Films in the Blaxploitation genre can have unusual or common themes central to their plots. But often, and with the best of them, they usually nod at issues that are traditional elements of African American societies. These are different from usual exploitation films, which tend to be very derogatory about its subjects.
There was a film released in 1972 that might have been so good as to have really defined the genre. This film was entitled Trick Baby, from the novel of the same name, written by a former African American pimp named Iceberg Slim. It is a novel that was intensely written, but the movie failed to be interesting enough in this way, watered down.
This story revolves around the friendship between two conmen working in the African underground. These are White Folks and Blue Howard, who live and operate in Philadelphia, and Folks is a biracial person who can be mistaken for white. It is the one fact that makes their partnership in crime relatively successful, and they are planning a new one.
The dynamics of race propels this story, but these can be obvious enough because it is based on experiences for Slim, an ex pimp who made it by selling lots of his books about the African underworld. The delineations are made for those the characters, but the actual performance by Folks was very much of a let down for many African males. The intensity was not there, and Folks played white without giving much focus on their being black and why.
Folks is a product of the mating of a white man and a black prostitute, and so it became the title. It is an accident that is a focus in both works, but critics said that the book was very intense while the feature was not quite there. But then the production just went with the need for Hollywood products to work with easier subjects for film.
In this regard, this feature can be explained, because to intensify or deepen the focus on Folks would have made some people squirm. With the lack of honest friction or real issues about racial conflict, the movie went on to become a somewhat feel good crime movie that dissolved the issues out of hard focus. The theme of black crime might have been well told, if not for the way the focus became the driver for the film.
Films from Hollywood will tend to be dehumanizing, concentrating more on great visuals than focusing on the story elements. This defect is something that is still present, and so whatever films there are that are found meritorious in a story sense will not end up successful, in comparison to those that tend to con people.
The con being hatched by the two friends is nearly stopped on its tracks by the Mafia and a crooked cop. This twist is so cliched that most film goers can predict the ending, but even with critics howling, it is a thing beloved by producers. As with many features, the main point was overtaken by concerns about box office success in the end.
Larry Yust, the director, softened the impact of the story so that it could be accepted by most American moviegoers. However, these are people that cry from sensitivity while ignoring the blasphemies they find in their midst. Black culture provides so many telling things about the country, that the movie had to be watered down, maybe.
There was a film released in 1972 that might have been so good as to have really defined the genre. This film was entitled Trick Baby, from the novel of the same name, written by a former African American pimp named Iceberg Slim. It is a novel that was intensely written, but the movie failed to be interesting enough in this way, watered down.
This story revolves around the friendship between two conmen working in the African underground. These are White Folks and Blue Howard, who live and operate in Philadelphia, and Folks is a biracial person who can be mistaken for white. It is the one fact that makes their partnership in crime relatively successful, and they are planning a new one.
The dynamics of race propels this story, but these can be obvious enough because it is based on experiences for Slim, an ex pimp who made it by selling lots of his books about the African underworld. The delineations are made for those the characters, but the actual performance by Folks was very much of a let down for many African males. The intensity was not there, and Folks played white without giving much focus on their being black and why.
Folks is a product of the mating of a white man and a black prostitute, and so it became the title. It is an accident that is a focus in both works, but critics said that the book was very intense while the feature was not quite there. But then the production just went with the need for Hollywood products to work with easier subjects for film.
In this regard, this feature can be explained, because to intensify or deepen the focus on Folks would have made some people squirm. With the lack of honest friction or real issues about racial conflict, the movie went on to become a somewhat feel good crime movie that dissolved the issues out of hard focus. The theme of black crime might have been well told, if not for the way the focus became the driver for the film.
Films from Hollywood will tend to be dehumanizing, concentrating more on great visuals than focusing on the story elements. This defect is something that is still present, and so whatever films there are that are found meritorious in a story sense will not end up successful, in comparison to those that tend to con people.
The con being hatched by the two friends is nearly stopped on its tracks by the Mafia and a crooked cop. This twist is so cliched that most film goers can predict the ending, but even with critics howling, it is a thing beloved by producers. As with many features, the main point was overtaken by concerns about box office success in the end.
Larry Yust, the director, softened the impact of the story so that it could be accepted by most American moviegoers. However, these are people that cry from sensitivity while ignoring the blasphemies they find in their midst. Black culture provides so many telling things about the country, that the movie had to be watered down, maybe.
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