Body and Soul, and The Symbol of the Unconquered

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Film Analysis
Body and Soul, and The Symbol of the Unconquered are race films directed by Oscar Micheaux. The films touch on the racial problems that were experienced by the African Americans during that period. The first film was released in 1925 and runs for one hour and forty-two seconds covering the hypocrisy and evil that hides in the church while the second film was produced in 1920 and runs for 54 minutes. The two silent films cover the subjects of innocence versus evil, interracial relationships and racial identity as the main struggles faced by African Americans in that historical period. This paper analyses the films in relation to the themes they cover, the characters, pace, role of music and shots.
Body and Soul is a story about an escaped prisoner named Isaiah Jenkins who runs to Tatesville town and pretends to be a retired reverend when in real sense he has ill intentions. Together with another criminal, the two swindle the congregation’s money and later the phony reverend develops an interest in a young woman Isabelle in the congregation whose life he destroys. The setting of the story in a Christian community affected the story because it presented believers who thought that no evil person would have the courage to take up a godly role under pretense. Overall, the film is thought provoking since it makes one wonder about the amount of evil that goes on in the church and which is rarely recognized.
The second film, The Symbol of the Unconquered is a tale of the fight of the young woman Eve Mason and his neighbor Hugh Van Allen against the infamous criminal group the Ku Klux Klan. The fight was about Van Allen’s land, which the criminal members were aware that it had oil fields in abundance and therefore tried to force him to sell it to them. The climax of the film was revealed by letting Allen discover the real value of his land. From this point, one knows that he could never let the land go to another person. The film was both interesting and believable since it gives a glimpse of a romance between two people of different races. This act was not so common in those days.
The films address different important themes. For instance in Body and Soul, the central theme is primal innocence versus evil. The innocence shown by the congregation in quickly accepting the reverend without checking his background can be said to be primitive. The blind innocence of the church makes it possible for them to be exploited by the phony reverend. Evil is majorly seen in Jenkins’ character since he tricks the church into trusting him when in actual sense he had plans to swindle them of their money. He also takes advantage of Isabelle by raping her and making her take blame for his action of stealing from Martha. Later on, he also kills a man after being chased from the church. The main theme in The Symbol of the Unconquered is interracial relationships and racial identity. In the film, Allen an African American falls in love with the lady Eve who pass as white. On racial identity, the character Driscoll is dissatisfied with being identified as African American and therefore does everything to prove he is white. For example he isolates himself from others and als...