cinema and race

As a way of preparing for analysis of Spike Lee's cinema, I reflect here on how Robert Townsend's 1987 film Hollywood Shuffle poses a series of challenges to filmmaking and the representation of Black people and Black life on the screen. In particular, I am interested in his critique of Hollywood's racial history - a critique made by plain reportage - and how he uses humor to double our relationship to the film and also how he negotiates the precarious cultural politics of the white gaze, the Black gaze, and the interracial space of cinematic viewership. Townsend takes risks and sets a template for challenging historical representation, while also understanding the immense gravity of antiblackness in cinematic spectacle, composition, and audience engagement - something that is perhaps inescapable.