The Devil Finds Work (Paperback)

James Baldwin

ISBN 10: 0307275957 / ISBN 13: 9780307275950

Published by Random House USA Inc, New York, 2011

About this Item

Paperback. From "the best essayist in this country (The New York Times Book Review) comes an incisive book-length essay about racism in American movies that challenges the underlying assumptions in many of the films that have shaped our consciousness. Baldwins personal reflections on movies gathered here in a book-length essay are also an appraisal of American racial politics. Offering a look at racism in American movies and a vision of Americas self-delusions and deceptions, Baldwin considers such films as In the Heat of the Night, Guess Whos Coming to Dinner, and The Exorcist.Here are our loves and hates, biases and cruelties, fears and ignorance reflected by the films that have entertained and shaped us. And here too is the stunning prose of a writer whose passion never diminished his struggle for equality, justice, and social change. James Baldwin At The Movies. Provocative, timeless, brilliant. Bette Davis's eyes, Joan Crawford's bitchy elegance, Stepin Fetchit's stereotype, Sidney Poitier's superhuman black man. These are the movie stars and the qualities that influenced James Baldwin. and now become part of his incisive look at racism in American movies. Baldwin challenges the underlying assumptions in such films as "In the Heat of the Night, " "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, " and "The Exorcist, " offering us a vision of America's self-delusions and deceptions. Here are our loves and hates, biases and cruelties, fears and ignorance reflected by the films that have entertained us and shaped our consciousness. And here, too, is the stunning prose of a writer whose passion never diminished his struggle for equality, justice, and social change. From "The Birth of a Nation" to "The Exorcist"—one of America's most important writers turns his critical eye to American film. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780307275950

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Devil Finds Work (Paperback)
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc, New York
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0307275957
• ISBN 13: 9780307275950
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

From "the best essayist in this country” (The New York Times Book Review) comes an incisive book-length essay about racism in American movies that challenges the underlying assumptions in many of the films that have shaped our consciousness. 

Baldwin’s personal reflections on movies gathered here in a book-length essay are also an appraisal of American racial politics. Offering a look at racism in American movies and a vision of America’s self-delusions and deceptions, Baldwin considers such films as In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and The Exorcist.

Here are our loves and hates, biases and cruelties, fears and ignorance reflected by the films that have entertained and shaped us. And here too is the stunning prose of a writer whose passion never diminished his struggle for equality, justice, and social change.

About the Author

James Baldwin (1924–1987) was a novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic. His first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain, appeared in 1953 to excellent reviews, and his essay collections Notes of a Native Son and The Fire Next Time were bestsellers that made him an influential figure in the growing civil rights movement. Baldwin spent much of his life in France, where he moved to escape the racism and homophobia of the United States. He died in France in 1987, a year after being made a Commander of the French Legion of Honor.