Writing Himself into History: Oscar Micheaux, His Silent Films and His Audiences

This text presents an analysis of the career and artistry surrounding the legendary black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. With the exception of Spike Lee, Micheaux is the most famous and prolific African American film director. Between 1914 and 1948, he made more than 40
race pictures
- movies made for and about African Americans. A man of immense creativity, he also wrote seven novels. Here, Pearl Bowser and Louise Spence concentrate on the first decade of Micheaux’s career, when he produced and directed more than 20 silent features and built a reputation as a controversial and maverick entrepreneur. Placing his work firmly within his social and cultural milieu, they thoroughly cover Micheaux’s family and life. The authors also provide a close textual analysis of his surviving films (including
The Symbol of the Unconquered ,
Within our Gates
and
Body and Soul ) and highlight the rivalry between the studios, dilemmas of assimilation versus separatism, gender issues and class. The text also goes on to analyze Micheaux’s career as a novelist in relation to his work as a filmmaker.