Making a promised land : Harlem in twentieth-century photography and film /

Examining still and moving images of Harlem over the last century, Massood (film studies, Brooklyn College) thoughtfully analyzes two popular visual mediums of the 20th century, photography and film, as new modes of historical interpretation. Author of Black City Cinema: African American Urban Experiences in Film (CH, Jul'03, 40-6307), Massood asserts that the history of photography and film in Harlem provides the keys to understanding the neighborhood's symbolic resonance in African American and American life. One might quibble that the only problem is in the sources themselves. Photography is historically, by origin and nature, a medium of reportage that is judged by standards of accuracy and fidelity to its subject, while movies--with the exception of documentary films--are traditionally a medium of fiction. Nevertheless, Massood does a service in showing how the two mediums can be used together as tools for the comparative analysis of Harlem through still pictures and moving pictures. Among the films discussed are Fights of Nations (1907), Dark Manhattan (1937), Malcolm X (1992), and American Gangster (2007). The author examines African American urban history with a sharp eye for enlightening visual portrayals. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above. T. Cripps emeritus, Morgan State University