Welcome back, my dearest friends and readers!
So, a couple of weeks ago it was Hooray for Blacks in Hollywood! Part 1 – TV. Please click on the banner below to be taken to the previous article:
And as promised I am back with Part 2 – Film and movies!
In looking back at the previous black films and movies of yesteryear, I was struck by all of the nostalgia from a truly epic and enjoyable part of film history. And as in part 1, I did commence with what Hollywood got right and what they got wrong:
So, I am going to start by saying I LOVE the “blaxploitation” films of the 70s!! There are MANY stereotypical tropes from said movies. HOWEVER, I ENJOYED those movies!! 😂🤣🤣And so, yes, I am going to be mentioning a couple of those, as well!
To me some of these movies were fun and action driven and just crazy! Some would call them “camp” by today’s standards.
However, the other contributions that black actors and actresses gave to the movies, despite the genre, is amazing and phenomenal. And as you will see from this TINY list (because I am well aware there are SOOOOO many movies to mention), black people demonstrated effectively and powerfully that they could play just about anything our white counterparts do!
So, let’s begin!
What They Got Right
Imitation of Life 1959 (the Lana Turner version) – This is such a sad story, heartbreaking, depressing, you know all of the things that make a good movie. 😀 If you are not familiar, this movie basically tells the story of a young woman, born light-skinned to a dark-skinned mother, who goes through the movie trying to “pass” (as white) and, therefore, attempting to deny her own mother because of the color of HER skin and deny where she came from. Sarah Jane, portrayed by Susan Kohner, was absolutely confused as to where she fit in and belonged. Again, she COULD pass for white, and she did. Her mother on the other hand, Annie portrayed by Juanita Moore was a VERY dark-skinned African-American woman. So, seeing the two together caused some confusion for a lot of people, simply not believing that Sarah Jane actually belonged to Annie.
We see Sarah Jane endure a lot of pain and internal struggles throughout the movie in trying to deny her roots and true identity. However, nothing compares to the pain and misery she placed upon her mother, poor Annie. She denied her own mother time and time again, to the point that it eventually just broke poor Annie’s heart and led to her getting sick and eventually dying. SORRY SPOILER ALERT! 🤣
Now, this is a movie that was a staple in our house when I was growing up. My aunt watched it. I watched it. So, you can say it was sort of passed down. LOLOL The acting is UNBELIEVABLY AMAZING! Again, such heartbreaking performances from both Kohner and Moore. And yes, Lana Turner and Sandra Dee star in it, as well, as mother and daughter with their own drama going on. Child! Fighting over the same man! Played by hottie John Gavin!!!
By the way, Lana Turner’s character, Lora, an up-and-coming actress who eventually has it ALL, honey, in the beginning of the movie hires Annie as her maid. We get to see both Kohner and Dee’s characters grow up, as Annie becomes a mainstay in Lora’s household.
But the movie really displays something that was quite prevalent back then and that is light-skinned black people trying to “pass” (for white). And I think this movie digs really deep into the psychological scars it can have on everyone affected. I mean, Sarah Jane’s nonsense spilled over even into her relationships with Turner’s character and Dee’s character.
Such a great movie from beginning to end! It does NOT disappoint! And the ending – just have your hankies ready is all I’m saying!!
Shaft 1971 – The entire movie is such a wild ride into 1970s hardcore inner city culture. Crime riddled, sexy, urban, dangerous, gritty! Richard Rountree portrays John Shaft, a private detective – or private dick as Isaac Hayes says in the title song. 🤣
I know there are those who would say that this is blaxploitation at its finest – or worst. However, say what you will about this movie, the soundtrack by Isaac Hayes is PHENOMENAL!!! It is superb! The soundtrack is a blend of sexy, throbbing, upbeat, depressing, wild ride, scary, lachrymose. All the things! Just like the movie, which was a wild ride from start to finish, with John Shaft, who was one sexy mother*&%$#@ – hush yo mouth – to the ladies! LOL The inner city feel, the drug dealers, the desperation, the crime, the ACTION! It checks off all of the boxes. All of it was captured wonderfully in this movie.
Now, I can’t give an assessment on the Samuel L. Jackson version, which I have never seen, and I do plan to catch it at some point in time (because I LOVE some Samuel MOTHEFUCKING Jackson!). But what I didn’t know is that it is the SEQUEL to the original movie, and Samuel L. Jackson portrays John Shaft’s nephew!! 😱😱😱
Blacula 1972 – once again if blaxploitation is your thing, then you will LOVE this gem of a movie! The thing that I love the most about this one is the African-American viewpoint. I mean, who said that Dracula has to be white each and every time?
Again, Blacula brings the inner city, urban black experience to full life in this film. And William Marshall is absolutely mesmerizing as Blacula, who was originally an African prince named Mamuwalde but was transformed into a vampire and renamed Blacula by, well Count Dracula.
We get the typical scenes and story with regard to dealing with a vampire, yes being either killed by Blacula or turned into one by him. And Blacula accomplishes both. And there is the underlying “love story” where Blacula believes the character Tina, portrayed by Vonetta McGee, is his long-lost lover, Luva – I mean we are talking really long lost as in 1780. 🤣😂 And Vonetta portrays both parts. By the way, giving props to Vonetta McGee in not only her performance in the movie, but being one of those HUGE black stars of yesteryear!
We get to see the gritty side of city life, as opposed to some dark castle in Transylvania, though that is where the movie starts, back in 1780. But then we catch up to 1972 where we see nightclubs, shady characters, and get the feel of the 70s. Not to mention the fact the soundtrack is updated to funk, with contributions by the Hues Corporation! Oh and we even get a GAY COUPLE, who are antique dealers!!! Great movie!
Roots 1977 – This was a miniseries on TV, which was based on Alex Haley’s novel of the same name. It traces his family roots – hence the name – all the way back to the late 1600s/early 1700s starting off in Africa, and yes we witness slavery and all of its disgusting horror. And it continues into Roots: The Next Generation, which includes a young Alex Haley through his adulthood.
The story follows a young Kunta Kinte who is captured by slavers and brought to America to begin a life of mistreatment, torture and abuse. This VERY powerful and PHENOMENAL true story that translated to TV as a MOVIE was absolutely gut wrenching. Heartbreaking. Triumphant. With so many stars from back in the day:
Cicely Tyson; Louis Gossett, Jr.; LeVar Burton as the young Kunta Kinte; John Amos as the adult Kunta Kinte; George Stanford Brown; Leslie Uggams; Ed Asner; Robert Reed; Olivia Cole; Sandy Duncan; Chuck Connors; Lynda Day George; and the big names from back then that just go on and on and ON!! It was wonderful!!
AMAZING performances across the board with some VERY notable black actors and actresses, as well as white!!!
The depiction of how slaves were treated, being kidnapped in their own home continent of Africa and being forced to come to America to be continually abused, whether mentally, emotionally, or sexually – was abysmal. It really was the first time blacks (and whites) got to see the absolute reality of the grotesque brutality, pain, struggles, and heartache of slavery. And the blacks were PISSED!!!!!! I definitely remember that! But Roots did such a skillful job of showing all of it, including a very strong sense of dignity and courage from the black slaves.
If you have not seen this movie, regardless of your race, do yourself a favor and go watch it now!
The Color Purple (the 1985 version) – This. Was. An. OUTSTANDING movie!! The 1985 version. I will NOT watch the current movie version, with the singing. I have seen a scene from it and it was AWFUL!! The acting, the line delivery, AWFUL! Well, Fantasia played Celie. ‘Nuff said. It’s called stay in your lane. You may be skilled at singing, but not necessarily acting.
Anyway, Celie’s story done in real time and with voiceover, was truly stellar, heartbreaking, strong, triumphant – of her life in starting as a young girl in the 1930s, essentially being raped by her father – well, turned out to be her stepfather – but who impregnated her not once, but twice! And both babies given away. And then being married off to the abusive Mister, who’s true love was saloon singer Shug Avery!
Wow! Such a story of betrayal and love, and the performances were off the chart! We are talking Oprah Winfrey (Sophia), Danny Glover (Mister aka Albert 🤣), Adolph Caesar (Old Mister), Margaret Avery (Shug Avery) and of course, Whoopi Goldberg in her first starring role as Celie. POWERHOUSE! Now, talk about a quotable movie. Toooooo many humorous lines to even count!!
Oh and did I mention that the 1985 version was filmed in my county of Anson County, in Marshville, North Carolina? But the exterior courthouse shot near the end, is actually IN my hometown of Wadesboro. So, I have an extra special feeling about this movie. Not to mention the fact that a lot of the extras, I either went to school or church with!!!
Candyman 1992 – Tony Todd, may he forever Rest in Peace and Power. His Candyman is tall, handsome, brooding, charismatic, sexy, yet dangerous, deadly and downright evil. And I am so happy they chose a black actor for the role. I really don’t think any other actor could have done as phenomenal a job as Tony Todd did. And bringing the African-American experience to horror in the 90s, this was an excellent choice!
The Help 2011 – By now a lot of you are very familiar with this movie starring Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Sissy Spacek. Again, so raw and truthful about what it was like to be a domestic – okay a maid – in the South working for white people. There were those whites who appreciated your work and didn’t care one bit that you were “the help;” it was as if you were a part of the family. And then there were others who treated black people as you would expect, horrible. Like they were not people. Just servants.
I think the one thing I really love about this movie, other than the amazing performances by Viola Davis and especially Octavia Spencer, with the chocolate pie LOLOL was again, the quiet dignity and honesty portrayed. Though it is one of those movies that show us as maids and butlers, which I complained a little bit about in my Part 1 of Blacks in Hollywood, you can’t help feel a connection to these strong ladies, whether black OR white. What they had to endure and put up with in a society that basically looked down on them and looked at them as trash.
Job well done!
- Spencer won Best Supporting Actress for The Help!!!
Get Out 2017 – Again, talk about a true first. A black male as the lead in a horror movie!!! Kudos to Daniel Kaluuya! Thanks to Jordan Peele (can we say the modern version of The Twilight Zone) as well as other movies, such as Get Out, we see black characters front and center, now in the horror genre. We are starting to FINALLY cross over when we should have been crossing over into this genre, which happens to be a favorite of mine, by the way – HORROR and SUSPENSE.
- Get Out won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay!!!
The Green Book 2018 – oh boy! Talk about a movie that quite frankly was a bit ahead of its time, yet based on a true story about a black GAY piano player/entertainer who hires a WHITE straight man to be his driver to get him safely to and from his gigs in the South, (by using the Green Book which showed the safest routes for blacks to take), was such an incredible tour de force! Holy shit! Actor Mahershala Ali did such a wonderful job as Dr. Donald Shirley!! Though set in the 60s, I am so glad this movie was done, because for one, the black guy hired THE WHITE guy portrayed by Viggo Mortensen! LOL You don’t see that too often, if at all in movies. So, it was a nice turn. Also, I LOVED the fact that the black lead was gay, and it was done with few, if any, stereotypes. Painful truths, yet some great happy surprises. And some very heartwarming Driving Miss Daisy type friendship between these two, obviously, different men.
- Ali won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for The Green Book!!
Black Panther 2018 – oh my GODDESS! FINALLY, a superhero movie with virutally an all-black cast of superheroes and heroines is exactly what we needed and STILL need! As far as I know, this was the first time this has ever been done. I do not ever remember a black superhero like a Superman or an Aquaman or Wonder Woman. And the performances were STELLAR, paricularly from late actor Chadwick Boseman. I think it is fair to say that he truly left his legacy with this film.
- Black Panther won three Oscars for its technical achievements: Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design!!
Honorable mentions to other damn good black movies: Waiting to Exhale, Super Fly, Do the Right thing, Set it Off, Foxy Brown, Eve’s Bayou, To Sir with Love, Hidden Figures!
What They Got Horribly Wrong
Lawd, Meet the Browns – So, I know that Tyler Perry is HUGE in Hollywood, and particularly with his movies. But his TV shows are (yes, I know I am talking about TV again) — well – how do I put this. They SUCK!! I ended up watching an episode of Meet the Browns several years ago when a former coworker (who used to work at that dreadful place here in Atlanta that I dare not mention) – Ha! – He was in an episode, and you know the whole ‘oh let’s support our fellow actors BS.’ So, me and my then roommate at the time did just that. And child, to say that we were horrified would be an understatement. Our coworker’s acting was HORRIBLE!! This particular episode was HORRIBLE! The show was just a train wreck. Everything from the portrayals – especially of our coworker – and the dialogue and the acting across the board was just abysmal and shameful. It was like the show itself just didn’t make any sense. I wouldn’t say it was ghetto, per se. But well – you’ll just have to see for yourself.
Pootie Tang – Oh brother what a train wreck of a movie. If you can call it that. It just hit every blaxploitation trope you can imagine, and sadly with an all-star cast, including Jennifer Coolidge, CHRIS ROCK, WANDA SYKES, and for God Sake’s even ROBERT FUCKING VAUGHN was in this trash!!! Pootie Tang is sort of a jack-all-trades in the sense that he becomes famous for a variety of reasons, particulary with regard to children – Lord help us – and even sort of becoming a superhero of sorts with his belt. Yes, his belt. I kid you not.
Some of the Madea movies – Lort! Once again, Tyler Perry. So, in my opinion – and again this is just my opinion, but in the beginning when we were first introduced to Tyler Perry’s titular character – no pun intended – Madea, originally from Meet the Browns, Madea was hilarious. But then something happened that oftentimes happens when you overdo a good thing. Madea was in EVERYTHING! Madea goes to Jail. Madea’s Boo Halloween. Madea’s Christmas. You get the point. It just became too much. What eventually started off as comical turned into a farce, and not in a good way. It was just overdone.
Oooo and I can see the black community coming after me over dragging Tyler Perry. Oh. Well. Again, it is just my opinion. Because in the end, I think Tyler Perry HAS DONE a lot of tremendously good things for the black community. After, all he does reside here in Atlanta, and he has a major studio here. So, that means jobs, and I myself was once an EXTRA in one of his movies — Meet the Browns!!! with Angela Bassett and Rick Fox And we won’t even talk about the miniscule pay I received for that. But again, I think his movies were the bigger success, because it did deal with a lot of black issues, particularly related to black women. So, on that point he got that one right.
Overall black movies that miss the mark imo – The portrayal of the loud-mouth, hetero black guy who is “down” and the “class clown” who constantly engages in buffoonery, seems to be what black audiences like and can even relate to. Whereas if you have a black character who is highly intelligent, well spoken, that can come across to many black people as being “white” or “uppity.”
So, what am I saying? It seems to me that the class clown type of black character is more relatable, which I think is what is wrong with not just black society but society overall. Yeah. I said it.
Also, in terms of black movies, I really don’t think it is necessary to ALWAYS go there in terms of racism. How about we be more mainstream and that some of the problems our white characters face black characters can also relate to?
Well, that about does it for now. This concludes my two-part series on Hooray for Blacks in Hollywood. And I know I missed a lot – and I do mean a LOT – of truly phenomenal black movies!!! Perhaps there will be a followup post. Tee hee.
Anyway, come back next time when I delve into what it is like to be different, and not fitting in with everyone else. Please don’t miss this one. And until then, please be safe and, as always, mentally well!
DEREK’S DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional, neither am I giving any medical or legal advice. If you are seeking help from a doctor or an attorney, please consult said professionals. These are my personal thoughts and feelings on the subjects discussed, and my blog is my own personal experiences and journey with mental imbalance. Thanking you in advance!
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Sources: A lot of Wikipedia, but mostly memory and fondness 😊