Sweet Sweetback's Baaadasss Song

Director: Melvin Van Peebles
(1971)

There is absolutely nothing positive that can be said about this film! The actual tagline for the film reads: The film THE MAN doesn't want you to see! and I think it should read "The film NO ONE should ever see!" I was dismayed at the content of the film and with how long it was! I felt that it just kept going and going on forever about nothing. Perhaps I felt that way because the content made me uncomfortable and I was ready for the film to be over the moment it began.

Melvin Van Peebles plays Sweetback a black male prostitute who injures/kills (I'm not quite sure) two white cops while trying to save a fellow black man from their brutality.
In my opinion, Sweetback is a harsh portrayal of black men that should be abolished for good! His character presents the idea that all black men are hedonists and only after sex and money and are constantly on the run from one thing or another. I believe that Van Peebles could have chosen a different avenue to get his message across to the masses because though it is presented in this unfavorable way it does call attention to the race and police brutality issues in America especially during that time period however, the amount of sex in the film is definite overkill. Even the opening scene features a child having sex with a prostitute, which I found disgusting and demoralizing to black women not to mention it qualified for child pornography [just my opinion].

I did notice the parallels between Sweetback and Jesus though obviously from the mind of someone who couldn't possibly be in the least bit religious. While Sweetback was on the run from saving the black panther from the cops he became somewhat of an icon and savior for his community. This is implied by the community's dedication to helping hide him from the police that are after him for his crimes and the bright red lights that flash JESUS SAVES in the background of the scenes where Sweetback is on the run. I thought that I must be crazy to assume that Van Peebles was actually bold enough to make a parallel between Jesus and a hedonist like Sweetback but my assumptions were confirmed by others, I was not the only person to notice these parallels and...I think, How dare he?!

I'm surprised I made it through the entire film. I'm proud of myself though, I did get up and walk out at one point but I willed myself to go back into the viewing room.