Re-Scheduled Screening of Within Our Gates
History / Heritage - Film/Video
Monday, November 17, 2008
6:00 PM-8:00 PM
Providence Public Library, Central
Auditorium, 3rd Floor
150 Empire Street
Providence, RI 02903
Google Maps - MapQuest
Due to technical difficulties at the first showing, this film will be shown in its entirety on Monday, November 17, at 6:00pm.
Rhode Island Commemorates the Bicentennial of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and African American Heritage, part of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities On the Road to Freedom: African American Heritage in Rhode Island initiative.
WITHIN OUR GATES
A Movie by Oscar Micheaux
View the earliest surviving film made by an African-American director!
Within Our Gates is the first look at the African-American's plight in the early 1900's filmed by a member of its own community. In the film, Oscar Micheaux attacked the racism portrayed in the most highly acclaimed silent movie of all time, D.W. Griffith's masterpiece, The Birth of a Nation. In his movie, Griffith depicted blacks as lazy alcoholics who raped white women. Micheaux turned the tables on Griffith, filming a scene where a white man tries to rape a black woman, using exactly the same lighting, blocking, and setting as the scene in Griffith's film. Unfortunately for Micheaux, Within Our Gates came out right after the race riots, which plagued America throughout the summer of 1919. Black and white officials feared further violence and they forced Micheaux to edit out controversial material. Micheaux, however, turned around and booked other theatres to show the "uncut version" to even bigger audiences.
Oscar Micheaux (1884 - 1951) was one of 11 children of former slaves, and grew up in Great Bend, Kansas. The Producers Guild of America called him "The most prolific black - if not most prolific independent - filmmaker in American cinema." Over his illustrious career, he wrote, produced and directed 44 feature-length films between 1919 and 1948 and wrote seven novels, one of which was a national bestseller. Given the times, his accomplishments in publishing and film are extraordinary, including being the first African-American to produce a film to be shown in "white" movie theaters. In his motion pictures, he moved away from the "Negro" stereotypes being portrayed in film at the time.
Freedom Festival is a series of collaborative events (made possible in part through grant- and RICH-conducted programs) that include dramatic readings, film, theatrical performances, and musical concerts; keynote presentations and panels, book discussions, and salons. Event topics will commemorate the bicentennial of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and will address the history of the slave trade and emancipation; pacifism and military heroism; pioneering artists and the creation of nationally recognized cultural and educational institutions; the realization of the American Dream as well as the legacy of racism and oppression. For more information or to request a Freedom Festival events flyer or poster contact RICH program director Risa Gilpin at risa@rihumanities.org or 401-273-2250.
Cost: FREE
Suggested Audiences:
Elders, Adult, College
E-mail:
calendar@provlib.org
Last Modified: October 23, 2008 at 3:05 PM
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Re-Scheduled Screening of Within Our Gates
History / Heritage - Film/Video
Monday, November 17, 2008
6:00 PM-8:00 PM
Providence Public Library, Central
Auditorium, 3rd Floor
150 Empire Street
Providence, RI 02903
Google Maps - MapQuest
Due to technical difficulties at the first showing, this film will be shown in its entirety on Monday, November 17, at 6:00pm.
Rhode Island Commemorates the Bicentennial of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and African American Heritage, part of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities On the Road to Freedom: African American Heritage in Rhode Island initiative.
WITHIN OUR GATES
A Movie by Oscar Micheaux
View the earliest surviving film made by an African-American director!
Within Our Gates is the first look at the African-American's plight in the early 1900's filmed by a member of its own community. In the film, Oscar Micheaux attacked the racism portrayed in the most highly acclaimed silent movie of all time, D.W. Griffith's masterpiece, The Birth of a Nation. In his movie, Griffith depicted blacks as lazy alcoholics who raped white women. Micheaux turned the tables on Griffith, filming a scene where a white man tries to rape a black woman, using exactly the same lighting, blocking, and setting as the scene in Griffith's film. Unfortunately for Micheaux, Within Our Gates came out right after the race riots, which plagued America throughout the summer of 1919. Black and white officials feared further violence and they forced Micheaux to edit out controversial material. Micheaux, however, turned around and booked other theatres to show the "uncut version" to even bigger audiences.
Oscar Micheaux (1884 - 1951) was one of 11 children of former slaves, and grew up in Great Bend, Kansas. The Producers Guild of America called him "The most prolific black - if not most prolific independent - filmmaker in American cinema." Over his illustrious career, he wrote, produced and directed 44 feature-length films between 1919 and 1948 and wrote seven novels, one of which was a national bestseller. Given the times, his accomplishments in publishing and film are extraordinary, including being the first African-American to produce a film to be shown in "white" movie theaters. In his motion pictures, he moved away from the "Negro" stereotypes being portrayed in film at the time.
Freedom Festival is a series of collaborative events (made possible in part through grant- and RICH-conducted programs) that include dramatic readings, film, theatrical performances, and musical concerts; keynote presentations and panels, book discussions, and salons. Event topics will commemorate the bicentennial of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and will address the history of the slave trade and emancipation; pacifism and military heroism; pioneering artists and the creation of nationally recognized cultural and educational institutions; the realization of the American Dream as well as the legacy of racism and oppression. For more information or to request a Freedom Festival events flyer or poster contact RICH program director Risa Gilpin at risa@rihumanities.org or 401-273-2250.
Cost: FREE
Suggested Audiences: Elders, Adult, College
E-mail: calendar@provlib.org
Last Modified: October 23, 2008 at 3:05 PM
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