Practicing What You Preach: Black Movie Habits

With all this talk back and forth about “Diary of A Mad Black Woman” and how either its important as an Black filmgoer to support it or how stereotypically perverse the image of the central character of Madea is, I want to put some ideas out there for people to ponder. In the past week I’ve gone back and forth about how I respect Tyler Perry for being able to bring his efforts to the silver screen, but that I don’t support his plays because I take the above latter position. I look back upon the history of film and marvel at the atrocious ways that Black folks have been both treated and portrayed, so I marvel at the support of the same old mental slavery stance when we support modern day Stepin Fetchit’s and Beulah’s and the like, much less dudes in drag.

A lot of people who disagreed with my opinions sternly suggested that I should be more positive and support Black films regardless of the content. Honestly, I can understand their position, but if you’re going to say so, then practice your film going (and buying) habits as you preach.

This weekend Be Cool was released in theatres across the country. John Travolta stars in this sequel to one of my favorite films, 1995’s Get Shorty. In the original, Miami mobster Chili Palmer comes to Hollywood to collect a debt for his boss and discovers that his “talents” lend well to becoming what he always dreamed: a movie producer. In Be Cool, Palmer is fed up with the movie industry and decides to break into music production. Now, I know that a lot of black folks have not nor will ever willingly watch Get Shorty, but to support your arguments about WHOLEHEARTEDLY SUPPORTING BLACK FILM, I want all of you to go out there and support this new flick.

You may be unaware, but the director of Be Cool is F. Gary Gray. He is the excellent director of such films as Set It Off, The Negotiator (another of my favs), and The Italian Job (He also directed Friday, but hey we all gotta start off somewhere [and yes, I’m quite aware that I’m among the literal handful of young black folks who didn’t like Friday]). Gray does really good work, so even if you don’t like Travolta, then go support this film to show your support behind this Black man. And hey, it is a comedy too, so you won’t have to worry about taking life too seriously.

While you’re at it, remember to buy Spike Lee’s latest film, She Hate Me, which was released on video and DVD in late January. Also go buy last summer’s King Arthur and the Blues music documentary Lightning In A Bottle, both directed by Antoine Fuqua of Training Day and Bait. And don’t forget last year’s Woman Thou Art Loosed too because I bet most of you didn’t make the effort to go see that. There are so many others to go support too, other films that are really good (or at least directed well) that are too numerous to place here, but go support those too.

If you’re going to preach, then lend your efforts across the board. Your support for Tyler Perry is just as important as your own for Gray and Fuqua and especially for Spike, who opened up so many doors for modern black films and filmmakers.

BE COOL director F. Gary Gray schools Travolta about that darn wig
posted by the Media Man Watch

Christina Milian (yum!) perfoms at the MTV Awards in F. Gary Gray's 'BE COOL'
posted by the Media Man Watch

Director F. Gary Gray with his hands full (Why is he touching my Christina M.!?!)
posted by the Media Man Watch