Shaft or Sidney Poitier: The Emergence of Black Masculinity in Comic Books Film Review

If you didn't get a chance to check this out during the National Black Arts Festival then you truly missed out on a treat.  I am always impressed with the films that NBAF selects and this year is no different. This year I had the opportunity to actually know one of the filmmakers, which made the experience even better. Shaft or Sidney Poitier: The Emergence of Black Masculinity in Comic Books was one of the US Short Documentaries selected to be showcased and featured at the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, GA this past week. Now early on in the year I was able to sit down and talk with the filmmaker Jonathan Gayles, and (SEE HERE), now it is with great pleasure that I get to review the film.

SHAFT OR SIDNEY POITIER is a documentary film examining the representation of Black masculinity in comic books.Through interviews with prominent artists, scholars and cultural critics along with images from the comic books themselves, this film examines the degree to which early Black superheroes generally adhered to common stereotypes about Black men. From the humorous, to the offensive, early Black superheroes are critically considered.

Let me first start out by saying after watching the film you get an even greater appreciation for the title "Shaft or Sidney Poitier..." According to the late Dwayne McDuffie, black comic book characters fell into one of those two styles Shaft, who was street-wise, raw, and righteous with bits of charm. Or either like that of Sidney Poitier, cool, mild-mannered, who takes a more intellectual approach rather than an aggressive, action one like his counterpart mentioned above. So once we are able to identify which group they fall in then the documentary further enlightens us on the issue of hyper-masculinity and even touch upon the "cool pose" theory within each of these comic book characters. Many of these characters if not all are what I like to call "problematic", when I think about it a little longer that could be one of the sub-themes and how the audience can learn from it. The images and portrayal of African American males in comic books is not a new issue by any means, more so a topic that needs to further discussed.

Shaft or Sidney Poitier does just that by taking the audience on a journey of the first African American character in his own solo series ("Lobo"), to the first African comic book character in mainstream comics ("Black Panther"/Marvel), to DC Comic's first African American superhero to headline his own series "Black Lighting" and much, much more. Gayles does a thorough job of extracting everything that he can with featured interviews from various scholars, comic book artists, writers, historians, fans etc. to spotlight this topic of "black masculinity" in comic books. As we delve deeper into the film, many of the characters we would find out fall into the "love/hate" relationship. Several of the scholars spoke on the fact that they were torn between wanting to be like the character and at the same time being somewhat ashamed of the "man" being portrayed. (When you get a moment check out "Luke Cage: Hero for Hire" the story will speak for itself.)

Now to a certain degree I was a bit angry, disturbed and torn myself, not with the film itself but the portrayals (visually & name wise) of many of the characters. To think that some of these comics had names such as "Whitewash" (who happened to be a white kid in black face), "Roach", "Cottonmouth", "Black Mariah", etc. you get the point...for a moment my blood begins to boil, but then there is a silver lining. As much as I could stay angry, watching the film would help me to realize that the writer of the comic and the artist are two different people who may or may not be on the same page. And this is why taking ownership in this art is vital. (Another example, John Stewart aka Green Lantern).

Gayles' documentary gives us hope in that black comics do not have to be lead down a European mainstream road, but rather our "own" road of African and African American comic book ownership. That exact thought really stuck in mind and still does even as I am typing. Yes Marvel and DC Comics dominate the comic book world, but they are not the only ones in it. With such creations like the Black Age Movement and conferences like ONYXCON and ECBACC (East Coast Black Age of Comics Con) there is no turning back, just moving forward.

This whole documentary experience was like a history lesson on comic books that just begs for more. We must commend those who take part in this illustrious art form but at the same, we must tip our hats off to the filmmaker as well for shedding more like on this brilliant topic. Shaft or Sidney, is a documentary that I think will help to spark more interest in the comic book world, as a matter of fact I have even heard comics are being used in the classrooms now, which truly speaks volumes.  So I can't help but ask the question, has faith been restored in the black comic book character? You be the judge... I know my answer.

You don't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy this documentary, if nothing else you will definitely come out more informed about black masculinity. To be honest, you almost can relate and identify personally with one of these characters and that in itself makes the characters even more relevant.  In the end, I am thankful to be introduced to a world of black comics because there truly is a lot to offer. I feel like a kid in the candy store who wants more, but has to leave. I realize that even with this documentary there should be room left to desire and do some personal research, and Gayles' does just that for us.

To think that the black comic does not have place, well that's not even the case so let's not even go there the thought never crossed my mind.

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Also please make sure to check out Dr. Gayles website: BlackSuperHeroes for more information regarding the documentary as well as other projects in store. Also make sure to check him out on Twitter as well... www.twitter.com/shaftorsidney