Emperor Jones the Early Ages

Emperor Jones The early ages of cinema rarely featured black people because of the discrimination existing during the time and because black people were considered to be unlikely to possess the acting abilities needed for motion pictures. However, the fact that film directors wanted diversity in their movies gave black people the chance to enter the world of cinematography. Taking advantage of their opportunity, black actors proved their amazing acting talents to the whole world.

African-American actors such as Hattie McDaniel and Paul Robeson were among the numerous black artists to distinguish themselves during the first half of the twentieth century. The Emperor Jones is a 1933 film with its plot based on a controversial play from the 1920s and has Paul Robeson starring in the main role. Robeson had been one of the first black actors to impress both black and white audiences with his clever acting and his remarkable baritone voice.

The first half of the twentieth century had black people involved in a mass movement to elevate the status that blacks had in the U.S. during the time. Robeson also tried to use the roles he had in movies in order to improve the typical image of a black man. Eventually, he learnt that his acting abilities did nothing to change the way that black people were seen in America.

Instead, his talents were used by film directors and editing crews as means to promote the image of a black man as being what a white racist audience wanted it to be. He failed in his attempts to better the status that his people had, and, he was destroyed by witnessing the premiere of his movies and seeing that directors had acted against his will.

Robeson generally played the role of a black man that was either the servant of a white man, or he had been a man that had numerous vices. His characters were generally exploited to show what directors wanted them to show instead of showing what Robeson wanted them to. Scenes like that from the beginning of The Emperor Jones when he sings in front of the mirrors and shows his amazing smile have had a huge impact on the audiences that mostly considered black people to be untalented.

In spite of the fact that directors did all that they could to use his character as they wished, Robeson's acting abilities captivated audiences and made them believe that the actor had had a strong character which rendered him unfit for playing weak roles. The Emperor Jones presents Robeson as he plays the role of Brutus Jones, a black man taking advantage of every circumstance to better his social position. Even when people try to fool him, Brutus demonstrates that he is smarter and turns the situation in his favor.

Jones is imprisoned after having murdered a man, but, he kills a prison guard and.