What is a Western? Film Series: Buck and the Preacher (1972)

4700 Western Heritage Way,Los Angeles CA 90027

31 July, 2021

Description

See Sidney Poitier’s directorial debut, a story of recently emancipated Black settlers crossing the West by wagon train. Released amongst the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Buck and the Preacher helped audiences rethink ideas of race within American Western films. In this directorial debut of Sidney Poitier, the film follows recently emancipated Black settlers crossing the West by wagon train. As advocates of equality in American life, the performances by the film’s stars reflected themes more often found in Blaxploitation films of that era, which allowed African American audiences to see Black experiences recentered through a cinematic lens. Screening introduced by Tyree Boyd-Pates, associate curator of Western History Directed by Sidney Poitier / Starring Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, and Ruby Dee Screened in 35mm Ticket purchase includes museum admission.