Archive for October, 2009


Most Important Black TV Shows – #8 Fresh Prince of Bel Air

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October 12, 2009

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One of the most popular sitcoms of its era, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air told the story of West Philly teenager Will Smith as he brought his street-wise hip hop sensibilities to the Banks household, moving in with his aunt and uncle in Bel Air, California.

On to the tale of the tape…

Relevance:  In the middle of a new golden age for black sitcoms, The Fresh Prince, in addition to having a black star and an all black cast, would over its six year run have guest appearances by numerous black stars making their own moves on the career ladder (Tyra Banks, Don Cheadle, and Tevin Campbell immediately come to mind).  How many sitcoms in history have had their theme song rapped by its star?  The defense rests.

Legacy:  Very, very easy to forget with all that’s happened since, but Will Smith was damn near done before this project got greenlit.  Like a lot of young brothers who get money young, he spent freely and the IRS was on him.  The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air gave Will a second career as an actor, and to his credit he’s taken full advantage of the opportunity.

Craft:  With all due respect to TBS, this show was truly very, very funny.  Well cast, well written, and very well performed, the show consistently brought the laughs, which (should be) the goal for any sitcom.

Crossover:  And let’s pass some of that praise on to NBC and its various station managers across the country.  When the show was for all intents and purposes cancelled after three seasons, both fans and affiliates let the powers that be know how popular the show was in spite of it not ever being the number one show in America.  Three more seasons later, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air more than earned its place as a syndication favorite.

Apollo:  Another show where you could pick from many choices.  I’ll go with the running joke that we all know: Jazz (Jazzy Jeff) getting thrown out of the mansion repeatedly for either a) hitting on Hilary, b) pissing off Uncle Phil, or c) usually a combination of both.

Next time on the TV show countdown, something much more serious.  Until then…

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Most Important Black Films – #8 Shaft

Filed under: 25 MIF & TV, Inspirations, Movie Reviews — 4 Comments
October 11, 2009

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When you start talking about the iconic films of black cinema, it won’t be long before you get to Shaft.  Made in 1971, this film stars Richard Roundtree as a black private eye in Harlem who gets dragged into a private war between the Italian mob and the black gangsters of the city.  Yes, I opened a review of Shaft by talking about the actual plot of the film.  Now that we got that out of the way, on to the tale of the tape…

Relevance:  Directed by Kansas native Gordon Parks (who also cameos in the film), Shaft was both a pop culture and a financial success (made for a little more than a million, it grossed 12).  More than some of the indie black films that preceded, it showed Hollywood there was money to be made by making films for black audiences.  And the floodgates known as the blaxploitation era officially opened…

Legacy:  Take your pick.  The classic theme song from Isaac Hayes?  The two sequels (Sequels to a mainstream black film?!?  How many times has that happened since then?!?)  Bringing black pride to the masses?  The remake starring Samuel L. a generation later?  Any and all of these could be worthwhile arguments.

Craft:  Some of the techniques and art design are clearly dated now, but Gordon Parks was always as real as it gets, and Shaft is a film.  Not a parody of another film or style, but a film on its own regard.  Compared to some of its brethren in the blaxploitation genre, and it’s easy to see why Shaft is still regarded as one of the best films from that era.

Crossover:  As much as the song and the artist have been parodied (including self parody, Chef), let’s not forgot that the theme from Shaft won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.  The song and the movie were genuine crossover hits.

Apollo:  

And on that note, come back later as the film countdown continues with another iconic film.  Want a hint?  Maybe next time…shitty!  A HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

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More Than A Game

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October 10, 2009

 

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Before he became the face of the NBA’s next generation of superstars, LeBron James was a skinny prep school star in Akron.  The documentary More Than A Game takes a look at LeBron’s well known relationship with his boys, who over the years have earned their own version of notoriety on a smaller scale.

As a young brother, watching this doc naturally led to thoughts of my own group of guys; I think it’s almost an unwritten rule among brothers that somewhere in your life you’ll become part of something, whether that’s childhood friends, a fraternity, a gang, etc.  LeBron and his group of guys all hooked up way before high school.  While it was smart to market the film as ‘LeBron and his boys’ since that’s how the world at large knows them; in truth the film takes a fairly equal look at all five kids, and their coach (who also happens to be the father of one of the kids). 

Because LeBron and his crew are all still so young (and we get to WITNESS LeBron on a nearly daily basis), this doc while good, was not as blow you away revealing as other sports docs I’ve seen (Hoop Dreams in terms of inner city kids and hoops, Tyson in terms of teaching us something about a sports icon that we thought we knew everything about).  If you’re a LeBron fanatic though, I’d highly recommend seeing this film to watch the progression from really good kid from Akron to The Chosen One.

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Most Important Black TV Shows – #9 Def Comedy Jam

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October 4, 2009

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Dating back to the days of Redd Foxx (and earlier), black stand up comedians would pay their dues on a different route than their white counterparts.  Affectionately known as the ‘chitlin’ circuit’, the black stand ups of the 80s and 90s would tour the country for years, decades even, performing blue material that catered directly to a specific audience.

Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam essentially brought the chitlin circuit to the mainstream.  A staple of HBO in its pre-Soprano days, Def Comedy Jam in its heyday showcased more black talent in one episode than most broadcast network shows do in a season.

Enough prologue, on to the tale of the tape…

Relevance:  As described in the intro, Def Comedy Jam became an instant sensation with fans of black comedy.  Hosted by Martin Lawrence and DJ’ed by Kid Capri, the show ‘became’ the chitlin circuit I mentioned earlier.  With the freedom that HBO still provides to this day, no subject matter was taboo, and I’d love to reprint some of the jokes here, but sadly this is PG rated blog.

Legacy:  From a TV show point of view, BET’s Comic View was obviously the direct attempt to capitalize on this with a cleaner set of language.  When I think of legacy in terms of this show though, my first thought was ‘how many black comedians who went on to bigger things appeared on Def Comedy Jam?  A quick fact check made me realize the better question would have been, ‘Who DIDN’T appear on the show at some point?’  The only big name 90s black comedian who I think never came close to crossing that stage (for fairly obvious reasons when you think about it) was Sinbad.

Craft:  The first few years of the show, that comedy was superb.  And I don’t say this to put down some of the stand ups who appeared when the show started to lose steam, but everybody is not as funny as Martin Lawrence, Bernie Mac, Joe Torry or Dave Chappelle.  You throw in Comic View starting to dilute the talent pool and it was inevitable that the things would change.

Crossover:  It was known I think.  Chris Rock did a pretty funny parody of the show when he hosted SNL once.  Hip hop was in its Golden Age, so it’s not a stretch to think the white kids who were buying Public Enemy albums were also watching Def Comedy Jam. 

Apollo: 

The TV show countdown continues later with the making of a future movie star…

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Most Important Black Films – #9 Gone With the Wind

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October 3, 2009

 

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You cannot have a discussion about either the craft or the business of Hollywood filmmaking without talking about Gone With the Wind.  Based on a hugely popular novel, the film version lived up to the spectacle of the novel, romanticizing the ‘fighting spirit of the South.’

Uh huh.  You probably see why I picked this one.  Tale of the tape time…

Relevance:  One of the longest running gripes of black actors and audiences is when we do appear in mainstream TV shows and films, we’re often confined to the part of ‘one-dimensional sidekick’ to the main (white) character and their story arc.  Well, whether you believe that is paranoia by black audiences or consider it a valid point, I dare you to find a more prime example of this theory at work than in Gone With the Wind.  The beautiful (but shallow) Scarlett O’Hara and her main (full of common sense) slave, Mammy damn near set the standard for every interracial partnership seen on screen since.  I’m willing to hear counterarguments…

Legacy:  While Jaws set the standard for the modern day blockbuster, it pales to comparison of what Gone With the Wind was in its day.  Not quite 100 years after the Civil War, the film premiere in Atlanta was nothing short of a state holiday (look it up).  Many of the city’s black clergy decided to boycott the festivities as a sign of their displeasure with the film, but among those who went to the ’afterparty’ (or whatever they were called in those days) was Rev. Martin Luther King.  And he took his son along.  You may have heard of him.

Craft:  Over 50 years old, the film is undeniably one of the most grand and beautiful shot for the big screen.  The story of the spectacle itself has had books dedicated to it; no need for me to rehash the numerous rewrites and casting decisions and other mini-dramas that went into getting this film made.

Crossover:  Hattie McDaniel (who I just learned is a native Kansan like myself) is the first African-American to win an Academy Award. For playing Mammy.   That’s in the record books forever.

Apollo:  “I don’t know nothin’ ’bout birthin’ babies!”  My teeth clenched up just typing that; like many other black folk, that line was symbolic of the constant ‘guarded appreciation’ we have for great American works that don’t paint us in the best of lights.  Gone With the Wind wasn’t the first; I know good and well it won’t be the last…

The film countdown continues later with a film from the era that tried to correct the black stereotypes…

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Fish in a Barrel

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October 1, 2009

 

*Sep 04 - 00:05*

Everyone has thrown in their two cents about Lamar and Khloe.  There’s the prenup/financial take, the ‘moving too fast’ take, etc.  Recently I was at a professional event that gave me a mini-epiphany about things like this.  So I’ll play the ‘Devil’s Advocate/Hollywood’ take…

Like I said, this was a semi-professional gathering.  You could dress however you wanted.  Business casual for me these days means open collared shirt, hint of cologne, blue jeans and Florsheims: the ‘black Clooney’ as my homeboy calls it.  One other brother showed up to this soiree: he wasn’t less stylish than me, just different: newsboy cap, striped sweater, knapsack: Black Preppie.  I was reminded of the Chris Rock joke, brothers know when we want to be taken seriously, we have to clean up.  That’s just how it goes. 

15 guys total, 14 women.  The final lady showed up, white girl, and she was…STUNNING.  Had to be an actress, that’s how pretty she was.  She grabbed every guy’s attention, but who grabbed hers?  The twelve white guys in the room could be broken down into two categories.  Half were cut from the Steve Carell/Owen Wilson prototype: nice guy, Everyman types.  The other half were Seth Rogen/Will Ferrell types: oversize personalities, frat boys, ‘the man-child’.  And Black Preppie and Black Clooney.

Black Preppie, bless his heart, must have knocked over three Owen Wilsons to introduce himself to the Stunner.  She was polite to him, but it was clear he came on WAY too strong.  She looked in my direction.  I smiled, she smiled back and came my way and

Things operate differently in L.A.  When I heard about Lamar and Khloe, I was amused and just said, “L.A.”  Some of you love it, some of you hate it, but after awhile nothing in this town comes as a complete shocker.  Lamar’s dated (famous) sisters, so he’s not one of those brothers who refuses to date his own kind (as I suspect Black Preppie may have been).  Between the Clippers and Lakers (and the NBA general), Lamar is known, so you have to expect he’s probably spent as much time being approached as he’s ever spent ‘looking’ for somebody (and I think that’s what happened with Khloe, just my opinion).  The true comedy to me is that the training camp after his first post Shaq title, Kobe was in the background as Lamar and Ron Artest were the centers of attention.  He says he’s cool with it for now. 

Anyway, come on people, EVERY Hollywood marriage of the past five to ten years has been considered suspect in some form or fashion hasn’t it?  Let’s just wait and see what happens before we start predicting doom and gloom for someone else’s marriage. 

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