CINEMA’S IMPACT ON BLACK SOCIETY, HOME MOVIES, AND DOCUMENTARIES

Cinema’s Impact on Black Society, Home Movies, and Documentaries explores the devastating and long lasting impact of Hollywood's stereotypes on young Black children growing up in America. Heavily impacted by the picture on the screen, early films like The Birth of a Nation shaped the way Black people are seen by society and how they see themselves. This paper dives into my deeply personal storytelling of my own journey of unlearning self-hatred, rediscovering myself through old family home movies my grandfather left me before passing away, and finding peace in continuing his legacy by documenting my own journey through life. At its core, this is a deeply profound love letter to my younger self struggling to fit in without being a stereotype and find serenity in preserving the stories that once came before me.