Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western

by Mia Mask

Overview

African American westerns have a rich cinematic history and visual culture. Mia Mask examines the African American western hero within the larger context of film history by considering how Black westerns evolved and approached wide-ranging goals. Woody Strode’s 1950s transformation from football star to actor was the harbinger of hard-edged western heroes later played by Jim Brown and Fred Williamson. Sidney Poitier’s Buck and the Preacher provided a narrative helmed by a groundbreaking African American director and offered unconventionally rich roles for women. Mask moves from these discussions to consider blaxploitation westerns and an analysis of Jeff Kanew’s hard-to-find 1972 documentary about an all-Black rodeo. The book addresses how these movies set the stage for modern-day westploitation films like Django Unchained. 

A first-of-its kind survey, Black Rodeo illuminates the figure of the Black cowboy while examining the intersection of African American film history and the western.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780252086977
Publisher:	University of Illinois Press
Publication date:	02/28/2023
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	296
Sales rank:	1,094,180
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Mia Mask is a professor of film at Vassar College, where she holds the Mary Riepma Ross 1932 endowed chair of film. She has appeared on CNN's The Movies, the Smithsonian Channel, the Criterion Channel, and has provided commentary on National Public Radio. Her books include Poitier Revisited: Reconsidering a Black Icon in the Obama Age and Divas on Screen: Black Women in American Film.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Football Heroes Invade Hollywood
2. Black Masculinity on Horseback: From Duel at Diablo to Buck and the Preacher
3. Blaxplotation versus Black Liberation: The Charley Trilogy
4. Harlem Rides the Range: Nobody Told You There Were Black Cowboys
5. Westerns and Westploitation: Brothas and Sistas at the O.K. Corral

Appendix: Interview with Jeff Kanew

Notes

Filmography

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/01/2023

Mask (film, Vassar Coll.; Contemporary Black American Cinema) examines the cinematic African American western hero, primarily from the 1950s to the present. While this parallels the development of the civil rights era, and many of the westerns that included Black cowboys had colonialist and imperialistic characteristics, the author shows that silent films in the 1920s that featured Bill Pickett and independent, all-Black casts in westerns during the 1930s set significant precedents. Some of the well-known stars of this genre included football stars-turned actors, such as Woody Strode, Jim Brown, and Fred Williamson. Mask shows how this gave way to Buck and the Preacher (1972), starring and directed by Sidney Poitier, and eventually led to the 2012 American revisionist western film Django Unchained, starring Jamie Foxx. Among the revelations in this richly researched work are German sauerkraut westerns that preceded Italian spaghetti westerns and Jeff Kanew's 1972 documentary Black Rodeo. VERDICT This carefully crafted academic treatment will enhance library shelves, although this book's conceptual language may challenge lay readers. Still, it's worth the effort.—Frederick J. Augustyn Jr.

Library Journal

"This is a book for movie buffs, Black history enthusiasts, and anyone who appreciates solid research and good storytelling." —Roundup Magazine

"Richly researched. . . . This carefully crafted academic treatment will enhance library shelves." —Library Journal (starred review)

"A unique take on a key genre of cinema." —Film Stage

“Mask provides an insightful commentary on the Civil Rights era and its African-American-themed Westerns from today's perspective.”—Angela Aleiss, author of Hollywood's Native Americans: Stories of Identity and Resistance

From the Publisher