What Makes a Black Film Authentic?
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Independent, Romance, Mystery & Suspense, Family Films, Politics, Cinematical Indie
The UK's The Guardian has a fascinating piece by Ken Williams on what Black film in the UK is "supposed" to look like, and why white, middle-class audiences only deem a Black Film "authentic" if it's about gangs, drugs, and guns. Williams gets into an interesting bit about social realism, and why every Black film is expected to be socially realist (with the authenticity of the film generally being determined by someone outside that cultural group), when every White film does not have to be socially realist. Willams asks: Can you have a Black lead without race being relevant to the plot? How about a British romantic comedy or horror flick with Black leads?
Not that Hollywood is much better. If you look at Black films coming out of Hollywood, they're brimming with social stereotypes. Oh, there are exceptions. Akeelah and the Bee, for instance, was about spelling bees. Idlewild turned originality in Hollywood on its ear. Denzel Washington can lead a film without race being an issue, at least in an action-packed drama. But how about as the lead in a romantic comedy, opposite, say, Gwyneth Paltrow? There are smart Black films like Love Jones that disprove the idea that films that focus on African-Americans have to have gangs and guns and stupid people. Director Kevin Jerome Everson tells stories about the African-American community in creative and original ways, with authentic characters and beautiful visual design. Spike Lee hit the mark twice in 2006, first with Inside Man, one of the smartest films of the year, and then shifting gears into documentary mode for his four-hour opus When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts.
Tyler Perry, while his films may not garner much in the way of critical acclaim or fest circuit awards, has found a way to circumvent having to make movies that cater to the White, middle class: He doesn't make movies for them. He makes movies targeted solely to the Black audience, full of inside turns and references that you really need to be African-American to fully appreciate, and they love him for it. Perry is laughing all the way to the bank with a string of Madea movies waiting in the wings.
But other than a few, prominent actors and directors, when you think of African-Americans in films or directing films, what comes to mind? There have got to be some African-American indie filmmakers out there who are making movies that break stereotypes and expectations of authenticity, right? And who gets to decide what's "authentic," anyhow?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-02-2006 @ 3:25PM
Futurus_x said...
I am black indie filmmaker originally from the UK working feverously on establishing myself in the US.
My perspective has always been to tell the stories that compel me most and further more to tell those stories by a means that I feel to be the most interesting, with little regard for whether it will sell. Quite often, this strategy results in non-traditional approaches to films featuring African American characters, but nevertheless in what I hope might be regarded as an authentic approach.
My vision of authentic film in relation to a particular culture, in this instance America's varied black community, is one that should be constantly evolving allowing us to see with a greater clarity the tapestry of a Black America through it's various distinct phases.
Films such as Boyz in the Hood and Menace II Society needed to spring out from and speak to the Black Community and a mainstream America. They held a certain degree of authenticity with regard to the black experience. But today we need stories that show us something else. Any culture that exists in America is deeply layered with facets not immediately evident and merely waiting to be exposed skillfully by talented filmmakers.
Just as Gay cinema probably doesn't need another traditional approach to a film about a young man coming out. Black film probably doesn't need another streotypically told film about gang warfare.
I see authentic film from a cultural perspective as that which attempts to move our understanding of a culture forward even if only a little. It loses authenticity when it leans on those things that have been overexposed to the point of exploitation.
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10-02-2006 @ 8:55PM
Justin said...
I keep getting reminded about Night of the Living Dead these days...when Duane Jones was the first black lead in a movie that didn't call for having a "black lead".
Unfortunately I have seen indie filmmakers these days, black or white or Asian casting to what they think an audience would like to see instead of what they want to see, perpetuating a cycle that's unfortunately not yet self-aware in its insidiousness. What we are all self-aware about is catering to different stratas, which usually means following a middle-ground that isn't exactly new frontier or realistic. Do I care if someone cringes when they see a black/white pairing in romcoms? I don't, I'm pretty sure the person next to me doesn't as well. But I'm also pretty sure someone out there does and its unfortunate that studios and filmmakers feel obligated to include them as well.
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10-08-2006 @ 3:20PM
Ron Carpenter said...
I happen to beleive much of today's American Black Art(Film/Music) has it's roots in the Literature of the Harlem Renaissance and Black Arts Movement of the 70's. -It's our tradition.
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10-28-2006 @ 4:58PM
DSBUCK said...
I have a little beef with the term "Black Film", as an Independent "Black" filmmaker who has worked in the film industry for 7 years, I've seen many non-black filmmakers make films on thier idea of the so-called black experience, which 99% of the time involves guns, hoes, drugs, crime etc. The cast is mainly a black cast, so it would fall into the category of a black film. To me this is what is so puzzling about the term. I think because of the influx of so many people making films about what they think the black experience might be, is why we see so much negative images and stereotypes regarding the black race. This is the same reason I think its more difficult for a good "Black Film" to get a good distribution deal, or honored at a good festival, or decent sales in foreign markets, or even looked at by a solid company, because of all the waste product that comes out of the world. I think the term black film needs deconstructing and perhaps a new label entirely, we don't say "White Films" and hold that to a certain regard, so why "Black Film". My film "The Minority" is a film about the many stereotypes and racist ways a black person has to deal with in daily life, that many people just can not see. I would not call it a "black film", but I would say it is a "film evolving around the black struggle", It is beautifully shot on film, with high production value, and a great cast, this is my abode to great film making, with a great message attached, I would like this film to change perseptions of the negative black image to one of a more positive like, this film might not change everyone's perceptions but it's a start.
You can see trailers at the official website:
www.TheMinorityMovie.com
DB
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