Hyatt, Marshall. “Film as a Medium to Study the Twentieth-Century Afro-American Experience.”  The Journal of Negro Education Vol. 53, No. 2 (Spring, 19804): pp. 161-172. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2294817 >.

The article discusses the significance of film in American culture though its ability to reflect and interpret society.  However, according to Hyatt, a film must be viewed by analyzing it within the context of the atmosphere of opinion of the nation at the time of its creation.   The author feels that cinema offers great opportunities for the teaching and learning of African-American history, believing that students will learn to cope more effectively with their own social roles as a result of having the experience of watching and discussing the cinematic representation of the struggles and triumphs of African-Americans.  Discussing the 1930s, Hyatt argues that in order to find more positive images on the screen, one had to look beyond Hollywood.  Films such as Gone With the Wind (1939) and Imitation of Life (1934) reinforce the use of blacks as domestic servants, using Hattie McDaniel and Louise Beavers, respectively.  The article goes on to specify Beavers’ role in the film. She labors long and hard for her white mistress and helps her become wealthy, refusing her share of the fortune.  Thus, the film ultimately instructs African Americans to know their place vis-à-vis white society. 

Hyatt’s text suggests that selected films reflecting the diversity of the African-American experience in the United States, such as Imitation of Life, be used, along with selected readings, to teach twentieth-century African-American history to college students. He contends that the film, although it shows marginalized portrayals of African Americans, can be challenged. Once again, the notion of questioning what is seen on screen is discussed. He argues that these various serotypes are as a result of the political and racial climate of the time that it was produced, and that in order for them to be overcome, they must be examined and discussed.