Horror Noire Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present

294 Pages·7.909 MB·English

by  Coleman, Robin R Means

H
BLACK STUDIES/FILM STUDIES
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“Horror Noire is a treasure trove of insight into how racial performance,
racialized narratives, as well as challenges to prevailing racial discourse r
permeate American life. Means Coleman builds her case for the historical
and contemporary signifi cance of horror fi lms not only by astutely choosing
r
the most exemplary among them, but by presenting her analysis in a vivid
and powerful historical trajectory where 20th century media and 21st century
o
technology set the stage for new debates about the future of race and
Blackness in the global public sphere.”
—Charlton McIlwain, Associate Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, NYU r
From King Kong to Candyman, the boundary-pushing genre of the horror

fi lm has always been a site for provocative explorations of race in American N
popular culture. In Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the
1890s to Present, Robin R. Means Coleman traces the history of notable
characterizations of Blackness in horror cinema, and examines key levels of o Horror
Black participation on-screen and behind the camera. She argues that horror
offers a unique representational space for Black people to challenge the more
i
negative, or racist, images seen in other media outlets, and to portray greater
r
diversity within the concept of Blackness itself.
Noire
Including a comprehensive chronological survey of the genre, this book e
addresses a full range of Black horror fi lms, including mainstream Hollywood
fare, as well as art-house fi lms, Blaxploitation fi lms, direct-to-DVD fi lms, and
the emerging hip-hop culture-inspired horrorcore Black horror fi lms. Horror
Noire is, thus, essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how fears Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present
and anxieties about race and race relations are made manifest, and often
challenged, on the silver screen. M
e
Robin R. Means Coleman is Associate Professor in the Department of
a
Communication Studies and in the Center for AfroAmerican and African
n
Studies at the University of Michigan. Her previous books include African
Americans and the Black Situation Comedy: Situating Racial Humor and the s

edited collection Say It Loud! African Americans, Media and Identity, both C
published by Routledge, and most recently the co-edited volume Fight the o
Power! The Spike Lee Reader.
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e
m
Cover images: still from Blacula, 1972 (top), still from Sugar Hill, 1974
a
(bottom). Both courtesy of AIP/Photofest.
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www.routledge.com
Robin R. Means Coleman
HORROR NOIRE
From King Kong to Candyman , the boundary-pushing genre of the horror fi lm has
always been a site for provocative explorations of race in American popular cul-
ture. In H orror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from the 1890s to Present , Robin
R. Means Coleman traces the history of notable characterizations of Blackness in
horror cinema, and examines key levels of Black participation on-screen and
behind the camera. She argues that horror offers a unique representational space for
Black people to challenge the more negative, or racist, images seen in other media
outlets, and to portray greater diversity within the concept of Blackness itself.
Horror Noire presents a unique social history of Blacks in America through
changing images in horror fi lms. Throughout the text, the reader is encouraged
to unpack the genre’s racialized imagery, as well as the narratives that make up
popular culture’s commentary on race.
Including a comprehensive chronological survey of the genre, this book
addresses a full range of Black horror fi lms, including mainstream Hollywood
fare, as well as art-house fi lms, Blaxploitation fi lms, direct-to-DVD fi lms, and the
emerging hip-hop culture-inspired horrorcore Black horror fi lms. Horror Noire is,
thus, essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how fears and anxieties
about race and race relations are made manifest, and often challenged, on the
silver screen.
Robin R. Means Coleman is Associate Professor in the Department of
Communication Studies and in the Center for AfroAmerican and African Studies
at the University of Michigan. Her previous books include A frican Americans and
the Black Situation Comedy: Situating Racial Humor and the edited collection S ay It
Loud! African Americans, Media and Identity , both published by Routledge, and
most recently the co-edited volume F ight the Power! The Spike Lee Reader .
HORROR NOIRE
Blacks in American Horror Films
from the 1890s to Present
Robin R. Means Coleman
First published 2011
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2011 Taylor & Francis
The right of Robin R. Means Coleman to be identifi ed as author of this
work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Means Coleman, Robin R., 1969-
Horror noire : blacks in American horror fi lms from the 1890s
to present / Robin R. Means Coleman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Horror fi lms–United States–History and criticism. 2. African Americans
in motion pictures. 3. Race in motion pictures. I. Title.
PN1995.9.H6M43 2011
791.43’61640896073–dc22 2011004185
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-88019-0 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-88020-6 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-203-84767-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Glyph International Ltd.
Printed and bound in the United States of America on acid-free paper
by Walsworth Publishing Company, Marceline, MO.
For Rosalind Cash and Spencer Williams, Jr.
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
Foreword xi
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xx
Introduction: Studying Blacks and Horror Films 1
1 The Birth of the Black Boogeyman: Pre-1930s 14
2 Jungle Fever— A Horror Romance: 1930s 36
3 Horrifying Goons and Minstrel Coons: 1940s 65
4 Black Invisibility, White Science, and a Night with Ben:
1950s–1960s 93
5 Scream, Whitey, Scream— Retribution, Enduring Women,
and Carnality: 1970s 118
6 We Always Die First— Invisibility, Racial Red-Lining, and
Self-Sacrifi ce: 1980s 145
7 Black Is Back! Retribution and the Urban Terrain: 1990s 169
viii Contents
Conclusion: Catching Some Zzzzzs—Blackz and
Horror in the Twenty-First Century 198
Notes 217
Bibliography 244
Index 259
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
All images courtesy of Photofest.
1.1 Gus meets his doom at the hands of the KKK in
The Birth of a Nation 23
1.2 The Monster and Maria in F rankenstein 26
2.1 Kong’s next victims in K ing Kong 43
2.2 A zombie with Murder in W hite Zombie 52
2.3 The taint of a Black man’s shadow in B lack Moon 55
3.1 Only a Black man’s shadow can enter the White boudoir in
I Walked with a Zombie 68
3.2 Dr. Jackson prepares to meet her end at the hands of her ingagi 73
3.3 Spencer Williams, Jr. (with hat) 74
3.4 Mantan Moreland 85
3.5 Willie Best 89
4.1 Ben being thrown onto the pyre in N ight of the Living Dead 108
4.2 Peter readies to battle zombies in D awn of the Dead 111
5.1 Blacula in full rage in B lacula 122
5.2 The Thing with Two Heads 126
5.3 Hess and Ganja in G anja & Hess 134
5.4 The monster Abby in A bby 138
5.5 Sugar’s cleavage invites more stares than her zombies
in Sugar Hill 139
6.1 Epiphany Proudfoot in Voodoo ritual in A ngel Heart 155
6.2 White Dog 162
6.3 The silent but deadly Katrina in V amp 166
x Illustrations
7.1 Joel and K in D ef by Temptation 173
7.2 Sethe and Beloved in B eloved 185
7.3 Candyman invites, “be my victim,” in C andyman 190
C1 Snoop in Hood of Horror 204
C2 Alexa Woods and the alien monster in A VP 209
FOREWORD
QUESTION: Why are there no Black people in horror movies?
ANSWER: Because when the ominous voice says, “GET OUT!,” we do!
And, the movie will be over … unlike the frail little White girl who hurriedly
lights a candle and slowly descends the darkened steps to see where that voice is
coming from … True or not, this joke was once an offhanded justifi cation to
help explain the virtual absence of Blacks in horror movies made before the
1970s, a genre of fi lm that has always been very popular in the African American
community.
Although Blacks make up only 13 percent of the population, surveys have
shown we generate over 25 percent of total box offi ce receipts. This, despite
the fact that there have been times when Blacks are rarely seen in movies of
any genre, and if we are on the screen the images portrayed are nothing to be
proud of.
Much has been researched and written on the history of Blacks in the cinema,
but until now our presence or absence in the horror genre has mostly been
relegated to a single chapter or several footnotes. This book is a complete and
in depth examination of the images, infl uences, and societal impact that Blacks
have had in horror fi lms from the 1890s to present.
Making a 180-degree turn from her earlier book, A frican American Viewers and
the Black Situation Comedy: Situating Racial Humor , professor and award winning
media scholar Robin Means Coleman has compiled an impressive array of
fi lms and their bevy of dark skinned victims who lend their blood, if little else, to
the plots and storylines of these even darker themed movies. This book is an
indispensable examination of Black participation in the horror genre that not