This thesis will attempt to answer how films deal with blackness and crime, specifically when intersecting with the concepts of exploitation, appropriation, whiteness and the criminality of the black body. While not entirely the root of the negative perceptions of African-Americans in the United States, the manner in which African-Americans are portrayed in motion picture media influences how their presence is seen in society. This thesis will examine specific films that include elements dealing with the listed factors and what effects they may or may not have.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis will attempt to answer how films deal with blackness and crime, specifically when intersecting with the concepts of exploitation, appropriation, whiteness and the criminality of the black body. While not entirely the root of the negative perceptions of African-Americans in the United States, the manner in which African-Americans are portrayed in motion picture media influences how their presence is seen in society. This thesis will examine specific films that include elements dealing with the listed factors and what effects they may or may not have.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Edwards, Blake"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Joshua Hill","Charles Scheer","Thomas Panko"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:12Z","subjects":["blackness","criminality","film","white privilege","racism","cultural appropriation","Civil Law","Civil Rights and Discrimination","Criminology","Race and Ethnicity","Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/661","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Joshua Hill","Charles Scheer","Thomas Panko"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Edwards, Blake"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-06-18T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["blackness","criminality","film","white privilege","racism","cultural appropriation","Civil Law","Civil Rights and Discrimination","Criminology","Race and Ethnicity","Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/661"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis will attempt to answer how films deal with blackness and crime, specifically when intersecting with the concepts of exploitation, appropriation, whiteness and the criminality of the black body. While not entirely the root of the negative perceptions of African-Americans in the United States, the manner in which African-Americans are portrayed in motion picture media influences how their presence is seen in society. This thesis will examine specific films that include elements dealing with the listed factors and what effects they may or may not have.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Acting Black: An Analysis of Blackness and Criminality in Film"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Joshua Hill","Charles Scheer","Thomas Panko"],"dc:creator":["Edwards, Blake"],"dc:date.available":["2019-06-18T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis will attempt to answer how films deal with blackness and crime, specifically when intersecting with the concepts of exploitation, appropriation, whiteness and the criminality of the black body. While not entirely the root of the negative perceptions of African-Americans in the United States, the manner in which African-Americans are portrayed in motion picture media influences how their presence is seen in society. This thesis will examine specific films that include elements dealing with the listed factors and what effects they may or may not have.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/661"],"dc:subject":["blackness","criminality","film","white privilege","racism","cultural appropriation","Civil Law","Civil Rights and Discrimination","Criminology","Race and Ethnicity","Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance"],"dc:title":["Acting Black: An Analysis of Blackness and Criminality in Film"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:45:12Z"}