Review of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) by W. Michael B — 22 Mar 2008

[size=4]A must see movie, especially in light of the recent broohaha regarding remarks made by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, retired pastor of the UCC church of which Barak Obama is a member. In order for us white folk to appreciate the black experience it is very important to be exposed to the full range of what black folks experience. Sweet Sweetback's Badassss Song does that very well.[/size].

[size=4]Gene McArthy's dismissal of the Reverend Jesse Jackson's remarks during the presidential campaign, I am convinced, cost him the black vote and the election. We white folk simply do not understand Black Rhetoric and the energy and experience that drives it. The same can be said of the Reverend Wright's sermons.[/size].

[size=4]The only thing wrong with Barak Obama's excellent speech was that what he said should have been said by a white politician. It would have displayed at least some semblance of empathy of and for the black experience. Until we white folks do that, Barak Obama's vision will be left wanting. To make the claim that black folks need to try to understand the white experience, also, fails to address the incredible disparity of power that exists between white and black society in the USA.[/size].

[size=4]All of that said, a strong case can be made that the real disparity is between the rich (mostly white) and poor (mostly black), and that economic disparity has been played by the rich and powerful (intentionally or subliminally) into racial divisions. I agree.[/size].

[size=4]It is in that spirit that Sweet Sweetback's Badasss Song is a must see. All poor folk experience the kinds of powerlessness displayed in the movie. That it is portrayed as a Black experience only enhances the truth of that reality for Black Society and Poor Society, in general. As long as we continue to dismiss, especially, this movie as Blaxploitation, the divisions between us will remain.[/size].