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Morgan Freeman’s Resistance and Non-Traditional Roles

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Abstract

These words of Frantz Fanon represent the spirit of actor Morgan Freeman and his resistance against societal forces that would prevent his being a man. In the annals of the American theatre, the black actor has faced almost insurmountable odds since 1767, when Edwin Forrest created the character Raccoon in The Disappointment or The Force of Credulity. Since then, the stereotype has pervaded. Black men in particular, America’s most feared and suspected group, have been represented on the stage and screen as denizens of the lower depths.

I wanted to be a man, nothing but a man.

(Fanon 113)

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Works Cited

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© 2000 Glenda E. Gill

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Gill, G.E. (2000). Morgan Freeman’s Resistance and Non-Traditional Roles. In: No Surrender! No Retreat!. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-05361-9_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-05361-9_11

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-62002-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-05361-9

  • eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)

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