Directed by Marlon Riggs • Documentary • 1986 • 58 minutes
Unflinching, unsettling, and essential, this Emmy-winning documentary examines the devastating legacy of black stereotypes throughout American history, from the slavery era to the present. Drawing on a wide variety of media—from minstrel shows to cartoons to everyday household objects—Ethnic Notions illustrates how these racist caricatures infiltrated the popular imagination and served to rob African-Americans of their humanity.
Up Next in African-American Docs
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Color Adjustment
Directed by Marlon Riggs • Documentary • 1991 • 88 minutes
An essential companion to Ethnic Notions, Color Adjustment explores black representation in the age of primetime television. Deconstructing cultural touchstones from Amos ’n’ Andy to The Jeffersons to The Cosby Show, this cogent and prov...
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Affirmations
Directed by Marlon Riggs • Documentary • 1990 • 10 minutes
An exploration of Black gay male desires and dreams. Affirmations starts with an affectionate, humorous confessional and moves on to a wish for empowerment and incorporation.
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Decade of Fire
Directed by Gretchen Hildebran, Vivian Vazquez • Documentary • With Carmen Rosado, Hetty Fox, Robert Foster • 2020 • 76 minutes
Decade of Fire covers a shocking but untold piece of American urban history, when the South Bronx was on fire in the 1970s.
Left unprotected by the city government, ...
