Directed by Marlon Riggs • 1986 • United States
Marlon Riggs’s essential, Emmy-winning documentary takes viewers on a disturbing voyage through American history, tracing the deep-rooted stereotypes that have fueled anti-Black prejudice. Examining the racist depictions of African Americans that have permeated cartoons, feature films, popular songs, minstrel shows, advertisements, folklore, household objects, and even children’s rhymes from the 1820s to the Civil Rights era, ETHNIC NOTIONS explores how these dehumanizing caricatures became embedded within the American psyche and continue to exact a devastating toll.
Directed by Marlon Riggs • 1989 • United States
Marlon Riggs’s landmark documentary uses poetry, personal testimony, rap, and performance (featuring poet Essex Hemphill and others) to describe the homophobia and racism faced by Black gay men. The stories are often devastating: the man refused en...
Directed by Marlon Riggs • 1990 • United States
This exploration of Black gay male desires and dreams starts with an affectionate, humorous confessional and moves on to a wish for empowerment and incorporation.
Directed by Marlon Riggs • 1991 • United States
Marlon Riggs’s experimental music video politicizes the homoeroticism of African American men. With images—sensual, sexual, and defiant—and words intended to provoke, ANTHEM reasserts the “self-evident right” to life and liberty in an era of pervas...
