trailblazers
September 29, 2009 8:01 PM   Subscribe

What were some of the earliest (and most respected) films made about the "black experience"? My first exposure to it was "Boyz in the Hood"... what set the trail for that?
posted by Tbola to Media & Arts (24 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Do the Right Thing.
posted by MegoSteve at 8:03 PM on September 29, 2009


Lee made She's Gotta Have It several years before Do the Right Thing. Mid-80s. It blew people away.
posted by keener_sounds at 8:10 PM on September 29, 2009


Well Roots takes it way back. It was well received. Awards and stuff.
posted by Askr at 8:10 PM on September 29, 2009


Oscar Micheaux was making films as early as 1919 - how far back do you want to look?
posted by jtron at 8:12 PM on September 29, 2009


Response by poster: jtron: If you have a particular film or two to recommend... you can go as far back as you want.
I'd like to feasibly be able to find a way to view it, however.
posted by Tbola at 8:15 PM on September 29, 2009


Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

not a great film but an super important one nonetheless, here's the wikipedia entry on it's history and back story
posted by hector horace at 8:16 PM on September 29, 2009 [2 favorites]


70's Blaxploitation movies come to mind!
posted by dragonette1 at 8:33 PM on September 29, 2009


Here's the Top 50 Essential Black Movies according to Black Voices magazine, along with some other lists that I found on MySpace.

What?
posted by rokusan at 8:56 PM on September 29, 2009


Killer of Sheep by Charles Burnett
posted by cazoo at 8:59 PM on September 29, 2009 [2 favorites]


Killer of Sheep, 1977, Charles Burnett.

Wikipedia

IMDB

www.killerofsheep.com
posted by intermod at 9:02 PM on September 29, 2009


Dang it! Spent too much time linking!
posted by intermod at 9:02 PM on September 29, 2009 [1 favorite]


70's Blaxploitation movies come to mind!
Yep, as long as you view them with the proper historical perspective. There's a reason the word "exploitation" is used to describe them. This documentary provides a pretty good primer on the historical context of the films and the impact of the blaxploitation film era.

I'd be careful about regarding many of Spike Lee's films as representative of anything but his fairly narrow geographic view. That said, I would recommend his film, "School Daze" for its depiction of certain Black social class issues.

A Raisin in the Sun would meet your criteria of being one of the most respected films.
posted by fuse theorem at 9:10 PM on September 29, 2009 [1 favorite]


Soul of the Game was a great movie about the politics behind who was going to be the first black player in major league baseball. I believe it was originally aired on HBO but it's available on Netflix.
posted by any major dude at 9:15 PM on September 29, 2009


Putney Swope is nothing like Boyz N the Hood, but it's a pretty good milestone of 70s political, absurdist comedy.
posted by zardoz at 9:31 PM on September 29, 2009


A fascinating (if idiosyncratic, strongly opinionated and a little unevenly written) series of articles - lots of things that were new to me. Among other things it mentions that some see Cooley High as a precursor to Boyz n the Hood.

Wild Style, while its core identity is as the "first hip hop movie," the time and venue makes it fundamentally a black experience movie as well.
posted by nanojath at 9:57 PM on September 29, 2009


I was also coming in to recommend Killer of Sheep and Swope. Watermelon Man as well.

I'm assuming Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was recommended as a joke, right? It's neither respected or a trailblazer. For interesting anecdotes on the film, though, you might want to check out Pictures at a Revolution. It focuses on the 5 films nominated for best picture in 1967, two of which feature Sidney Poitier and couldn't be more different. Dinner is one and In the Heat of the Night is the other. I'd recommend the latter as an answer to your question as well.

I'd also recommend the book Framing Blackness: The African American Image in Film, but it's more film scholar than film afficianado. The Mark Harris book, conversely, is for both. Terrific stuff.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 10:22 PM on September 29, 2009


Oh, and Menace II Society was made after Boyz in the Hood but it's a better film, imo. The directors' followup, Dead Presidents, is also worth a watch. To me, it's the post 70s film that best captures that era. Growing up, I knew so many guys like Terrance Howard's Cowboy... man, did he nail that part.

Also, filmed much later, David Mamet's Homicide was called the best film ever made about race in America by David Meyer, author of A Girl and a Gun. I agree with him, but it focuses more on jews than blacks--though African Americans do figure into it. It's a very complex film, but well worth a watch. Really nothing to do with "the black experience" though, at least in the terms you're referring to.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 10:34 PM on September 29, 2009


Probably the earliest would be Native Son based on Richard Wright's book. The 1951 movie was an offshoot of the 1941 Orson Welles produced play.
posted by JJ86 at 6:59 AM on September 30, 2009


Seconding Sweetback.

Also: Sounder.
posted by Joe Beese at 7:10 AM on September 30, 2009


Brother From Another Planet
posted by box at 7:24 AM on September 30, 2009


George Washington
posted by box at 7:24 AM on September 30, 2009


The Inkwell
posted by box at 7:24 AM on September 30, 2009


That movie was about a black family who had tried their best to fit in according to white standards. I'm not saying it was good.

I haven't seen Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 30 odd years or so but I don't remember it being about that. I thought it was about a white couple who invite their daughter for dinner and she brings her black fiance.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 8:10 PM on September 30, 2009


Micheaux's stuff seems to be available on DVD; I'd also recommend checking out DVD sets collecting historical or silent footage as his stuff gets included in that sort of thing
posted by jtron at 4:21 PM on October 1, 2009


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