Black Rodeo: A History of the African American Western

From the days of silent cinema through the 1970s, the western was the most prolific and popular American film genre. In Black Rodeo Mia Mask examines the cinematic history and the visual culture of African American westerns. By placing the mythic figure of the black cowboy-hero into a historical context, Black Rodeo analyzes phases in the evolution of this underexplored genre. The book begins with post-World War II social problem pictures that emerged in the 1950s and ’60s. In chapter 1 the early films of football-heroes-turned-movie-stars like Woody Strode and Jim Brown are discussed. In chapter 2 Black Rodeo considers the star vehicles of Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier, including his foray into the western as a director. Fred Williamson is a case study in chapter 3, which encompasses the Nigger Charley trilogy and a discussion of the first Black comic book hero, Lobo. Williamson’s star vehicles parallel the transition from Black liberation to Black westploitation. The experiences of rodeo-riding cowboys and cowgirls are examined in an analysis of Jeff Kanew’s cinéma verité-style documentary, Black Rodeo, in chapter 4. Chapter 5 demonstrates the relationship between past and present by putting contemporary revisionist westerns like Posse, Rosewood, Cutting Horse, Django Unchained, and The Harder They Fall into dialogue with their cinematic predecessors.