Riding High in the Saddle: African American Subversion in the 1930s Western

Résumé 0

While the 1930s in the United States is oftentimes overshadowed by the effects of the Great Depression on everything from the economy to everyday life, at the same time, it was an era filled with avid moviegoers. The advent of sound in film provided a unique opportunity for minority filmmakers to contribute to the early cinema. African American filmmakers like Spencer Williams, for example, turned to the genre of the western because it was a familiar genre for both mainstream and minority audiences. It was also cheap to produce, a boon for screenwriters and directors like Williams with limited budgets. By adopting a popular genre like the western, Williams brought minority perspectives to the silver screen during a period when these perspectives were often met with hostility or completely ignored within mainstream culture. In doing so, Williams includes elements of the western that are familiar to audiences, such as the singing cowboy genre. He then pairs this familiar element with subversive ones like the use of dialect and the trickster figure. Through an analysis of Williams’s adhesion to and disruption of tendencies in the western, it becomes clear how he appealed to both white and black audiences during a period of poverty, unemployment, and segregation. In addition to this, a closer look at William’s manipulation of a western like Harlem Rides the Range helps locate and explore black identity in early cinema history.