In the current era of Black Hollywood, the allure of commercial success pressures Black filmmakers to assimilate into a cinematic framework shaped by Western imperialism. This process usually results in what this dissertation terms, “White Cinema in Blackface”, films that adhere to dominant aesthetic and ideological norms while reinforcing the very systems that marginalize and penalize Black communities. I argue for a revolutionary alternative through Antagonistic Cinema Theory, a new framework for liberated Black cinema. Using a diversified methodology, my research first traces the historical antagonism between Hollywood and radical rebellious movements such as the L.A. Rebellion and the Black Audio Film Collective. It then grounds this history in contemporary practice through dialogues with filmmakers Merawi Gerima and Mtume Gant, who diagnose the current crisis between class aspiration and political art. The theoretical framework is demonstrated through an autoethnographic analysis of my first three feature films, which serve as practical case studies for the theory’s application. The study builds up to a formal articulation of Antagonistic Cinema Theory. A practice built on the principles of formal rupture, dialectical materialism, and the refusal of narrative realism. This framework draws its aesthetic genealogy from the improvisational logic of avant-garde jazz, the liberatory vision of Afro-Surrealism, and the ethical grounding of Africana existential philosophy. The dissertation ends with a manifesto arguing that Black cinema must reject its role as an audition for Hollywood and instead become an unapologetic weapon for liberation, accountable only to the poor and working-class communities it represents.
keywords
Black Cinema, African Cinema, Cinema, Afro-Surrealism, Black Existential Philosophy, African American Studies, Black Studies
