Hollywood be thy name: African American religion in American film, 1929-1949

Review

"Weisenfeld is a professor of religion, but ... proves amply that she is also a first-rate cinema scholar, at home both when working as a cultural historian and ... as a textual interpreter." --Film Quarterly

"The author's magic . . . is her ability to juggle African American history, film history, and black religiosity in a manner that is highly readable. It is indeed a major accomplishment." --Reviews in American History

"Judith Weisenfeld's richly documented book uncovers an aspect of cultural images of African American religion that has been missing up to now. Readers will find a treasure trove of fresh insights. . . ." --Church History

Product Description

From the earliest years of sound film in America, Hollywood studios and independent producers of "race films" for black audiences created stories featuring African American religious practices. In the first book to examine how the movies constructed images of African American religion, Judith Weisenfeld explores these cinematic representations and how they reflected and contributed to complicated discourses about race, the social and moral requirements of American citizenship, and the very nature of American identity.

Drawing on such textual sources as studio production files, censorship records, and discussions and debates about religion and film in the black press, as well as providing close readings of films, this richly illustrated and meticulously researched book brings religious studies and film history together in innovative ways.

From the Inside Flap

"This is a ground-breaking book. The text is remarkable in its use of MPAA files and studio archives; Weisenfeld uncovers all sorts of side stories that enrich the larger narrative. The writing is clear and concise, and Weisenfeld makes important theoretical interpretations without indulging in difficult jargon. She incorporates both film theory and race theory in graceful, non-obtrusive ways that deepen understanding. This is an outstanding work."—Colleen McDannell, author of Picturing Faith: Photography and the Great Depression

About the Author

Judith Weisenfeld is Professor of Religion at Princeton University. She is the author of African American Women and Christian Activism: New York’s Black YWCA, 1905-1945 and the coeditor of This Far By Faith: Readings in African American Women’s Religious Biography.