Introduction

With this comprehensive website, my goal is to explore black male representation in the horror film genre looking through the lenses of The Protagonist, The Antagonist, and The First to Die Phenomenon.

There has been an evolution in how black men have appeared in horror films. I want to approach this topic by looking at the major phenomenons and stereotypes designated to black men in horror. Usually when people mention a black character in a horror film, many think of the character who dies first, but I want to explore that idea as well as the antagonist, blaxploitation (“taking back the horror ideal”), and the progressive protagonist.

I want to be able to answer the questions: Why did the black man die first? How does this movie connect to history and reality? What does this say about the ideologies of society at large?