Bigger and Blacker

"Bigger and Blacker" is a lively collection of interconnected short stories by Octavus Roy Cohen that centers on the Midnight Pictures Corporation, Inc., a fictional Black-owned film studio operating in Birmingham, Alabama. The narrative follows the ambitious and often humorous exploits of various characters, most notably the dapper and resourceful Florian Slappey, as they navigate the complexities and mishaps of the burgeoning silent film industry.

Through a series of comedic vignettes, the work explores the social dynamics and entrepreneurial spirit of its protagonists as they attempt to produce motion pictures against the backdrop of the early 20th-century American South. The stories capture the vibrant energy of the characters' community and their persistent pursuit of success in the entertainment world. As a significant example of 1920s popular fiction, "Bigger and Blacker" provides a window into the literary portrayal of African American life and the cultural fascination with cinema during the Jazz Age. The work remains an interesting study of early twentieth-century humor and the historical development of the American short story genre.

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