Black Movies...

Makes you wanna laugh, eh? As I mentioned in an earlier note, Spike Lee and Antoine Fuqua deserve respect, but the rest are pretty much suck-tastic! Now, Gordon Parks was a fantastic gentleman. As the progenitor of an art form, he deserves special praise. Yes he is noted as the first-black film director. Yes, he directed Shaft and yes, Shaft is a part of Blaxploitation, but I will give it a pass because it was the very first black directed film. On to better things. Sidney Poitier's films with Bill Cosby are deliriously entertaining. Uptown Saturday Night and Let's Do it Again (which spawned the Staple Sisters' hit song) were brilliant. A Piece of the Action is a bit much, but acceptable. These films teetered on the line between comedy and Blaxploitation. From there, we get both Keenan Ivory Wayans and Robert Townsend. Robert Townsend's Hollywood Shuffle is a brilliant satire on the state of black film in 1987. It is still relevant today, for it shows how many actors must "sell out" to even get one role, let alone reprise one. If you have never seen it, then you should check it out. Keenan Ivory Wayans has since wavered with the Scary Movie films, White Chicks, and Little Man. But his earlier contribution helps me swallow his latest pills. Shortly after Townsend's film we get the one and only Spike Lee. The fearless director that should inspire several generations to come. How is it that has already created the most important body of work in the history of black film. Yes, we must list some of them. She's Gotta Have It, Mo Better Blues,School Daze, Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Crooklyn, Get on the Bus, 4 Little Girls, He Got Game, the Original Kings of Comedy, Bamboozled, A Huey P. Newton Story, Inside Man, When the Levees Broke, and so much more! Purely Amazing! How can any other director live up to this body of work? More to come about this subject...