Movie 187/1001 ~ Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

This film, from 1971, is the original blaxploitation film. It is the very first such movie to make a big impact in the film community, and started a new genre of film's about black people who are tired of taking it from the Man (ala Shaft). In fact, the film is dedicated to "all the brothers and sisters who had enough of the Man." The film is about a male black prostitute who, when seeing two racist cops beating another black man, can't help but beat the two cops within an inch of their lives. The rest of the film is about Sweetback's attempts to flee the police. The film stars Martin van Peebles as Sweetback. It is written, produced, directed, and even scored by Martin van Peebles. Needless to say this was an independent film, and it shows. It basically only uses one song throughout the entirety of the movie. I didn't like this film at all. To me, the plot was weak, the acting was poor, and the entire film ran more like a bad softcore porn movie than anything else. What his baadasssss song is, I'm not entirely sure. It could have been the one song they played over and over again, or it could have been the moans of the ladies when he uses his sexual prowess. I have no idea, and I don't really care. I found it boring, useless, and puerile. Not even a title like Sweet Sweetback's Baadassss Song and a name like Martin van Peebles is enough to save it.

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