The Criterion Collection - Spine# 1095
Melvin van Peebles is constantly on the run in this movie. And when I say “on the run” I mean it literally. Sweetback (Peebles) spends the majority of his time evading the police in this picture. The film defies conventions with its atypical hero at the center of the story and is often credited with birthing the blaxploitation genre. And while Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song can be viewed as a standard chase movie, with…
The Criterion Collection - Spine# 1094
I can proclaim with the utmost confidence that there are very few white people on this earth who would want to trade places with me. Or any other Black person for that matter. It has little do with the issue of color itself. And more to do with the loss of the privileges that many are aware of, yet reluctant to state as fact. It’s what gives a film such as Watermelon Man its…
I’ve been wanting to jot down something about this film for a minute now. And I’m pretty sure that this film's been covered from about every angle imaginable. So let me try approaching it from this angle. Let’s talk about my pity for Sal.
When I mention a pity for Sal, I’m not referring to pity for the man himself. I’m referring to his desire to cling to whiteness, the construction of it, and the burden it places on black…
Who is this film for? And what is it looking to accomplish?
These are the two questions that have been swirling around in my mind almost a week later after watching Green Book, Peter Farrelly's racial road movie about the classically trained pianist Don Shirley, Tony "Lip" Vallenlonga, and their 1960's journey through the deep south. I know the answer to both questions, but I don't think Peter knows and I don't think that co-writer Nick Vallenlonga knows either. But…
