I really enjoyed getting to know Josephine Baker a little more, the writing was well done and I thought it was well researched

A very well researched book into the life of one of the greatest entertainers to grace us, the Legendary, Ms. Josephine Baker. Once I got through the introduction section, I was able to enjoy the book. Although it does read like a textbook,, and I've read other book regarding her life, there were some things that I was not aware of while reading this book. It is well worth the read, especially if you want to know more about her. This was such a very good read.

what a fascinating book. Could not put down and was so proud her breaking inParis what she couldn’t do in States. The writter developed the characters ans put it in the time fram that made the story so interesting. Praises to the writer.

Josephine Baker was an anomaly in the early days of black representation in cinema. She never played a maid or a cook and she was always the star of her films. As the energetic star of films including Zouzou (1934), Siren of the Tropics (1927), and Princesse Tam-Tam (1935), she offered a new perspective on Black actresses on the screen. That said, the way she was presented to her public had its complications. In a new book, Terri Simone Francis explores the legendary performer’s image and accomplishments on the screen.

Before I picked up this book, I’d never watched a Josephine Baker film. I’m not sure why. I’ve enjoyed clips of her singing and dancing, I’ve read two biographies about her, I’ve even read a whole book about her Rainbow Tribe of adoptees from around the world. The only conclusion I can come to is that I assumed that a woman who walked down the streets of Paris with a Cheetah on a leash, had men fighting duals over her, and lived in glamour and chaos for decades could never be half as amusing in a film as she was in real life.

I’m glad this book inspired me to fill in that hole in my cinematic education. I’m also happy to have been wrong, because while Baker didn’t think much of her films, she had presence and the camera loved her. This academic, but accessible deep dive into her film career and the impact of her image in the movies is thorough in considering what influenced her, how she reflected the current culture, and how she continues to be an influence today.

Francis explores how Baker’s performance style was inspired by African dance and blues singers like Ethel Waters, Ma Rainey, and Clara Smith (with whom she performed in the US). She put her own comic lens on these varied influences and presented her take with a boldness that would later show in the style of top stars like Diana Ross and Beyoncé. That vibrancy would translate well to the screen, where her mere presence was invigorating in addition to her energetic, unique dance style and solid comic chops.

Baker’s films were intricate in the way they approached her role in society. While she was the glamorous and charismatic focus of attention, there was always a flavor of exoticism in the way she was portrayed. French colonialism also had a steady pull, keeping her centered, but not quite free. Wealthy white men might have found her alluring, but she was never the romantic focus. Francis thoughtfully details that uneasy balance of stardom and restriction that affected her film work, placing Baker in the complicated history of minstrelsy, Hottentot Venus, and other modes of Black performance and spectacle.

This is an impressively thorough examination of a relatively short period of Baker’s career that nevertheless had a significant impact on her image and legacy.

A rich, full book that examines the film career of Josephine Baker and all its complexities. The author does a wonderful job delving into Baker as both an autonomous artist and a Black woman subject to the systems of power at play in both America and France. I found myself asking questions about race, artistry, the history of Black artists, and how a person's legacy can come to represent so much to so many. Josephine Bake was a complicated and vibrant human, and Terri Simone Francis does a wonderful job illustrating that.

I often say that "This book, conference, or speech was good because it made me want to learn more about the subject." Well, I stopped reading this book about 10 pages in to go find some footage of Ms. Baker and add a couple of her films to my watch list. At that point, I realized the author already had me hooked.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style. I could feel her love and admiration for Josephine Baker play out on every page. I appreciated the way the author embraced Beyonce's homage to Baker during a live rendition of déjà vu in 2006 as well as remembered Dianna Ross' tribute to her in the '70's. The list of performers Ms. Baker has inspired is noteworthy.

It's interesting how her work 100 years ago and still today brings about disagreement as to whether her work is worthy of praise for being empowering or scorn for being exploited.

Baker's life serves as a backdrop for American and French history at the time noting how the French felt superior for being open to black performers, while hypocritically still having colonies around the globe. It was also interesting to see how Baker's career compared to Saarjtie Baartman's. Admittedly, I didn't even know who Baatman was, but found myself researching her as well.

In the end, this was not a quick or easy read but a very worthwhile one. I knew almost nothing about Josephine Baker, nor her historical context, and therefore often found myself curious enough to stop and watch video clips or look up some of the people referenced in the book. I'm grateful to the author for exposing me Josephine Baker and to a world unknown to me.

Note: I've downloaded a bunch of free, (mostly) random, pre-releases of books with the idea of expanding my range and helping authors get reviews. #netgalley #JosephineBakersCinematicPrism

Josephine Baker's Cinematic Prism by Terri S. Francis is a throughly researched story of Baker's impact & influence both in the art/dance world and the Civil Rights Movement.

I agree with another reviewer that it does read more like a textbook than a biography. It’s a bit unfortunate because, as a full time graduate student, I was hoping to take a break from the academic life for a moment & relax. Beautiful book tho, nonetheless.

Josephine Baker's Cinematic Prism is a well researched and thorough telling of Baker's impact both in the scope of the arts and civil rights as a whole. I personally had no idea of the scope of her craft and it was enlightening to read about. The author weaves in background information on topics focused on the arts for those that may be unfamiliar for example with various forms of burlesque which I appreciated.

My only criticism is that it reads more like a textbook than a biography. I was hoping for a little more poetic description of, for example, scenes mentioned based on the description of the book, beautiful cover, and ties to the arts.