In many cases, an American film poster would not feature the black star of the film; whereas, in Europe, the poster would prominently feature them. 'The Great American Broadcast,' which was a 20th Century Fox picture made in 1941, features Alice Faye, Jack Oakie and John Payne, all of whom are illustrated on the American poster. The Italian poster features the Nicholas Brothers, and it's a lot more exciting. |
The posters are nothing more than advertising, and advertising relies on the popular culture. In this case, it was guns, women, wild clothing, crazy fashion, crazy hair. |
There are people who don't agree with that era of film. It is an important piece of the puzzle. |
This era, as with any era, illustrates the struggle of the African-American to be recognized. |
While the African-American community liked the fact that they now had black heroes on the screen, ... a few years later, the same community was tiring of the image of the black man as a pimp. |