me I'm a Negro?": Lost Boundaries and the Moral Landscape of Race
Conclusion
Filmography
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. "'Taint What You Was, It's What You Is Today": Hallelujah and the Politics of Racial Authenticity
2. "'De Lawd' a Natchel Man": The Green Pastures in the American Cultural Imagination
3. "A Mighty Epic of Modern Morals": Black-Audience Religious Films
4. "Saturday Sinners and Sunday Saints": Urban Commercial Culture and the Reconstruction of Black Religious Leadership
5. "A Long, Long Way": Religion and African American Wartime Morale
6. "Why Didn't They Tell Me I'm a Negro?": Lost Boundaries and the Moral Landscape of Race
Conclusion
Filmography
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
Cinema & Film Studies Bestsellers
