The next movie in the old Netflix queue was Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. I put that on the list quite awhile ago because along with Shaft (1971), and maybe Foxy Brown or Super Fly, it is a cornerstone of '70s blaxploitation films. Having seen Shaft and really liking it, I figured I would pick up Sweet Sweetback.
I'll start with the bottom line first: I just don't get it. At least not the critical part.
What I did get was that the movie was truly an independent film. But it terms of film-making it was one long mostly dialogue-less montage of Sweetback (Melvin Van Peebles - who also wrote and directed) making his way to Mexico after beating up a couple of cops. There are a lot of jumpy cuts and odd editing choices. There isn't really a plot. Sweetback meets some interesting characters, gets in and out of situations, typically by having sex; often quite loudly, explicitly, and graphically on screen.
I was reading an unrelated movie review this week, and it said (paraphrasing) that the critic must remember that every movie is somebody's baby. Somebody poured their heart into making it, so tread lightly. And so, I must say I respect anybody who can make any movie, especially one like this that so definitely has a message that the film-maker is desperately trying to express.
It does take courage to make a movie so outside the mainstream. Perhaps the message is simply an artifact of its time. So I'll appreciate Sweet Sweetback in that context and for the influence that it has on later African-American filmmakers. I also realize as a white, 30ish, suburban dweller of 2009, I'm not exactly the intended audience. As much as I've thought that I'm being oppressed by The Man (mostly as a teenager - big surprise, right? - not so much now), I recognize that I have no idea about living as a minority.
And I live in these semi-enlightened times, 40 years removed from 1971, when as depicted in the movie the police captain could tell his officers to "bring that n***** in", then say to his two black officers they would be "a real credit to their people" if they arrested Sweetback. Though to be fair in between he does apologize to the two officers saying "you know it is just an expression". That would be an interesting question to discuss, is racism easier to take when it is subtle or overt?
In lieu of a favorite quote since I can't think of one in the sparse dialogue, I present Louis CK. To accurately sum up my feelings:
Bottom line: I just don't get it. And I probably won't ever and that is OK. That said, 2 TKs out of 5.
What I did get was that the movie was truly an independent film. But it terms of film-making it was one long mostly dialogue-less montage of Sweetback (Melvin Van Peebles - who also wrote and directed) making his way to Mexico after beating up a couple of cops. There are a lot of jumpy cuts and odd editing choices. There isn't really a plot. Sweetback meets some interesting characters, gets in and out of situations, typically by having sex; often quite loudly, explicitly, and graphically on screen.
I was reading an unrelated movie review this week, and it said (paraphrasing) that the critic must remember that every movie is somebody's baby. Somebody poured their heart into making it, so tread lightly. And so, I must say I respect anybody who can make any movie, especially one like this that so definitely has a message that the film-maker is desperately trying to express.
It does take courage to make a movie so outside the mainstream. Perhaps the message is simply an artifact of its time. So I'll appreciate Sweet Sweetback in that context and for the influence that it has on later African-American filmmakers. I also realize as a white, 30ish, suburban dweller of 2009, I'm not exactly the intended audience. As much as I've thought that I'm being oppressed by The Man (mostly as a teenager - big surprise, right? - not so much now), I recognize that I have no idea about living as a minority.
And I live in these semi-enlightened times, 40 years removed from 1971, when as depicted in the movie the police captain could tell his officers to "bring that n***** in", then say to his two black officers they would be "a real credit to their people" if they arrested Sweetback. Though to be fair in between he does apologize to the two officers saying "you know it is just an expression". That would be an interesting question to discuss, is racism easier to take when it is subtle or overt?
In lieu of a favorite quote since I can't think of one in the sparse dialogue, I present Louis CK. To accurately sum up my feelings:
Bottom line: I just don't get it. And I probably won't ever and that is OK. That said, 2 TKs out of 5.
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