Black Orpheus (1959)

Black Orpheus is a 1959 romantic tradedy film written by Marcel Camus and Jacques Viot. It was also directed by Camus. The film is based on Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes. The film is set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during Carnaval. 

Young lovers Orfeu (Orpheus in English) and Eurydice run through the slums of Rio during Carnaval, trying to get away from a hitman dressed like Death and Orfeu's vengeful fiancée Mira. The film passes between moments of fantasy and stark reality. This retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1960. It was also President Barack Obama’s mother’s favorite film.

The film had a compelling story and was visually beautiful. The only other movies that I can think of that are just as beautiful are animated films. The use of the colors of costumes, the lighting, and the beautiful scenery in Brazil made the film absolutely gorgeous to watch. 

I loved seeing small symbols of the myth throughout the film. For example, the sun emblem. In some version of the myth Orpheus’ father was Apollo, the Sun god. When Orpheus is preparing to perform in Carnaval, his group chooses a Louis XIV theme (his palace is filled with Apollo and sun emblems/symbols). 

I loved this movie so much. It made me think of the Tony Award winning musical Hades Town based on the same Greek myth. It also reminded me of West Side Story (1961). The film had a theatrical element to it. Maybe it reminded me of a movie that my mother would watch on Turner Classic Movies. Black Orpheus has that classic movie feel to it. This film showed me that Black Films can have the Old Hollywood glamour that a lot of Black Films missed out on. I’d love to find some more films like Black Orpheus that tell a beautiful stories with Black casts. Hopefully they’re not racist works that would make any Black person feel infuriated to see now. 

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 autobiographical film written by Steven Conrad and directed by Gabriele Muccino. The film follows Chris Gardner, a homeless salesman, trying to care and provide for his son, Christopher Jr,. The film is based on the autobiographical book with the same title, written by Chris Gardner.

Although this film was written and directed by White people, I’d still qualify it as a Black Film. It’s centered around Black characters and tells a Black businessman’s journey to success. Even though I’d want Black films to involve more Black people behind the camera as well as infront of the camera, The Pursuit of Happyness is definitely a Black Film.

This film was always hard for me to watch as a child. It was released when I was eight-years-old. It was probably the first film I watched that featured a protagonist struggling so hard to achieve their goal. It was definitely the first film I watched where homelessness was a key plot point. Watching Chris work so hard for his dreams to come through was hard for me to watch as a kid. I’m sure my family found it difficult to watch as well. Thankfully, in the end of the film, Chris lands a job and reaches his goal. Even though it was hard for me to watch, I understand why my parent’s wanted me to see it. Not only was it important to support Black Films, it was also important for me to see that life can be difficult. We have to work hard for what we want and we can never give up.

C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004)

C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America is a 2004 mockumentary film written and directed by Kevin Willmont. The film is presented as a BBC documentary about the history of the United States, wherein the Confederacy wins the American Civil War. The Confederacy establishes a new Confederate States of America that includes the former continental United States, the Caribbean, and South America. The film details significant political and cultural events of Confederate history from its founding just prior to the American Civil War, until the early 2000s. Willmont’s concept is used to satirize real-life issues and events, and to shed light on the continuing existence of discrimination in American culture.

This film was hilarious! It successfully satirizes American Culture and History. The charcters that were interviewed made the most ridiculous comments about the history of the CSA. The advertisements they played throughout the film were ridiculous! Darkie, a charcoal based toothpaste, The Shackle, an electronic device that tracks your “servants,” and the Coon Chicken Inn.

Although the film was funny, it was a surreal experience for me. The film is 100% fiction, but the amount of fact that it’s based on is terrifying. The idea that the CSA would colonize Mexico to certains of South America was real! The confederacy did want to do that! Some of the advertisements in the movie like Darkie Toothpaste and the Coon Chicken Inn were real things. When I finished watching this movie I really wasn’t sure how to feel. The movie was good, it just put me in a really dark place. The ideas explored in the film still exist. If white people had an opportunity to be open about their hated for Black people and other people of color, the world would be an even scarier place than it already is.

This is the first movie I’ve watched that I didn’t really enjoy. It left me feeling uncomfortable and upset. I was uncomfortable because the events of this movie could have easily taken place. This is was upset me about the film. It further proved how much there is left to change in our society in regards to race and race relations.

Pumzi (2009)

Pumzi is a short, Science-Fiction film wirtten and directed by Wanuri Kahiu. The film is set in East Africa approximately thrirty-five years after World War III, known commonly as “The Water War.” It shows the viewer a world where water is not as easily accessible as it is today.

The film follows Asha, a woman who works in the Virtual Natural History Museum. She receives an anonymous package that contains a small soil sample. She tests it and finds a high level of moisture as well the coordinates of where the sample came from. She places an old plant in the soil and it immediately begins to grow. She promptly has a virtual meeting with the Maitu Council, a body of three women, and asks to leave her underground community to go to the soil sample’s source. They deny that life is possible outside. She tries to prove them wrong, but the Maitu Council denies her visa and immediately send in a security team to destroy all evidence. The authorities take Asha from the lab and force her to work one of the machines used to produce water. Later, with the help of a bathroom attendant, Asha breaks out of the underground and goes to the world above. She uses a compass to go to the coordinates of the soil sample. Asha struggles through the desert wasteland that is Earth. She sees a tree appear in the desert, but it’s only a mirage. Asha digs a hole in the sand and plants the bud that came from the Virtual Natural History Museum. She pours the last bit of her water on the plant and passes out over the plant. Suddenly, the plant rappidly grows and the Earth’s surface beings to change...

This was an excellent film. I really enjoyed the absence of the male gaze throughout the film. Depending upon the director of the film, women tend to be hypersexualized. Something as simple as the costumes for the Amazon Warriors in Wonder Woman (2017) and Justice League (2017) can give you an example of what I’m referring to. A lot of fans of the films noticed that Justice League changed the costumes of the Warriors in Justice League. Most people guessed that was because Wonder Woman had a female director and Justice League had a male director. In regards to this film, none of the women are in unnecessarily revealing clothing like some of the women in Justice League. There are not one, but three women in power! In one of the final scenes, where Asha is trying to give as much water to the plant as possible, she removes her top to wipe sweat off of her body. This could have been an easy excuse to see her breasts, but the director chose to show her wiping her chest from behind. It was so refreshing!

Another thing that I found refreshing was that I have never seen a Black Woman in a film save the world, and I think that’s really important. I saw Mulan save China in Disney’s Mulan in 1998, I saw Katniss save Panem in Mockingjay (2015), and I saw Moana save the world in 2016! These are all great films. Two of them feature women of color as their protagonists. However, I can’t think of any film that shows a Black woman save the world by herself. I’d argue that in films like Spectre (2015) or Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) Black women give a contribution to saving the world, but the main protagonists are still White men. I’d be wrong to not acknowledge the importance of Asha in Pumzi like the Academy did to Halle Berry with her historic win in 2002. Berry seemed to be the only person who recognized how important it was that a Black woman had finally won Best Actress. It’s argued that this is part the reason why no Black woman has won it since. Anyway, Asha’s heroism is something that should be mentioned! It is time to see more Black women, and honestly more women of color, save the world. They can definitely handle it.

I truly enjoyed this film. I loved the story, it made me think about all of the things I listed above, and it opened my eyes to a new definition of Black Film. For whatever reason, I limited my definition of Black Film to Black American films. I somehow forgot to include the African Diaspora to my definition. You could agrue that by saying “Black,” it automatically includes everyone of African descent. However, you have people like me who saw the term “Black Film” and immediately thought of African-American films and filmmakers. Granted, I’m African-American so I tend to see films released in America or on American versions of streaming services. Pumzi showed me that Sci-Fi can be slower paced, a Black woman can indeed save the world, and Black Film should include the Diaspora not just African-American films.

Black Candle (2008)

Black Candle is a documentary about the Black Holiday, Kwanzaa. The film was directed, written, and produced by M. K. Asante. It focuses on Kwanza’s orgin as well as African-American family, culture, and cummunity through the lense of Kwanzaa. The film was also narratored by Maya Angelou.

When I started watching this film, I didn’t know much about Kwanzaa. I just knew it was a Holiday created by Black Americans, it’s celebrated after Christmas, and a few of the names of days celebrated (i.e. Imani, Nia, and Kuumba). When the film began to disect the individual days and the history if the Holiday, I learned so much more.

The film tells the viewer that the Black Power Movement is what triggered Kwanza to be created. Kwanza is a celebration of Black People. In the film, Kwanza is described as, “one of the very few things that shows us that Black is Beautiful.” The seven guiding principles (for the seven days of Kwanzaa) include: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). I was truly surprised to learn that the first celebration of Kwanzaa was in Los Angeles, CA in 1966.

This film meets its goal to educate the viewer about Kwanzaa Another goal of the film is to explain Kwanzaa’s importance.

I think anyone, regardless of race could sit down and watch this film and understand it. However, I’d argue that this film was created to educate Black people about Kwanza and its importance. The film doesn’t do an exstensive history of Africans in America. It seems to be tailored to Black Americans. Simply looking at who was interviewed for the film helps to prove it: Chuck D, Amiri Baraka, Jim Brown, and even Maya Angelou are some people that Black People can easily recognize. I thought that it was extremely important to show/use them. It helps Black people watching this film recognize that we are African. It also shows them how important it is for us as Black People to come together to celebrate this Holiday.

I really enjoyed learning about Kwanza watching this film. I truly enjoyed seeing the African-American family, struggle, community, and culture through the eyes of Kwanza. I hope that other viewers can find joy in it too.

Chameleon Street (1989)

Chameleon Street is an independent film directed, produced, and starring Wendell B. Harris, Jr.. The film follows Douglas Street, Jr., a con artist who assumes multiple identities in order to provide for his wife (and later, his daughter as well). He becomes a reporter, a lawyer, a surgeon, and many other identities. In the film, Doug speaks about he felt the need to “become what people want him to be.” He also referred to his multiple identities as characters to play.

The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival. However, film distributors had no idea how regular audiences react to a film like this. Doug’s character combats white people’s definition of what black is. The film is also difficult to categorize, which means it’s also difficult to promote. It’s not quite a drama and it’s not quite a comedy. It’s based on a true story (Harris’ life), but no one would really know him outside of the Detroit area.

In many ways, this film represents the Black Community. Many Black people feel like they have to conform to their surroundings in order to survive, just like the film’s protagonist. Black may not go to the same lengths that he did, but I think most Black people will be able to identify with that feeling.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was a HOT MESS. I have never laughed so much watching a movie! It also really made me think about the definition of Black Film. How can we define Black Film if, like Black people, we can’t be defined?

For Us, By Us, and About Us

Hi! I’m Donovan and it’s nice to meet ya! On this blog, I’ll be reviewing Black Films. But we first have to ask “What is Black Film?” According to Wikipedia, “Black film is a classification of film that... [involves] participation and/or representation of Black people. The definition may involve the film having a Black cast, a Black crew, a Black director, a Black story, or a focus on Black audiences.” I think this quote is a great place to start. However I’d say that this definition is missing something very important... Black Screenwriters!

One of the first things we learn in Black Drama at Morgan State University is W.E.B. Du Bois’ quote “For Us, By Us, About Us, Near Us.” In July of 1926, Du Bois wrote an article in his newspaper (The Crisis) explaining his ideas of what Black Theatre should be (For Us, By Us, About Us, and Near Us). For the sake of this discussion on what Black Film is, let’s forget about the “Near Us” portion of Du Bois’ quote. Black Film should be For Us, By Us, and About Us. I’d even go further to say that Black Films should be funded by us, but that can fall under the “By Us” part. Now you may be watching a movie and it seems to be about and for us as Black people, but it might not quite be by us.

A prime example of this would be The Preacher’s Wife (1996). The movie is definitely about Black people, it’s intended audience is Black People, the cast is pretty Black, and it’s even produced by a Black woman, Debra Martin Chase. However, it was directed by a white woman and written by white men. Even the production companies are run by white people! The movie is still about and for us. Right down to the music.

Basically, Black films should tell the stories of Black people. Sometimes it’s a true story like Malcolm X (1992) or The Butler (2013). Sometimes it’s completely fiction like Akeelah and the Bee (2006) or Coming to America (1988). But hopefully, the film is written, told, produced, and supported by Black people. Maybe as this blog progresses, I’ll find a new meaning of what a Black Film is. Only time will tell.