Background

Academic examination of the slave narrative genre dates back to the 19th century; for film, the early 20th century. Since then, the film industry has produced a large body of historical and contemporary explorations of the slave experience. The changing nature of the slave narrative genre means that its scholarship requires continuous updating, especially as social contexts and media forms change around the preservation of the genre’s core message. In this context, I engage in relevant literary discourse related to adaptation and authorship issues, tracing the developments of the genre across different media, addressing the reception of cinematic slave narratives. Considering the increase in slave films in recent years, I discuss whether this shift can be seen as part of a recurring social phenomenon; in other words, are cinematic slave narratives and social movements like #BlackLivesMatter a modern reflection of the African American Civil Rights Movement and 19th century abolitionism?

Analysis

My analysis of the representation of the slave experience on screen includes contemporary films, which, having been so recently released, have yet to be fully examined. Thus, my project will contribute unique research to the field: my discussion and comparison between D.W. Griffith's 1915 The Birth of a Nation, the 1968 novel Confessions of Nat Turner by W. Styron and Nate Parker's 2016 film also entitled The Birth of a Nation, specifically, mark an original contribution to the field and a significant extension of existing research in American Literature and Film Studies. This dissertation also constitutes a vital addition to the current slave narrative scholarship, refining our understanding of the protean nature of the genre and its connection and implications for modernity and our understanding of the legacy of slavery and perception of race and institutionalized racism in North America and beyond.The representation of this genre in popular culture (including film) has been widely discussed, with prominent scholars and filmmakers such as bell hooks, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, Nate Parker, and others at the fore. The primary foci of this discussion tend to be the African American body, the slave experience, gender, performance, stereotypes, and identity, along with historical representation—all key areas that my research addresses and seeks to imbricate with my own original work on cinematic slave narratives.

Goals

A better understanding of contemporary authors’ and filmmakers’ intentions, the motivations behind cinematic slave narratives and their impact on society can be achieved by identifying and exploring how they are deployed and by comparing the original distribution, access and interpretation of slave narratives with their modern versions. This will contribute to scholarly work on American Literature and its relationship to the fields of literature, film studies and cinematic education. My analysis provides a greater understanding of both the purpose and educational value of cinematic slave narrative, as well as of the social mind-set that created, circulated, read and now watches them.