I only copied the list and the part that pertains to DST. Read the entire interview
HERE.
UI professor, brother compile list of influential black films
By Jeffrey Charis-Carlson
For the Press-Citizen
This week's Q&A is with
Venise Berry, University of Iowa associate professor of Journalism and Mass Communication and co-author of "The 50 Most Influential Black Films."
The list
1. The Railroad Porter 1912
2. Realization of a Negro's Ambition 1916
3. Birth of a Race 1918
4. Body and Soul 1924
5. Scar of Shame 1927
6. Hearts in Dixie 1929
7. Hallelujah 1929
8. The Emperor Jones 1933
9. Imitation of Life 1934 & 1959
10. Harlem on the Prairie 1938
11. The Blood of Jesus 1941
12. Cabin in the Sky 1943
13. Stormy Weather 1943
14. Home of the Brave 1948
15. The Jackie Robinson Story 1950
16. Carmen Jones 1954
17. St. Louis Blues 1958
18. Sergeant Rutledge 1960
19. A Raisin in the Sun 1961
20. Black Like Me 1964
21. Nothing but a Man 1964
22. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 1967
23. The Learning Tree 1969
24. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasss Song 1971
25. Shaft 1971
26. Buck and The Preacher 1972
27. Blackula 1972
28. The Spook Who Sat by the Door 1973
29. Coffy 1973
30. Claudine 1974
31. Cooley High 1975
32. Countdown at Kusini 1976
33. Krush Groove 1985
34. The Color Purple 1985
35. She's Gotta Have It 1986
36. Hollywood Shuffle 1987
37. A Dry White Season 1989
38. Lean on Me 1989
39. Glory 1989
40. Daughters of the Dust 1991
41. Boys in the Hood 1991
42. To Sleep with Anger 1991
43. Bebe's Kids 1992
44. Malcolm X 1992
45. Waiting to Exhale 1995
46. The Nutty Professor 1996
47. Get on the Bus 1996
48. Amistad 1997
49. Eve's Bayou 1997
50. The Best Man 1999
Q: You divide the book into decades, with the 1990s being represented by 11 films. What does that say about the quality of the black films being made at the end of the 20th and, now, at the beginning of the 21st centuries?
A: We have seen a significant increase in the number of good films. The only time that we previously had these numbers and this kind of positive black films in the industry was during the 1970s, during the so-called 'blacksploitation' period.
A few films appear in the late 1980s, starting with "She's Gotta Have It," and soon transformed into a second black renaissance in film in the 1990s. We developed a good, solid base of films in terms of conveying positive and important messages about African American culture.
It was during the 1990s that we see the first animated film, "Bebe's Kids" and, with "The Nutty Professor," we see films with tremendous special effects. We began to see contrasts to the image of problem black men in "Boyz in the Hood" and "Menace to Society," and all the negative images of black ghetto gang-bangers. In "The Best Man," we end the decade seeing professional black men who are contributing to society. We began to see this broad range of black images and positive messages.
We really wanted to look at a variety of issues. Several of the films are on there because the way they got made was significant. Take "Get on the Bus," for example, 12 African American men put up the money to make sure that movie got made. That had never been done before.
"Countdown at Kusini," with Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, was financed by a black sorority, Delta Sigma Theta. They decided that they wanted to try something different. They had between 85,000 and 1000,000 members at any one time, and they thought that the film would be a success if they could get all their members to go and bring their family and friends. At the time, the mere idea was revolutionary. It didn't work very well, however, because the film had distribution problems. We were interested in looking at how these types of decisions might have changed the industry.
Sunday Q&A is a weekly discussion with a local expert on a current issue.
Let us know what you think of this story...
How many of the movies have you seen? If you had to make a list (you decide the #) of the MOST INFLENTIAL BLACK MOVIES ever made, which movies would be on your list?