Social, Cultural, Political, and Historical Issues on the Film Within Our Gates

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February 22, 2023
Oscar Micheaux's silent picture Inside Our Gates was released in 1920. It was one of the first full-length features directed by an African-American and was made in opposition to the dehumanizing representations of Black people in Hollywood movies. The movie depicts the tale of Sylvia Landry, a Black lady who ventures to the North to gather money for a struggling Black school in the South. In this paper, I will examine the movie, its socio-political setting, and its influence on the evolution of cinematic language. As stated in the title, the film is quite ancient and silent. Although there is no sound, the visual representation of what is happening is clear.
The portrayal of Black Experience America
The portrayal of the Black experience in America is one of the main points of Inside Our Gates. In the movie, Micheaux highlights the prejudice and injustices that Black people endured in both the South and the North. The movie offers a critical viewpoint on how Black people are portrayed in the media and how Hollywood movies have contributed to racial stereotypes. The portrayal of Black characters in Within Our Gates, who are clever, virtuous, and dignified, contrasts with a scenario in which a group of white males watches a film that depicts Black people as feral and primitive. As depicted in the film, this treatment of African Americans was widespread at the time, and white people could always manipulate the facts and the evidence to their advantage (Michaux, 1920).
The movie discusses contemporary social, cultural, and political themes from the early 20th century. The movie depicts the lynchings, common in the South at the time and violent and terrifying. Also, it emphasizes the value of education for Black people, which was a significant concern during the Jim Crow era. The movie depicts the challenges of Black people in the North who endured prejudice and segregation while leaving the South because of its oppression and violence. The Black Lives Matter movement and the pursuit of racial justice make these issues still important today.
The ideas that come out of the movie are connected to the historical setting in which it was made. The Jim Crow era's pervasive racism, discrimination, and violence against Black people are covered in Within Our Gates. The conflict between the North and the South is also explored, as are the difficulties Black people encountered when attempting to flee the violence and oppression of the South. The film's positive representation of Black people as virtue-filled and dignified contrasts the derogatory preconceptions that Hollywood movies have helped to reinforce. Their contributions to society are not sufficiently recognized, and white people often receive the credit; such actions are unjust.
The movie's...