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The Role Of African American Personal Identity In Blade II And The Matrix

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Race is an important factor in shaping personal identity for many individuals, especially African Americans. Films play a significant role in representing different races and their personal identities on screen. The portrayal of race and its impact on personal identity can be seen in two films, Blade II (2022) and The Matrix (1999). This paper aims to explore how these films depict African American personal identity or racial heritage, compare and contrast the two films, and how they define or construct a national identity.
Blaxploitation as a genre is not present in the two films, Blade II and The Matrix. Blaxploitation refers to a subgenre of exploitation films that were made in the 1970s and featured predominantly African American casts. …show more content…

Blade II and The Matrix are two examples of how African American personal identity or racial heritage can be depicted on screen. Both films present fully-formed characters who are defined by their personalities and motivations, rather than their race. While Blade II presents its African American lead as a powerful and dominant character, The Matrix portrays its African American lead as a wise and guiding figure. Both films contribute to the construction of a national identity, with The Matrix offering a critique of the power structures and systems of control that exist in …show more content…

(2019, August 3). Blaxploitation Films to Know: ‘Dolemite,’ ‘Coffy,’ ‘Blacula’ & More. Variety. Retrieved from https://variety.com/gallery/blaxploitation-films-to-know-dolemite-eddie-murphy/im-gonna-git-you-sucka-1988/
IMDb. (1999). The Matrix (1999). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/
Bullock, D. (2015). The Black Image in Film: A Review of Cinema Noir. African American Review, 48(2), 159–168. https://doi.org/10.1353/afa.2015.0021
Chang, J. (2016). Oscars: Hollywood’s race problem. ProQuest. https://www.proquest.com/blogs-podcasts-websites/oscars-hollywood-s-race-problem/docview/1759056640/se-2?accountid=14580
Crouse, R. (2015). Hollywood vs. history: Dolemite. Variety. https://variety.com/gallery/blaxploitation-films-to-know-dolemite-eddie-murphy/
Gabbadon, N. (1997). The Black Action Film: A Genre History. Cinema Journal, 36(3), 52–70.

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