Charles Burnett
Creator of African American Culture on Film
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18987136 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bishetta D Merritt (Howard University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 109-128 |
| Publication date | 2008-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Black Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9347 • E-ISSN: 1552-4566 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0021934706296908 |
| OpenAlex | W2093940471 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
Charles Burnett, award-winning filmmaker and scriptwriter, creates images on film that reflect African American culture. Burnett's films celebrate the Black familiar and confirm that African American life is symbolically rich with tradition, yet unique and colorful. His films, Killer of Sheep (1977), My Brother's Wedding (1983), To Sleep With Anger (1990), and The Glass Shield (1994), were critically analyzed to determine how his use of creative plots, verbal imagery, and African American cultural traditions serve to depict realistic pictures of African American life on screen. It is clear the images he creates emanate from his experiences, not those created and supported by the Hollywood studio system. He is a gifted narratist and remains true to the tenets of the independent film movement, “The L.A. Rebellion.”
Aesthetics · African american · Art · Art history · Brother · Culture of the United States · Film director · Hollywood · Literature · Movie theater · Sociology · Studio · Visual arts · Anthropology · Cinema and Media Studies · History · Race, History, and American Society · Theater, Performance, and Music History
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |