{"product_id":"slaves-on-screen-film-and-historical-vision-9780674008212","title":"Slaves on Screen: Film and Historical Vision","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe written word and what the eye can see are brought together in this fascinating foray into the depiction of resistance to slavery through the modern medium of film. Natalie Zemon Davis, whose book \u003ci\u003eThe Return of Martin Guerre\u003c\/i\u003e was written while she served as consultant to the French film of the same name, now tackles the large issue of how the moving picture industry has portrayed slaves in five major motion pictures spanning four generations. The potential of film to narrate the historical past in an effective and meaningful way, with insistence on loyalty to the evidence, is assessed in five films: \u003ci\u003eSpartacus\u003c\/i\u003e (1960), \u003ci\u003eBurn!\u003c\/i\u003e (1969), \u003ci\u003eThe Last Supper\u003c\/i\u003e (1976), \u003ci\u003eAmistad\u003c\/i\u003e (1997), and \u003ci\u003eBeloved\u003c\/i\u003e (1998). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDavis shows how shifts in the viewpoints of screenwriters and directors parallel those of historians. \u003ci\u003eSpartacus\u003c\/i\u003e is polarized social history; the films on the Caribbean bring ceremony and carnival to bear on the origins of revolt; \u003ci\u003eAmistad\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBeloved\u003c\/i\u003e draw upon the traumatic wounds in the memory of slavery and the resources for healing them. In each case Davis considers the intentions of filmmakers and evaluates the film and its techniques through historical evidence and interpretation. Family continuity emerges as a major element in the struggle against slavery. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eSlaves on Screen\u003c\/i\u003e is based in part on interviews with the Nobel prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eBeloved\u003c\/i\u003e, Toni Morrison, and with Manuel Moreno Fraginals, the historical consultant for \u003ci\u003eThe Last Supper\u003c\/i\u003e. Davis brings a new approach to historical film as a source of \"thought experiments\" about the past. While the five motion pictures are sometimes cinematic triumphs, with sound history inspiring the imagination, Davis is critical of fictive scenes and characters when they mislead viewers in important ways. Good history makes good films.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDavis, Natalie Zemon:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Natalie Zemon Davis is Henry Charles Lea Professor of History, Emerita, Princeton University.","brand":"Harvard University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50460652667154,"sku":"9780674008212","price":30.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_88b36e06-f94c-4cc1-8226-d50c1df9c7d2.jpg?v=1730044718","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/slaves-on-screen-film-and-historical-vision-9780674008212","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}