Faber Faber Screen Deep How film and TV can solve racism and save the world.

by Ellen E. Jones

Screen Deep: How film and TV can solve racism and save the world is a book about the immense potential of screen storytelling to defeat an evil both historic and urgently topical. Everyone watches TV and movies. Everyone has an interest in building a more just and equitable world. Screen Deep goes beyond the many film books and anti-racist manualsalready published, by demonstrating the connection between these two aspects of modern life. In Screen Deep I combine my personal experience as a mixed-race woman who cares about racism with my professional expertise as a film and TV journalist of twenty years standing, to ask - and answer - several questions. Is there such a thing as an Indigenous western? Is race comedy 'cancelled'? Where are all the films for white people? And most Can you still fight the good fight with a mouthful of popcorn?

Genres: Nonfiction, Film

384 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2024

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellen E. Jones offers a hugely readable overview of how cinema has depicted Black people and people of colour across its history, drawing out the racist and white supremacist principles that have provided a foundation for so much of western cinema's output - and working practices. Jones covers a huge swathe of material, and the one drawback is that there are sections where I wished she'd gone a bit deeper, rather than moving on to the next genre/area of film. But it's an excellent primer on this whole subject - and I found the latter sections critiquing 'whiteness' in cinema particularly welcome and thought-provoking.

[Eury10 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned SO MUCH about the history of film and TV and racism in this book, it was a very formative read. This will probably become a staple in my gift guides for years to come, especially for my fellow white people.

[Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great exploration of film and tv and its power to engage with the world and possibly move it forward.
I came away not only with a long list of movies and shows to catch up, but a greater understanding of how they are made and tools for analysing them.

[John Bleasdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent

[Ryan Crane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fascinating read that made me rethink about a lot of tv and cinema I’ve digested without thinking deeply about. Very detailed and the arguments are well made - would recommend!

[gaverne Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a powerful read. I always see film and TV as causing so much trouble so nice to see other possibilities...