(.5 CREDIT)
Prerequisites: 10-12 

This course will touch on a number of points in film history and film studies by looking at films by and about black people in the US. In the course the focus will be placed on black filmmakers, film genres, and black performers. We will use their contributions to survey basic topics in film studies. We will use films from the early days of the invention of film, all the way to films produced and released today; we will explore how representation and the portrayal of black people have changed in films and to highlight the pioneers of black film representation. In addition to studying the history of representation in film and the film industry, students will analyze and identify the barriers that existed throughout the history of the film industry among black directors and performers that broke those barriers down. Students will participate in film viewing, critical analysis, discussion, debate, and critical essay writing about film, film theory, black representation in film, and black culture.