Shadow and Act Chapter Summary & Analysis - Part 3, The Shadow and the Act, Section 2 Summary

Part 3, The Shadow and the Act, Section 2 Summary and Analysis

"The Shadow and the Act" (published 1949). This essay uses analysis of four Hollywood films, each with race relations as their narrative focus, as the basis for a discussion of the way film echoes the general, and ongoing, racial tension in America. It begins with a detailed plot summary of the filmic adaptation of William Faulkner's novel Intruder in the Dust, the story of a young racist white boy coming to respect the older black man who saves his life. The author clearly views the film as a "remarkable" step forward, and uses it as the touchstone for comparison with several other films. The first of these is The Birth of a Nation, a silent film directed by one of the greatest and most innovative film directors of all time, D. W. Griffith. The author speaks of the violent racism in the film, its portrayal of Negroes in stereotypical roles,...
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