Body and Soul
Attend:
| Free with general admission |
*General museum admission is FREE for residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.
(USA/1925—directed by Oscar Micheaux)
The actor Paul Robeson (1898-1976) first rose to fame as an ensemble member of the Provincetown Players in New York City, starting in 1916. Robeson’s motion picture debut came in Oscar Micheaux’s silent feature Body and Soul as Reverend Isaiah Jenkins, an escaped prisoner masquerading as a clergyman in a rural Georgia church to exploit the most vulnerable members.
The Motion Picture Production Code censored the film, citing its “sacrilege” based on Jenkins' mental abuse of a single mother played by Mercedes Gilbert. Micheaux was able to appease the ruling by re-editing the film with fantasy scenes suggesting any resemblance between the situations in Body and Soul and real life was imaginary. (82 min.)
Presented with a live musical score composed and performed by Rodney Whitaker.
This program is part of a companion series of film and music events presented in celebration of Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971, on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts Feb. 4–June 23, 2024. Regeneration is organized by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
(USA/1925—directed by Oscar Micheaux)
The actor Paul Robeson (1898-1976) first rose to fame as an ensemble member of the Provincetown Players in New York City, starting in 1916. Robeson’s motion picture debut came in Oscar Micheaux’s silent feature Body and Soul as Reverend Isaiah Jenkins, an escaped prisoner masquerading as a clergyman in a rural Georgia church to exploit the most vulnerable members.
The Motion Picture Production Code censored the film, citing its “sacrilege” based on Jenkins' mental abuse of a single mother played by Mercedes Gilbert. Micheaux was able to appease the ruling by re-editing the film with fantasy scenes suggesting any resemblance between the situations in Body and Soul and real life was imaginary. (82 min.)
Presented with a live musical score composed and performed by Rodney Whitaker.
This program is part of a companion series of film and music events presented in celebration of Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971, on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts Feb. 4–June 23, 2024. Regeneration is organized by the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.