The historic election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States had a significant impact on both America and the world at large. By voting an African American into the highest office, those who elected Obama did not necessarily look past race, but rather didn't let race prevent them for casting their ballots in his favor. In addition to reflecting the changing political climate, Obama's presidency also spurred a cultural shift, notably in music, television, and film. In Movies in the Age of Obama: The Era of Post-Racial and Neo-Racist Cinema, David Garrett Izzo presents a varied collection of essays that examine films produced since the 2008 election. The contributors to these essays comment on a number of films in which race and "otherness" are pivotal elements. In addition to discussing such films as Beasts of the Southern Wild, Black Dynamite, The Blind Side, The Butler, Django Unchained, The Help, and Invictus, this collection also includes essays that probe racial elements in The Great Gatsby, The Hunger Games, and The Mist. The volume concludes with several essays that examine the 2013 Academy Award winner for best picture, 12 Years a Slave. Though Obama's election may have been the main impetus for a resurgence of black films, this development is a bit more complicated. Moviemakers have long responded to the changing times, so it is inevitable that the Obama presidency would spark an increase in films that comment, either subtly or overtly, on the current cultural climate. By looking at the issue these films address, Movies in the Age of Obama will be of value to film scholars, of course, but also to those interested in other disciplines, including history, politics, and cultural studies.
Introduction David Garrett Izzo Part I: Resonance from the Past: Experience Is Learned Backward But Must Be Lived Forward Chapter 1 - "I Really Need a Maid!" White Womanhood in The Help Kwakiutl L. Dreher Chapter 2 - Gwendolyn Brooks's Bronzeville and Tate Taylor's Jackson: "Art hurts. Art urges voyages-and it is easier to stay at home." Blake G. Hobby Chapter 3 - If Django and Lincoln Could Talk: James Baldwin Goes to the Movies Robert McParland Chapter 4 - The Exceptional N*gger: Redefining African American Identity in Django Unchained Rodney M. D. Fierce Chapter 5 - Blaxploitation in the Age of Obama: Black Dynamite, Django Unchained, Racial Reasoning, and Racial Capitalism Brian E. Butler Chapter 6 - Between The Butler and Black Dynamite: Servility, Militancy, and the Meaning of Blaxploitation Andrew Grossman Chapter 7 - Rednecks, Racism, and Religion: King and Darabont's Precarious Prophecy of Obama's Coming Victoria McCollum Part II: The Present Is an Eternal Now Connecting Past and Future Chapter 8 - "I Am Trayvon Martin": Obama and the Black Male in Cinema Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar and Alisha Saiyed Chapter 9 - Invictus: South Africa as a Post-racial Fantasy in the Age of Obama Sohinee Roy Chapter 10 - "Mama, I Think I Broke Something": Thinking about the Environment in Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild Irina Negrea Chapter 11 - It's Not a Wonderful Life: The Financial Crisis on Film and the Limits of Hollywood Liberalism Peter Grosvenor Chapter 12 - Reimagining Barack Obama as Jay Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann's Film Adaptation of The Great Gatsby Cammie Sublette Part III: The Present Imagines the Future Chapter 13 - The Hunger Games, Race, and Social Class in Obama's America Sonya C. Brown Chapter 14 - Rise of the Planet of the People: Contradictions and Revolution in Rise of the Planet of the Apes doug morris Part IV: The 2013 Academy Award for Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave Chapter 15 - "Under the Floorboards of This Nation": Trauma, Representation, and the Stain of History in 12 Years a Slave Ed Cameron and Linda Belau Chapter 16 - 162 Years after 12 Years a Slave: A Viewing through Double-Consciousness Salvador Murguia Chapter 17 - Revoking the Privilege of Forgetting: White Supremacy Interrogated in 12 Years a Slave David M. Jones Chapter 18 - No, You Can't: Passive Protagonists in The Blind Side, Django Unchained, and 12 Years a Slave Thomas Britt Index About the Editor and Contributors
