Race, Film, and American Politics

3 units

Since the era of silent films, race, film, and politics have been linked in the United States. The first film screened in the White House was The Birth of a Nation - a virulently racist film idolizing white supremacy and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. Since that time, films have served as a medium for creating and contesting American identity, structuring racial hierarchies, and framing debate about race and inclusion. This course will use a political science lens to investigate motion pictures as not merely entertainment, but as political texts that influence public opinion, policy discourse, and national identity. Students will trace the link between race and politics across several decades of film-making and within multiple different genres of film. By pairing film screenings with scientific research, we will investigate how visual storytelling impacts the legislative agenda, civil rights movements, and the understanding of power.