Day 15 of Black Movie Month "Hollywood Shuffle"

It is Day 15 of Black Movie Month!! Today's highlight will be the 1987 classic, Hollywood Shuffle. It would star Robert Townsend, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Anne-Marie Johnson, John Witherspoon, Helen Martin, Roy Fegan, and Dom Irrera.

The film tracks the attempts of Bobby Taylor to become a successful actor and the mental and external roadblocks he encounters, represented through a series of interspersed vignettes and fantasies. The film is semi-autobiographical in that it reflects Townsend's experience as a black actor when he was told he was "not black enough" for certain roles.

Hollywood Shuffle brings into light the lack of substantial roles for black actors and the misrepresentation of people of color in film and television. Through satire, the film is able to use negative stereotypes put out by mass media and turn them against Hollywood. The film's plot reveals the perceived racism behind the camera that has relegated black actors to take demeaning roles for money and a chance at stardom. This point is personified in the casting director's constant demand for actors to “be more black.”

The script also levels some criticism towards black actors who are willing to take demeaning roles. This is highlighted in the protest skit, when an NAACP spokesman (played by Paul Mooney) states at a press conference, "they'll never play the Rambos until they stop playing the Sambos." The film also offers an authentic glimpse into real middle-class African Americans in stark contrast to the roles they are offered in the film industry, and Bobby Taylor's final words in the movie's final scene can be seen as encouraging pride and respect in the community. With a budget of $100,000, of which $60,000 was funded from Robert Townsend's own credit cards, and grossing over $5 million over the first ten months of release, the film was a resounding independent success, propelling Townsend into stardom.*

Hollywood Shuffle is the quintessential film that inspired a generation of filmmakers both through its use of satire and messages of racial stereotypes about African Americans in film and television. It would also showcase the "DIY" independent style of filmmaking.

The humor in this film is so gripping and relevant that it truly shows off the skills of Townsend's in such a way that it is almost genius. And interestingly enough today this issue is still rampant and relevant in today's Black Hollywood. If only there were more directors like Townsend!

Any chance you get to support a film such as this one and others you should jump on it like "white on rice" folks. Movies like Hollywood Shuffle help to get the message across that so many would like to push to the side and forget about them. 

At the close of Black Movie Month will be the Hollywood Black Film Festival, which will feature "Chicken and Beef Presents: Monkey Gang, The Mockumentary" a movie that was heavily influenced by Hollywood Shuffle in its satire and parody of negative stereotypes, as well as its style of independent filming. 

As a special treat check out this clip with the creators of Hollywood Shuffle, talking to the creators of "Monkey Gang" about independent Black film.

**The Hollywood Black Film Festival, founded by industry insider, Tanya Kersey, will happen in Los Angeles, California from October 27th-30th. For more information go to www. hbff.org .

Day 14 of Black Movie Month "The Mighty Quinn"

Today's Black Movie Month spotlight Day 14 is that of the 1989 thriller film The Mighty Quinn. Here was a film that would easily become one of my favorite Denzel Washington films.

When police officer Xavier Quinn's childhood friend, Maubee, becomes associated with murder and a briefcase full of ten thousand dollar bills, The Mighty Quinn must clear his name. Or try to catch him, which could be even trickier.

A highlight for this film was Roger Ebert's 4-star critique...
"The film stars Denzel Washington in one of those roles that creates a movie star overnight. You might have imagined that would have happened to Washington after he starred in "Cry Freedom" as the South African hero Steven Biko. He got an Oscar nomination for that performance, but it didn't even begin to hint at his reserves of charm, sexiness and offbeat humor. In an effortless way that reminds me of Robert Mitchum, Michael Caine or Sean Connery in the best of the Bond pictures, he is able to be tough and gentle at the same time, able to play a hero and yet not take himself too seriously."


Check out this film folks I guarantee you will never think the same way about the Jamaican accent!! (wink) This is one of those movies you catch late night on HBO, but trust me you will not fall asleep!

Day 5 of Black Movie Month "Daughters of the Dust"

It's Day 5 and we are full steam ahead...

Today's Black Movie Month spotlight is that of the1991 independent film Daughters of the Dust which was written, directed and produced by Julie Dash.

It tells the story of three generations of Gullah women at the turn of the 20th century and focuses on the family's migration from the Sea Islands to the American mainland.

What was unique about this film was the unusual narrative device, Daughters of the Dust is told by an unborn child. The movie gained critical praise, for both its rich language and use of song, and for its use of imagery.

And as a treat check out the first segment of this conversation on Left of Black * with host Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal talking with filmmaker Julie Dash. 

This year marks the 20^th Anniversary of the release of Dash’s ground-breaking film Daughters of the Dust which was the first feature by an African-American woman to gain national theatrical release.   The film draws on Dash's South Carolina heritage and focuses on three generations of women with roots in the Sea Islands and Gullah culture. Dash discusses how she became a filmmaker and the challenges she faced along the way. (There's a little bit 


In 2004, Daughters of the Dust was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

*Left of Black is a weekly Webcast hosted by Mark Anthony Neal and produced in collaboration with the John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University.