No better introduction to this topic exists than Cree-descended Neil Diamond‘s 2009 documentary Reel Injun: On the Trial of the Hollywood Indian. Many films have portrayed Native and First Nations peoples but few have been written from their perspective or performed by Native-born performers. An early exception to this is The Silent Enemy (1930) which… Continue reading Native Americans and American Film: 100 Years
Author: Joe Mullarkey
A Century of African Americans in Film In the Library pt.5
The 21st Century has brought an array of African American stories, storytellers and performances on film. Click on the titles below for location and availability: Ali (2001) Monster’s Ball (2001) –Academy Award for Halle Berry Training Day (2001)–Academy Award for Denzel Washington Antwone Fisher (2002) The Rosa Parks Story (2002) Warming by the Devil’s Fire… Continue reading A Century of African Americans in Film In the Library pt.5
A Century of African Americans in Film in the Library pt.4 the 1980’s to the 1990’s
These two decades brought fame to a new a new group of directors including Maya Angelou, Charles Burnett, Julie Dash and Spike Lee as well as a new generation of performers in film including Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Morgan Freeman, Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker and Alfre Woodard among others. Fame … Continue reading A Century of African Americans in Film in the Library pt.4 the 1980’s to the 1990’s
A Century of African Americans in Film in the Library pt.3 1960s to 1970s
In the 1960’s Hollywood responded to the Civil Rights Movement with a series of social conflict films starring African American performers. But the same ten years could also be called “The Poitier Decade” as actor Sidney Poitier gave one unforgettable performance after another. See his Academy Award winning work in “Lilies of the Field.”(1963) Other… Continue reading A Century of African Americans in Film in the Library pt.3 1960s to 1970s
The Diary of Anne Frank: See the Play, Read the Book
The Diary of Anne Frank has not been out of print in English since its publication in 1952. This book was carefully edited by Anne’s father Otto Frank and published in Dutch in 1947. The book so many of us have read over these years is a combination of all the written pages Miep Gies… Continue reading The Diary of Anne Frank: See the Play, Read the Book
A Century of African Americans in Film in the Library
Part 2: the 1920’s to the 1940’s From the 1920’s to the 1940’s some 200 films were produced with all-black casts for African American audiences by such studios as Meteor Productions Inc., Lincoln Motion Picture Co., Norman Film Manufacturing Co., Monarch Productions, Christie Film Co. and Micheaux Pictures Corp. Hollywood took notice and began to… Continue reading A Century of African Americans in Film in the Library
A Century of African Americans in Film in the Library
(Well OK, 94 years really) We start with the directors: Oscar Micheaux’s silent protest film Within Our Gates (1920) and 1938 musical Swing! Mr. Micheaux founded his own film studio in 1919 (in Chicago no less) and went on to produce, script and direct 44 films. Read more about this pioneering filmmaker at: http://www.naacp.org Sidney… Continue reading A Century of African Americans in Film in the Library
Remembering Shirley Temple (1928-2014)
The library has two of Ms. Temple’s films in the collection, “The Littlest Rebel” (1935) and “Heidi” (1937) as well as an A & E produced 1996 documentary from the Biography series, “Shirley Temple: Hollywood’s Little Princess.” Temple meets the Brookfield Zoo’s panda in the late 1930’s SHIRLEY VISITS PANDA, BUT SHE IS VERY… Continue reading Remembering Shirley Temple (1928-2014)
Remembering a Great Actor: Phillip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014)
The library has several of Mr. Hoffman’s films including his award winning performance in “Capote“, his acclaimed acting in “Doubt“, “Synecdoche, New York“, “Cold Mountain“, and ” Liberty! The American Revolution.”
Read up on Your Candidates
Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have both authored memoirs and books on their political philosophies. Several are currently on display in the library lounge and available for checkout.John McCain’s include: Faith Of My Fathers Hard Call: Great Decisions And The Extraordinary People Who Made Them Worth the Fighting For: The Education of an… Continue reading Read up on Your Candidates