Notes

1 For a more detailed chronology and discussion of the L.A. School see Ntongela Masilela’s "The Los Angeles School of Black Film makers" in Manthia Diawara’s Black American Cinema. New York: Routledge, 1993. 107-17.
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2 The issue of "realism" is a thorny question with a long history of debate in the liberal arts. I do not wish to engage the many possible definitions of realism here, however. For an excellent discussion of realism in 19th century art see Linda Nochlin’s Realism. London: Penguin, 1971. Nochlin has defined the aim of the Realist movement in art of the 19th century as "to give a truthful, objective and impartial representation of the real world, based on meticulous observation of contemporary life"(13). This statement operates as a basic definition for this project.
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