Hallelujah!

"The films you are about to see are a product of their time. They may reflect some of the prejudices that were commonplace in American society, especially when it came to racial and ethnic minorities. Those depictions were wrong then, and are wrong today. These films are being presented as they were originally created because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming those prejudices never existed." These words are written clearly across the screen when you view Hallelujah! on DVD and VHS are they are rightly justified. The film itself is a cruel reminder of how popular culture in the 1920's portrayed blacks in such a stereotypical manner.

The film was written and directed by King Vidor, a white Hollywood producer. He based the story on his childhood experiences and wanted to show the world black song and dance. What it ended up being was a caricatured and stereotyped image of blacks in the South. The story itself is not racist,(click here for synopsis), but the characters are portrayed as Mammy's, Sambo's, and the happy black man picking cotton. The only positive to come out of this film is that it was the first all-black Hollywood produced film which opened the door for other black actors.