Buddy cop movies: beneficial or blaxploitation?

The focus of last week’s lecture was based on interracial buddy cop movies. Prior to the lecture my knowledge of the genre was rather limited, however I felt optimistic about the genre. Initially, I thought buddy cop movies were beneficial, providing hope that eventually all interracial peoples could eventually work harmoniously together like they do in the movies. However, it was not until I read Lee Artz’ article titled Hegemony in Black and White: Interracial buddy movies and the new racism, that I realised I had fallen victim to craftiness of the buddy cop genre. The buddy genre cop is contributing to the spread of “new” racism (Artz, 1998, p. 68). “New” racism is about sugar coating the genuine status of race relations, and using genres such as buddy cop movies, to make society believe that racial equality and harmony exists (Artz, 1998, p. 68). Artz’s article refers to the term “blaxploitation” which in this instance means; exploiting the presence of black people in Hollywood buddy movies (Artz, 1998, p.70). I decided to see whether I could see any evidence of blaxploitation in the film 48 hours.

 

The film 48 hours is a buddy movie, not a buddy cop movie because only Nick Nolte is a cop; Eddie Murphy (Nolte’s black counter-part) is cast as a criminal. After watching the movie with a critical eye I realised there were many examples of blaxploitation (Artz, 1998). Like most black stars, Murphy’s character is constructed to be jive, uncomfortable with authority, sexual and street smart due to previous criminal experience. An example of Murphy’s crude sexuality in the film is when he says “my dick gets hot if the wind blows”. After watching the film it made me wonder why buddy movies are so popular with black audiences. Especially since black characters are often pigeon holed as disrespectful, promiscuous beings that are under the “protective cultural custody” of there white superiors (Artz, 1998, p. 75).  Artz’ response to this query was rather thought provoking. Artz claims there are various reasons as to why black audiences enjoy buddy cop films. The very fact that black culture is now an integral part of the buddy cop film genre is very pleasing to black audiences, especially since they have had to endure a long history of being ignored by Hollywood (Artz, 1998). I also think that the genres tactical use of humour and comedy distracts audiences from the films underlying biracial statements, which are nestled deeply in the films narrative layers.

 

Like many buddy movies, Murphy and Nolte in the film 48 hours end up developing some mutual respect for one another. The films happy ending made me wonder once again, whether buddy movies are beneficial in terms of providing faith for future race relations. Or are buddy films distorting the actual state of race relations by sweetening the serious matter with humour. I realise that the film 48 hours was made quite some ago now, in 1982, however I wonder whether much has really changed since then. Some would argue black culture is moving on up in Hollywood with actors such as Will Smith, establishing serious acting careers in Tinseltown. I agree that there are some exceptional black actors currently in Hollywood; however, I believe that on the whole there is a long way to go in terms of achieving racial equality on screen. Buddy cop movies provided an excellent platform for black actors, however now the focus needs to shift onto getting more black actors into the industry and playing the roles of more diverse and challenging characters.

 

Reference

Artz, Lee B. Cultural Diversity and the US Media. New York, United States of America: State University of New York Press, 1998. Print.

 

 

 

Black Snake Moan

The short excerpt shown in class from Joel Schumacher’s A Time to Kill was unexpectedly moving. There were no tears involved but I definitely found myself questioning McConaughey’s ubiquitous presence in romantic comedies, and more importantly the value of anti-racist white hero characters in contemporary film. Interestingly enough another film came to mind in which roles are reversed, placing Samuel L. Jackson in the lead role of a highly religious black man living in Tennessee. Upon finding a severely beaten white girl on the side of a road he takes her in, convinced that he can exorcise her demons and ultimately create a better person. With an interesting background in films addressing racial stereotypes Craig Brewer draws attention to the unusual characteristics of Black Snake Moan. The promotional material for this film depicts Christina Ricci as a scantily clad white girl in chains while Jackson attempts to control her. Before being introduced to Eurocentrism Black Snake Moan conveyed itself as a tribute to blaxploitation cinema of the past. However, it is now clear to me that Brewer’s film has a lot to say about the marginalization and representation of African Americans in Hollywood. Black Snake Moan is essentially a response to films like A Time to a Kill; a text that addresses issues of race through a Eurocentric lens. I believe that in visualizing Jackson’s character in Black Snake Moan as a teacher not only of scripture, but race relations it is possible to discover a constantly evolving attitude towards race that is slowly but surely taking command of production practices in Hollywood. Brewer continues to pursue his interest in society’s shortcomings with this year’s Footloose remake. Interestingly the original location of Utah was changed to Tennessee for the new film. As was mentioned in today’s lecture the representation of race is changing and Craig Brewer is a prime example of this.