Media Collection
Guide / George Mason University
Libraries
AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES: Feature Films
Baby boy.
In South Central L.A., Jody has two babies by two different women and he still lives at home with his mom. He's trying to live large, but
doesn't have or want a job. Growing up is tough on Jody, but a series of events involving his mom, her new boyfriend, his girlfriend, and
her ex-con ex-boyfriend all force him to learn some hard lessons about living, loving and surviving.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .B323 2001
Backstage.
Ride along with the groundbreaking, 50-city "Hard Knock Life Tour." From the tour bus to the hotel to the stage, follow all the craziness as
the show rolls from city to city.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
M1630.18 .B25 2000
Beloved.
After Paul D. finds his old slave friend Sethe in Ohio and moves in with her and her daughter Denver, a strange girl comes along by the
name of "Beloved". Sethe and Denver take her in and then strange things start to happen.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .B446 1998
The Bingo Long traveling all-stars & motor kings.
The adventures of an outlaw barnstorming black baseball team in 1939, who
take on their own League's unfair rules as they steal cars, food and home
base--anything to keep their pitching and catching the best and boldest.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997.B531
Bird.
The life of legendary jazz musician Charlie "Yardbird" Parker,
directed and produced by jazz fan, Clint Eastwood. The film uses actual
recordings by Parker with the backgrounds removed, and accompaniment by
modern musicians attuned to the Yardbird's improvisations.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997.B54695
Black westerns.
Two features showing the action, suspense, and fun in the West. Loaded
wtih Black cowboys, including the sherrif.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .B552
Bone collector.
A bed-ridden homicide cop teams with a young rookie to catch a deranged serial killer. Stars Academy Award winner Denzel Washington.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .B6727 2000
The Brother from another planet.
A sci-fantasy adventure about a black visitor from outer space. Fleeing
to Earth to escape slavery on a distant world, he splashes in New York Harbor
and makes his way to Harlem, where he's accepted by the regulars at a local
bar, and pursued by two alien bounty hunters.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .B7684
Cabin in the sky.
Petunia Jackson, a poor but devout woman, is burdened with a shiftless
husband called Little Joe. When Little Joe is seriously wounded in a fight
and seems about to die, the forces of heaven and hell begin a battle for
his soul.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .C22
Carmen Jones.
Joe, a military policeman about to make officer, is infatuated with the
flirtatious and sexy Carmen Jones. Their ill-fated romance comes to a grisly
end by the conclusion of the drama but not before their liaison has wreaked
havoc with their lives and all who cross their paths. This is one of the first all
black cast films by a major motion picture studio.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .C275
Chameleon Street.
Dramatizes the true story of William Douglas "Chameleon" Street,
a quick-witted, self-tutored young man from Detroit who barely managed to
earn a high school diploma, yet in the 70's managed to pull off a series
of high-profile hoaxes.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .C4288 1992
Clockers.
Two brothers grow up together in the same Brooklyn housing projects, but they are as opposite as good and evil. Victor Dunham has a
family, works two jobs and leads a respectable life. His 19-year-old brother, Strike, hangs out with his friends on a bench and sells crack
cocaine. Strike agrees to kill a rival dealer as a favor to Rodney, the neighborhood drug kingpin, but when the man is murdered, it is Victor
who confesses. Detective Rocco Kleine won't buy Victor's confession, and begins to attempt to break down the stories of both brothers in
order to save Victor.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .C663 1999
The color purple.
An uneducated woman living in the rural American south who was raped by
her father, deprived of the children she bore him and forced to marry a
brutal man she calls "Mister" is transformed by the friendship
of two remarkable women, acquiring self-worth and the strength to forgive.
Johnson Center - Videodiscs
PN1997 .C633 1992
Cooley High.
Fun-loving and warm movie about high school life in the 1960s.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .C6807
Crooklyn.
Director Spike Lee fashions a bold, flavorful picture of family life in
a crowded but cozy Brooklyn neighborhood nicknamed "Crooklyn"
by the Carmichaels, who experience one very special summer in their hometown
under difficult but often wonderful circumstances.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997.C76
Daughters of the dust.
Story of a large African-American family as they prepare to move North from the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia at the dawn of the
20th century.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .D37
Do the right thing.
This powerful visual feast combines humor and drama with memorable characters
while tracing the course of a single day on a block in the Bedford-Stuyvesant
area of Brooklyn. It's the hottest day of the year, a scorching 24-hour
period that will change the lives of its residents forever.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .D6
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .D6 1998
The Emperor Jones ; Paul Robeson.
1.Young Brutus Jones is catapulted to emperor of a Caribbean island. He
struts about, exploiting, cheating, and torturing the people who gave him
power. Then one morning, he wakes to find the palace empty and hears ominous
drums in the distance. 2. The tribute to Paul Robeson examines the tragically
unappreciated talents of a legendary American artist.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .E5565
Girl 6.
When an attractive, talented actress discovers that the only job she can
get is working as a fantasy telephone operator, she decides to make the
most of it.
Johnson Center - Videodiscs
PN1997 .G4714
Glory ; The True story of Glory continues.
Two idealistic young Bostonians lead the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry,
America's first Black regiment in the Civil War. The soldiers of the 54th
Massachusetts Regiment, the first black fighting unit of the American Civil
War, are portrayed through period drawings, sketches, paintings and photographs,
along with film and additional footage from the motion picture, Glory.
Johnson Center - Videodiscs
PN1997 .G5383
Glory.
Two idealistic young Bostonians lead the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry,
America's first Black regiment in the Civil War.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .G5383 2000
Go tell it on the mountain.
Story of John Grimes, a young man living in Harlem in the 1930's. His relationship
with his strict preacher-father,Gabriel, who had moved from the
South to escape his past, is the central focus of this compelling drama.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .G5396
Gone with the wind.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997.G59 1998
Hurricane.
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, in the prime of his boxing career, finds himself wrongfully convicted of murder. Sentenced to life in prison,
Carter's published memoir, The Sixteenth Round, inspires a teenager from Brooklyn and three Canadian activists who believe in the truth,
to join forces with Carter to prove his innocence. Stars Academy Award winner Denzel Washington.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .H92 2000
I know why the caged bird sings.
Young Maya leads a precarious existence in racist,
Depression-era Arkansas, where she is shunted between her grandmother's
house and mother's -- where she is raped -- and withdraws into total silence.
She endures to share her realization in her valedictory address: "In
order to lift your voice, you have to lift your head."
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .I139
Imitation of life.
This is the story of two widows and their troubled daughters, In the
search for success as an actress, Lora neglects her daughter. Lora's black
housekeeper's daughter repudiates her mother by trying to pass for white.
As the years pass, each of the four women realizes that she has been living
out an emotionally fruitless existence.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .I525
In the heat of the night.
A small town Southern sheriff finds himself in an uneasy alliance with a
big-city black homicide detective as they investigate a murder.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .I531
The Jackie Robinson story.
A biographical picture about Jackie Robinson's life and role in baseball.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .J24
The Joe Louis story.
Story of a back-alley boy who traded his violin for boxing gloves and went
on to become the world's heavy weight champion. Highlights actual scenes
of Louis' memorable encounters with Braddock, Carnera and others.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .J64
Juice.
Four Harlem friends spend their days hanging out and looking for a way to
get the power and respect they call juice, when one of them plans to take
it through an armed robbery, and wants the crew to be with him.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .J83
Juke joint.
Two young men heading west stop in Dallas and meet the Holiday family. The
plot revolves around Mama Holiday's
efforts to keep her family intact.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .J84
Lady sings the blues.
Story of Billie Holliday, one of America's most loved and memorable blues
singers.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .L22
The Learning tree.
Traces one year in the life of young Newt, in which he learns about love,
fear, racial injustice, and his own capacity for honor.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .L398
The Library of Congress video collection.
Includes early motion pictures by African-American directors.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997.A1 L53
Lilies of the field.
A free-spirited ex G.I. stumbles upon five refugee nuns in Arizona and helps
them build a chapel.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .L557
Love & basketball.
From the playground to the pro leagues, Monica and Quincy taught each other how to play the game. Now, their commitment to the sport
will force them to make a choice between each other and the game...between family and team...between Love and Basketball.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .L68532 2000
Malcolm X.
The life of Malcolm X, who through his religious conversion to Islam, found
the strength to rise up from a criminal past to become an influential civil
rights leader.
Johnson Center - Videodiscs
PN1997 .M344 1993
Menace II society.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .M4605 1997
MIB Men in black.
New York City is being threatened by a villainous bug who has inhabited the body of a farmer. The mission is to locate and exterminate
the bug before it destroys the planet.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .M46013 2000
Mississippi masala.
In this exotic and erotic interracial love story, an African-American, owner
of a small carpet cleaning service,falls for a beautiful Indian immigrant, only to encounter shock and outrage
from both families.
Johnson Center - Videodiscs
PN1997 .M58 1992
Mo' better blues.
Talented trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed by his music and indecisive
about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come
to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more
fragile than he ever imagined.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .M6
Native son.
Bigger Thomas, a young black man, victim of a white society, finds himself
hopelessly caught in a web of political and economic oppression. His personal frustration leads him to acts of violence
and passion...all with a tragic ending...touching on the inequality
of the human condition.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .N367
No way out.
When a young African-American doctor operates on two white brothers brought in for gunshot wounds, it sets off a chain of violent
confrontations between a vicious psychopath, his gang and the black community. Includes original theatrical trailer.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .N662 1997
Nothing but a man.
Duff, a railroad section hand is forced to confront prejudice and self-denial
when he falls in love with Josie, an educated preacher's daughter.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .N686
Once upon a time when we were colored.
Tells the story of growing up in the segregation-era South, in a community
that faced adversity and held together with
amazing dignity and grace.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
On Order: Check Catalog for Call Number
Othello.
In this dramatization of William Shakespeare's tragedy a great man's vanity is manipulated by a jealous aide to bring about his downfall.
Betrayal, deception and murder end the friendship between Othello and Iago and culminates in the tragic death of Desdemona. Stars
Larry Fishburne.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .O85 2000
Panther.
In Oakland, California, 1968, The Black Panthers led by Huey Newton and
Bobby Seale have armed themselves and are ready to fight for freedom. To
the people, they're heroes, but to the FBI they're Public Enemy Number One.
Now the Feds will do everything they can--on the right or wrong side of
the law--to bring them down.
Johnson Center - Videodiscs
PN1997 .P358
Pinky.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .P56
Poetic Justice.
A mismatched pair pushed together on a road trip from South Centrol L.A.
to Oakland find themselves reluctantly attracted to each other, when they
are confronted once again by the shocking violence they thought they'd left
behind.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .P644
Princesse Tam Tam.
A French aristocrat discovers a young girl and falls in love with her.
He polishes her in order to present her as an Indian princess.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .P757
Roots.
An adaptation of Alex Haley's Roots, in which he traces his family's history
from the mid-18th century when one of his ancestors, Kunta Kinte, was captured and sold into slavery. Follows the
struggle for freedom that began with the boy's abduction to America and
continued throughout the generations that followed.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
E185.97.H24 A332 1992
Sankofa.
The story about the transformation of Mona, a self-possessed African-American woman sent on a spiritual journey in time to experience
the pain of slavery and the discovery of her African identity.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .S2589
Save the last dance.
When her mother suddenly dies, Sara must abandon her plans to become a ballerina and join her estranged father on Chicago's gritty
South side. She feels out of place until she is befriended by a black classmate and her handsome brother, Derek. Sara and Derek's shared
love for dance leads to romance-- and opposition from their families and friends.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .S2786 2001
Scary movie.
A parady of all the scary movies you've ever seen. The victims pile up and the laughs pile on as a group of teenagers
find themselves being stalked by a recognizable masked killer!
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .S3305 2000b
School daze.
A music-filled, off-beat contemporary comedy that takes an unforgettable
look at black college life.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .S363 1988
She's gotta have it.
Nola's problem is that there are three men in her life, and she wants all
three of them, but the men don't want to share Nola.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .S542
Slam.
Trapped in Dodge City, a drug-infested war zone in southeast Washington D.C., Ray Joshua gets caoght up in a drug deal gone bad and
is sucked into the criminal justice system. In jail he finds truth in himself and his craft through Lauren Bell, a beautiful and charismatic writing
teacher who leads him to the path of salvation. Using his talent for poetic rap, Ray learns to survive and rise above the pain of his lost
generation.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .S5894 1998
Something of value.
In the bleeding heart of British East Africa, violence and terror erupted
with the rise of the murderous cult of the Mau Maus, determined to sweep
the British from the land.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .S658
Soul of the game.
The film features the story of three famous baseball players of the 40s,
when for the first time a black player took the field.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .S665
Summer of Sam.
In the summer of 1977 in New York City, a man called, the Son of Sam, commits numerous murders.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .S8953 1999
Tales from the hood.
Stack, Ball and Bulldog arrive at a local funeral parlor to retrieve a lost drug stash held by the mortician Mr. Simms. But Mr. Simms has
other plans for the boys. He leads them on a tour of his establishment, introducing them to his corpses. Even the dead have tales to tell,
and Mr. Simms is willing to tell them all. And you'd better listen--because when you're in his 'hood, even everyday life can lead to
extraordinary terror.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .T225 1995
To kill a mockingbird.
Two children in a small southern town o an adult world of racial bigotry
and hatred when their lawyer father chooses to defend a black man unjustly
accused of raping a white girl.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .T615
Traffic.
Presents a mix of interrelated stories: a Mexican policeman finds himself and his partner caught in an often deadly web of corruption; a pair
of DEA agents work undercover in a sordid and dangerous part of San Diego; a wealthy drug baron living in upscale, suburban America is
arrested and learns how quickly his unknowing and pampered wife takes over his business; and the U.S. President's new drug czar must
deal with his increasingly drug-addicted teenage daughter.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .T715 2001
Training day.
Jake Hoyt, a fresh-faced rookie in the Los Angeles Police Department, gets a chance to join the elite narcotics squad headed up by
13-year veteran Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris. Jake is to prove himself during a one-day ride-along. As the day wears on, it becomes
increasingly clear that Detective Harris has blurred the line between right and wrong to an alarming degree, enforcing his own code of
ethics and street justice. Eventually, Hoyt begins to suspect that he is, rather than having the opportunity to join the squad, being set up to
take the fall.
Johnson Center DVD -- at Circulation Desk
PN1997 .T72 2002
What's love got to do with it.
The turbulent relationship of Ike and Tina Turner eventually forces Tina
to leave and find the courage to believe in herself.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .W504
The Wiz.
A shy Harlem kindegarten teacher named Dorothy gets lost in a blizzard and
finding herself in a Manhattan version of the wonderland of Oz must dance
and sing her way home.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .W59
Zora is my name.
A dramatization of the life of Zora Neale Hurston, who wrote about the folklore
of the rural south.
Johnson Center - Videodiscs
PN1997 .Z67
Zou Zou.
When the star of a musical play walks out on her sugardaddy producer for
true love, a talented cinderella (Josephine Baker) takes her place, saves
the show, and is hailed as a new sensation on opening night. Includes five
big musical numbers.
Johnson Center - Videotapes
PN1997 .Z68
Developed and maintained by Thomas Herndon, Multimedia and Interdisciplinary Programs Librarian at the George Mason University Libraries.Please e-mail comments and suggestions to therndo2@gmu.edu.
Last Reviewed, May 2002