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TANANARIVE DUE:
We've always loved horror.
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It's just that horror,
unfortunately,
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hasn't always loved us.
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00:00:13,622 --> 00:00:16,494
[suspenseful music]
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- Zombie! [indistinct]!
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- What have we got here?
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- [shouting]
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NARRATOR: Terror and voodoo
and all the weird black magic
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that the white man seldom see.
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- [screams]
I'm gettin' outta here now!
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BEN: You can be the boss
down there.
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I'm boss up here.
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- Yes! That's history.
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- [screams]
15
00:00:50,528 --> 00:00:52,661
- "The name is Blacula!"
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00:00:52,704 --> 00:00:55,490
- [laughs]
- [screaming]
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- Is there any more
scary imagery than this?
18
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- I wanna hear you scream.
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- It's cool to see yourself
on the screen.
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00:01:07,284 --> 00:01:09,939
- There's something so powerful
about scaring someone.
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- [screams]
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- Oh, my goodness.
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CANDYMAN: Allow me
at least a kiss.
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- I've been
waiting for you, boy.
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- Phew!
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- [screaming]
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- Oh, my God.
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- Yes, get rid of that, son.
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- [growling]
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[screaming]
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- Isn't that beautiful?
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DRE: [chuckling] It's crazy.
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You got me all here in this
creepy, confusing ass subarba.
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[laughs]
You all so serious, though?
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00:01:59,380 --> 00:02:01,773
I feel like
a sore thumb out here.
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00:02:01,817 --> 00:02:02,861
RUSTY CUNDIEFF: Lakeith.
ERNEST DICKERSON: Oh, yeah.
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Walking down the...
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RUSTY CUNDIEFF: Walking down
the sidewalk at night.
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00:02:05,995 --> 00:02:07,388
- In a suburban neighborhood.
- In a suburban neighborhood.
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- On the cellphone by himself.
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- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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- Shit!
- All of that.
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00:02:12,262 --> 00:02:14,395
- [scoffs] I've been there.
- Yeah, yeah.
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00:02:14,438 --> 00:02:16,136
- It was the perfect
black horror story.
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00:02:16,179 --> 00:02:17,180
- Yeah, really.
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- [grunts and groans]
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00:02:20,270 --> 00:02:22,620
- I've never felt so ill at ease
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because, for me, there was
so much riding on this film
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in that is he going to
get this right,
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not just in quality,
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but for the way that
we understand black people.
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00:02:33,675 --> 00:02:34,763
- If there's
too many white people,
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I get nervous, you know?
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00:02:36,417 --> 00:02:38,070
JORDAN PEELE: When I found out
they were gonna let me
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actually direct "Get Out",
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I knew something big
was going to happen.
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I thought there was a chance
something very bad could happen,
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00:02:45,252 --> 00:02:49,560
that I would get run
out of town, that, you know,
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00:02:49,604 --> 00:02:53,434
I thought there's a possibility
that people, you know,
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00:02:53,477 --> 00:02:57,786
don't want to see entertainment
about something that...
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00:03:00,267 --> 00:03:03,748
you know, has been
traditionally dealt with
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00:03:03,792 --> 00:03:05,141
with a certain reverence.
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00:03:05,185 --> 00:03:06,273
But I also thought, you know,
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this is the movie
I wanted to see.
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00:03:08,100 --> 00:03:09,972
- To have a black protagonist,
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00:03:10,015 --> 00:03:12,192
first of all,
just in a horror trailer,
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had my attention.
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"Huh? Wait, he might
survive this."
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[laughs] He might not be
the magical Negro
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or the sacrificial Negro
or the first to die
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00:03:19,590 --> 00:03:21,070
and all those tropes,
so it's like,
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"This is a story through
a black lens by a black artist
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and it's horror."
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00:03:25,901 --> 00:03:27,250
I thought I was in heaven.
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ANNOUNCER:
Jordan Peele, "Get Out".
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[loud cheering]
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RACHEL TRUE:
This had never happened before
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to have an Oscar-nominated
black horror movie.
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- And I think it really shows
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how horror films
can really talk about things
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that are affecting us.
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- Black history is black horror.
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- Before we think about horror
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as we know it today,
we can go back to the films
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that perhaps wouldn't be
on our radar as horror.
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- [title music of movie playing]
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- There's a character, Gus.
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Gus is a white actor
in blackface
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who was depicted
as being in pursuit of
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a young white girl.
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00:04:30,270 --> 00:04:33,403
Gus is essentially
lynched by the Klan.
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00:04:36,537 --> 00:04:38,321
TANANARIVE DUE: "The Birth
of a Nation" was a horror film,
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especially if you were
a black person.
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KEN FOREE: Most people,
at that point,
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were getting to know what
African Americans were like
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through that film because
they lived in communities
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where they had no
African Americans.
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00:04:54,381 --> 00:04:56,470
This was the only source
of information
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and a lot of people
got the wrong impression
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of who we are, certainly.
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00:05:00,256 --> 00:05:01,605
- It's one of the first films
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to be screened
in the White House,
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00:05:03,303 --> 00:05:05,305
in Woodrow Wilson's
White House.
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KEN FOREE: Didn't help that
Woodrow Wilson said,
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"That's exactly the way it is."
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00:05:08,482 --> 00:05:10,832
- Oh, you know, I mean...
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00:05:10,875 --> 00:05:13,313
KEN FOREE: You know, he was
a contributor to the problem.
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00:05:15,489 --> 00:05:17,926
- With the endorsement
of the president,
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00:05:17,969 --> 00:05:20,407
it feels like policy.
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00:05:20,450 --> 00:05:23,584
There were even
advertisements and promotions
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00:05:23,627 --> 00:05:26,717
that said this was essentially
based on a true story
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00:05:26,761 --> 00:05:29,329
and it was as close to fact
as one could get.
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00:05:29,372 --> 00:05:30,808
- The Ku Klux Klan
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00:05:30,852 --> 00:05:35,770
is being heralded as the
solution to the black menace.
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- This is a movie
that really solidifies
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00:05:38,207 --> 00:05:39,382
that there's this sort of
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00:05:39,426 --> 00:05:42,907
odd black lust
on the part of black men
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towards white women.
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00:05:44,518 --> 00:05:46,607
You see it
time and time again then
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throughout the horror genre,
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from "King Kong"...
[screaming]
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00:05:51,263 --> 00:05:52,787
...to "Candyman".
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00:05:52,830 --> 00:05:58,270
- It reigned as
thepicture of black life
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00:05:58,314 --> 00:05:59,750
for so many years.
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00:05:59,794 --> 00:06:03,101
Hollywood could use
its messaging
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00:06:03,145 --> 00:06:05,669
to create fear
around black people,
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00:06:05,713 --> 00:06:08,803
especially
fear around black men.
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00:06:08,846 --> 00:06:11,240
- It sets up
black life and culture
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00:06:11,283 --> 00:06:14,330
as so deficient
and so deviant
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00:06:14,374 --> 00:06:18,334
and I think we see
that kind of history
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00:06:18,378 --> 00:06:21,293
in forming race relationships
even today.
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00:06:24,035 --> 00:06:25,341
- Dr. Clinton?
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00:06:25,385 --> 00:06:27,735
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
Filmmakers in this period
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really want black actors to be
what they think blackness is.
135
00:06:32,914 --> 00:06:34,829
- Don't bite on this time,
Ms. Yoga.
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00:06:34,872 --> 00:06:36,352
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
These are the kinds of films
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00:06:36,396 --> 00:06:38,485
that are coming out
in the '20s and '30s,
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00:06:38,528 --> 00:06:41,139
leading up to Oscar Micheaux
and Spencer Williams
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00:06:41,183 --> 00:06:43,011
sort of saying, "Enough."
140
00:06:43,054 --> 00:06:44,491
TONY TODD:
Oscar Michaeux,
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00:06:44,534 --> 00:06:46,580
who was one of the first
African American directors,
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00:06:46,623 --> 00:06:49,321
who would,
like a lot of people
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00:06:49,365 --> 00:06:50,888
doing today
in the independent world,
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he would have his own film crew,
he would gather his actors,
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00:06:54,370 --> 00:06:56,198
he would write a script
around the actors.
146
00:06:56,241 --> 00:06:58,722
- What Oscar Michaeux's films do
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00:06:58,766 --> 00:07:02,030
is say, "Don't engage
in these behaviors,
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00:07:02,073 --> 00:07:04,162
don't engage in these acts,"
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00:07:04,206 --> 00:07:07,383
which ultimately could
sort of bring down the race
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00:07:07,427 --> 00:07:10,560
or sully the reputation
of the race.
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00:07:10,604 --> 00:07:12,693
Oscar Michauex's
making arguments
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00:07:12,736 --> 00:07:15,478
that we are equal
and to be respected
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00:07:15,522 --> 00:07:17,611
and to be valued
as human beings.
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00:07:19,264 --> 00:07:20,744
TANANARIVE DUE:
Spencer Williams' film
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00:07:20,788 --> 00:07:24,356
from 1940, "The Son of Ingagi",
is as interesting case.
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Its genesis
was a little bit odd
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00:07:26,446 --> 00:07:28,970
because there was a film
called "Ingagi".
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ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
"Ingagi" was an earlier
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low budget effort
by a white director.
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- Which basically purported
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that black Africans were mating
with gorilla-like creatures.
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- "Ingagi" promises
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that it is a true story
and that this mating
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has produced half-ape,
half-human babies.
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The whole thing is a scam.
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00:07:53,081 --> 00:07:55,562
- Even whites were like,
"But that's not true, you know."
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The "Son of Ingagi"
is basically considered
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the first
black-made horror film.
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The makeup isn't great,
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00:08:01,089 --> 00:08:02,351
and they didn't have
much of a budget.
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00:08:02,394 --> 00:08:03,700
- [growling]
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00:08:03,744 --> 00:08:06,529
- But Spencer got it made.
- Got it made, exactly.
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00:08:06,573 --> 00:08:09,576
- And I look at that
to this day as a testament.
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00:08:09,619 --> 00:08:13,536
- It stars a black woman
as a scientist.
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She has a scientific lab
in her basement
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and there is this ape-man
that resides there
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that she has been taming
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and sort of helping
this ape-man to thrive.
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00:08:25,069 --> 00:08:27,332
- If it does
what I think it will,
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00:08:27,376 --> 00:08:30,510
I've done more for humanity
than anyone else on Earth.
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00:08:30,553 --> 00:08:32,381
- So, Spencer Williams actually
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kind of does the first black
women in stem kind of film.
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You really get to see
the black middle class
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on full display.
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00:08:41,042 --> 00:08:42,826
- [laughter]
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TANANARIVE DUE: You're seeing
a bunch of black folks
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coming back from a wedding.
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It doesn't sound revolutionary,
but in that era, in 1940,
189
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when did you ever see black
people just being themselves?
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00:08:53,010 --> 00:08:56,100
It was a way to show
that not all black people
191
00:08:56,144 --> 00:08:57,885
were the way they had been
depicted in films
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00:08:57,928 --> 00:08:58,973
up to that time.
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00:08:59,016 --> 00:09:02,019
So we have a doctor
and a lawyer,
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00:09:02,063 --> 00:09:05,545
everyone is well-spoken,
and in that way,
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00:09:05,588 --> 00:09:10,114
it was a slice of black life
that, to me,
196
00:09:10,158 --> 00:09:13,596
is one of the most important
aspects of that film.
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00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:15,903
- And if you know
anything about television,
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00:09:15,946 --> 00:09:18,383
Spencer Williams
sounds familiar, right?
199
00:09:18,427 --> 00:09:22,431
He starred in the television
situation comedy "Amos 'N Andy".
200
00:09:22,474 --> 00:09:25,869
- Oh, Andy, I love jokes!
[laughs]
201
00:09:25,913 --> 00:09:27,697
- Then you gonna
like this one
202
00:09:27,741 --> 00:09:30,439
because I bought this gun
at a joke store.
203
00:09:30,482 --> 00:09:33,573
[laughter]
204
00:09:35,444 --> 00:09:36,576
- So, what's sad about that
205
00:09:36,619 --> 00:09:38,708
is that people will always
know Williams
206
00:09:38,752 --> 00:09:41,581
as from "Amos 'N Andy",
207
00:09:41,624 --> 00:09:43,844
but what Spencer Williams
contributes
208
00:09:43,887 --> 00:09:48,109
to the history of film
is absolutely unmatched.
209
00:09:48,152 --> 00:09:53,723
He sets up what we really
probably think of is
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00:09:53,767 --> 00:09:55,769
modern black cinema today.
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00:09:57,161 --> 00:09:58,728
ASHLEE BLACKWELL: By this time,
Hollywood realized
212
00:09:58,772 --> 00:10:00,469
that horror was big business,
213
00:10:00,512 --> 00:10:02,166
especially during
the Great Depression.
214
00:10:02,210 --> 00:10:04,778
I think people were looking for
that kind of escapism in films
215
00:10:04,821 --> 00:10:07,476
and film going was like huge.
216
00:10:07,519 --> 00:10:10,131
That's where you get those
Universal Studio classics like
217
00:10:10,174 --> 00:10:13,613
"Murders in the Rue Morgue",
"The Mummy", "Dracula",
218
00:10:13,656 --> 00:10:15,745
"Frankenstein",
"The Bride of Frankenstein".
219
00:10:15,789 --> 00:10:19,270
I love all of those films
but clearly in the 1930s,
220
00:10:19,314 --> 00:10:22,926
they weren't really big
on racial representation.
221
00:10:22,970 --> 00:10:24,754
MARK H. HARRIS:
Back in the '30s and '40s
222
00:10:24,798 --> 00:10:26,930
in those days, you know,
223
00:10:26,974 --> 00:10:28,628
there were only a few roles
for black people.
224
00:10:28,671 --> 00:10:30,281
TINA MABRY: Yeah.
- It was like a quiet servant
225
00:10:30,325 --> 00:10:34,024
who's just basically furniture,
tribesmen like in Africa
226
00:10:34,068 --> 00:10:36,679
or voodoo priestesses,
that sort of thing.
227
00:10:36,723 --> 00:10:39,116
- Hmm... At the theatre.
- It was like...
228
00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:41,945
- It was like
the comedic buffoon
229
00:10:41,989 --> 00:10:44,426
who was like scared
of his own shadow.
230
00:10:44,469 --> 00:10:46,341
-[growling]
- [screams]
231
00:10:48,343 --> 00:10:49,736
- Mantan Mulan.
- Yes.
232
00:10:49,779 --> 00:10:52,129
- Was the last actor
to play that kind of character
233
00:10:52,173 --> 00:10:53,827
and that was
in spite of the baby,
234
00:10:53,870 --> 00:10:56,917
and after that, I would just say
they were ready to move on.
235
00:10:59,093 --> 00:11:01,008
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
We are moving into this period
236
00:11:01,051 --> 00:11:03,880
of kind of the scientific
or atomic age.
237
00:11:03,924 --> 00:11:06,709
There's not a lot of room
for servants,
238
00:11:06,753 --> 00:11:08,668
so in laboratories,
239
00:11:08,711 --> 00:11:11,758
there's no really place
for blacks in that space.
240
00:11:11,801 --> 00:11:13,194
MARK H. HARRIS:
In the '50s and '60s,
241
00:11:13,237 --> 00:11:16,066
no studio wanted to put
a black scientist in there.
242
00:11:16,110 --> 00:11:20,723
That was a place where they felt
black people weren't allowed in,
243
00:11:20,767 --> 00:11:23,683
so like in hidden figures
how hard it was for black people
244
00:11:23,726 --> 00:11:25,946
to get into the space race
and that sort of things,
245
00:11:25,989 --> 00:11:28,078
so it has another reason I think
that black people
246
00:11:28,122 --> 00:11:30,820
would pretty much disappear
during the whole, you know,
247
00:11:30,864 --> 00:11:32,082
the decade or two.
248
00:11:32,126 --> 00:11:33,997
- In all of those
classic alien movies...
249
00:11:34,041 --> 00:11:36,173
like"The Day the Earth Stood Still"
250
00:11:36,217 --> 00:11:38,741
and all that stuff,
there are no black people
251
00:11:38,785 --> 00:11:41,831
but the "other"
is this monster thing
252
00:11:41,875 --> 00:11:44,312
that I think is supposed to
represent all people
253
00:11:44,355 --> 00:11:45,356
that are not white.
254
00:11:47,445 --> 00:11:49,186
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
"Creature from the Black Lagoon"
255
00:11:49,230 --> 00:11:52,233
looks so much like
those advertisements
256
00:11:52,276 --> 00:11:55,802
from the '20s and the '30s
and the '40s.
257
00:11:55,845 --> 00:12:00,371
The bulging lips looks
just like those awful ads
258
00:12:00,415 --> 00:12:02,678
for Nigger Head Shrimp.
259
00:12:02,722 --> 00:12:03,679
- It's like
first we weren't in it,
260
00:12:03,723 --> 00:12:04,636
we were played
by white people...
261
00:12:04,680 --> 00:12:05,942
- Yeah.
- Then we were in it
262
00:12:05,986 --> 00:12:07,770
but we looked like aliens.
263
00:12:07,814 --> 00:12:09,859
- [screaming]
264
00:12:09,903 --> 00:12:12,035
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
So here I am, this 10-year-old,
265
00:12:12,079 --> 00:12:14,255
in a drive-in theater
with my mom,
266
00:12:14,298 --> 00:12:16,431
but even then, I knew
that there was something
267
00:12:16,474 --> 00:12:21,479
that horror was saying to me
about blackness, about race.
268
00:12:21,523 --> 00:12:25,222
I knew that King Kong
was a metaphor for blackness.
269
00:12:25,266 --> 00:12:27,224
- [snarling]
270
00:12:27,268 --> 00:12:28,791
- Even as a kid,
there was something
271
00:12:28,835 --> 00:12:30,662
uncomfortable about it.
272
00:12:30,706 --> 00:12:32,795
- Monsters and aliens
273
00:12:32,839 --> 00:12:35,798
are stand-ins
for black folks
274
00:12:35,842 --> 00:12:38,583
but we're not actually
present in the story.
275
00:12:38,627 --> 00:12:39,933
- But then
there's this moment...
276
00:12:39,976 --> 00:12:43,763
NARRATOR:
"Night of the Living Dead".
277
00:12:43,806 --> 00:12:47,201
- It's 1968,
and that's important.
278
00:12:47,244 --> 00:12:50,030
- [dogs barking]
279
00:12:51,292 --> 00:12:53,163
[snarling dogs,
people screaming]
280
00:12:57,298 --> 00:12:58,995
ERNEST DICKERSON:
I don't scare easily.
281
00:12:59,039 --> 00:13:02,651
"Night of the Living Dead"
I think gave me nightmares.
282
00:13:02,694 --> 00:13:05,088
- It was a frightening,
frightening film,
283
00:13:05,132 --> 00:13:07,699
and the black and white of it...
284
00:13:07,743 --> 00:13:09,440
[gunshots]
285
00:13:09,484 --> 00:13:13,444
...play such a huge part
in what makes it scary.
286
00:13:19,233 --> 00:13:22,018
NARRATOR: All law enforcement
agencies and the military
287
00:13:22,062 --> 00:13:24,455
have been organized
to search out and destroy
288
00:13:24,499 --> 00:13:25,979
the marauding ghouls.
289
00:13:28,503 --> 00:13:30,635
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
There's a zombie apocalypse
290
00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:33,464
and we have
a small group of folks
291
00:13:33,508 --> 00:13:39,209
who all sort of converge
on a cabin house to survive.
292
00:13:39,253 --> 00:13:41,821
- It has a black protagonist
in Duane Jones.
293
00:13:41,864 --> 00:13:43,431
- You can be
the boss down there.
294
00:13:43,474 --> 00:13:44,475
I'm boss up here.
295
00:13:44,519 --> 00:13:45,912
- He's in charge.
296
00:13:45,955 --> 00:13:48,001
- If you stay up here,
you take orders from me!
297
00:13:48,044 --> 00:13:50,960
- You can never quite tell
if the white woman
298
00:13:51,004 --> 00:13:53,658
who Duane Jones
is essentially saving
299
00:13:53,702 --> 00:13:56,400
is more creeped out by the fact
that there's zombies outside
300
00:13:56,444 --> 00:13:58,968
or the fact that there's
a black man in the house.
301
00:13:59,012 --> 00:14:01,318
- I was probably
way too young to see it
302
00:14:01,362 --> 00:14:04,626
but I was absolutely
fascinated by the fact
303
00:14:04,669 --> 00:14:07,498
that there is this a beautiful,
handsome black man.
304
00:14:07,542 --> 00:14:11,198
That was the first time
I probably saw somebody black
305
00:14:11,241 --> 00:14:13,940
in a movie,
and they weren't a criminal,
306
00:14:13,983 --> 00:14:16,420
and they weren't gangster,
and they were the hero.
307
00:14:16,464 --> 00:14:21,643
- At that time,
there was not a black character
308
00:14:21,686 --> 00:14:25,908
who was really a man,
309
00:14:25,952 --> 00:14:29,520
who was, again,
who took charge of his fate.
310
00:14:29,564 --> 00:14:32,175
Who wasn't waiting
for the white man to save him.
311
00:14:32,219 --> 00:14:35,178
TONY TODD: Duane Jones'
performance stood out for me.
312
00:14:35,222 --> 00:14:37,180
By that point, I knew
I wanted to be an actor
313
00:14:37,224 --> 00:14:39,966
and I said, "Okay,
I was gonna be fearless."
314
00:14:40,009 --> 00:14:42,359
- He's slapping white people up
inside the head.
315
00:14:43,578 --> 00:14:46,015
He's killing white zombie
after white zombie
316
00:14:46,059 --> 00:14:47,408
after white zombie.
317
00:14:47,451 --> 00:14:49,453
This had to be horrifying
to racists.
318
00:14:54,545 --> 00:14:57,722
- The '60s was
a turbulent time, you know.
319
00:14:57,766 --> 00:15:00,900
We had assassination
after assassination.
320
00:15:02,118 --> 00:15:04,904
We had riot after riot.
321
00:15:04,947 --> 00:15:07,558
- Civil rights movement
and all those movements
322
00:15:07,602 --> 00:15:12,128
were combining together
and we were producing those men
323
00:15:12,172 --> 00:15:14,957
that were standing up
and saying, "Not here.
324
00:15:15,001 --> 00:15:17,612
Not again. Not me."
325
00:15:17,655 --> 00:15:21,746
At the same time, he comes up
and he does this film
326
00:15:21,790 --> 00:15:23,835
and that's the character,
that's the man,
327
00:15:23,879 --> 00:15:25,185
that's the man I saw.
328
00:15:26,447 --> 00:15:28,536
"Night of the Living Dead"
was so important
329
00:15:28,579 --> 00:15:32,192
because for the first time,
we're not just the victims.
330
00:15:32,235 --> 00:15:34,150
We were the destroyers
and the protectors
331
00:15:34,194 --> 00:15:35,543
for other people
against monsters,
332
00:15:35,586 --> 00:15:37,110
That's a good point.
333
00:15:37,153 --> 00:15:40,069
TONY TODD: Years later,
I got to know George Romero.
334
00:15:40,113 --> 00:15:42,550
I asked him,
I said, "Why Duane?"
335
00:15:42,593 --> 00:15:44,552
and he said, "The role
wasn't even written,
336
00:15:44,595 --> 00:15:45,945
it wasn't written black.
337
00:15:45,988 --> 00:15:47,772
Duane just happened to be
the best actor
338
00:15:47,816 --> 00:15:49,339
to show up on that day."
339
00:15:49,383 --> 00:15:51,515
MARK H. HARRIS:
This is like in the '60s
340
00:15:51,559 --> 00:15:55,041
when people being hosed,
people in sit-ins
341
00:15:55,084 --> 00:15:56,651
and stuff like that.
- Jim Crow era.
342
00:15:56,694 --> 00:15:57,782
- Exactly.
- Yeah.
343
00:15:57,826 --> 00:15:59,045
- It just blew my mind that
344
00:15:59,088 --> 00:16:01,786
this was a black guy
who was doing all this,
345
00:16:01,830 --> 00:16:03,440
taking charge,
he was the hero,
346
00:16:03,484 --> 00:16:05,312
even though it didn't
turn out for him in the end.
347
00:16:05,355 --> 00:16:06,530
- Alright then,
hit him in the head,
348
00:16:06,574 --> 00:16:07,662
right between the eyes.
349
00:16:07,705 --> 00:16:09,490
[ gun shot ]
350
00:16:09,533 --> 00:16:11,318
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
I can remember seeing this
351
00:16:11,361 --> 00:16:14,974
and not being able to move.
352
00:16:15,017 --> 00:16:16,976
- Okay, he's dead.
Let's go get him.
353
00:16:17,019 --> 00:16:18,629
That's another one for the fire.
354
00:16:18,673 --> 00:16:21,284
TANANARIVE DUE:
He's killed by the white mob
355
00:16:21,328 --> 00:16:23,852
which had to look a lot
like white mobs
356
00:16:23,895 --> 00:16:26,028
that were roaming
throughout the South,
357
00:16:26,072 --> 00:16:29,205
menacing black folks
and terrorizing black folks.
358
00:16:30,467 --> 00:16:31,816
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
You see lynchings.
359
00:16:31,860 --> 00:16:36,517
You think of Emmett Till
and it's just too much.
360
00:16:38,127 --> 00:16:41,217
And so you are left
just sitting there going,
361
00:16:41,261 --> 00:16:44,307
"My God.
Did this just happen?"
362
00:16:50,792 --> 00:16:54,317
George Romero tells the story
of putting the film cans
363
00:16:54,361 --> 00:16:58,887
in the trunk of his car,
driving to New York City,
364
00:16:58,930 --> 00:17:00,062
and they hear it.
365
00:17:00,106 --> 00:17:01,716
They hear it on the radio.
366
00:17:01,759 --> 00:17:04,023
RADIO ANNOUNCER: The Reverend
Dr. Martin King, Jr.
367
00:17:04,066 --> 00:17:05,502
was killed
by an assassin's bullet
368
00:17:05,546 --> 00:17:07,200
tonight
in Memphis, Tennessee.
369
00:17:07,243 --> 00:17:09,419
- And I can't imagine
370
00:17:09,463 --> 00:17:12,944
what happens in that car,
what that feeling is like,
371
00:17:12,988 --> 00:17:16,383
the crush, the blow,
the sinking,
372
00:17:16,426 --> 00:17:21,257
and I want to believe
that they know what they have.
373
00:17:21,301 --> 00:17:24,739
"Night of the Living Dead"
becomes what it is
374
00:17:24,782 --> 00:17:29,700
exactly because of what's
happening in this country
375
00:17:29,744 --> 00:17:31,180
while he's filming it.
376
00:17:31,224 --> 00:17:33,356
- I think
the tenseness of the time
377
00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:36,446
and the turbulence
that was going on in society
378
00:17:36,490 --> 00:17:40,798
and the political drama
all fed into people
379
00:17:40,842 --> 00:17:44,498
all of a sudden having a need to
wanna see themselves on screen
380
00:17:44,541 --> 00:17:47,675
and that gave birth to
the blacksploitation period.
381
00:17:47,718 --> 00:17:52,288
[peppy music]
382
00:17:52,332 --> 00:17:54,247
- We call 1970s film
383
00:17:54,290 --> 00:17:57,424
"blacksploitation"
and it's really a portmanteau
384
00:17:57,467 --> 00:18:00,949
for "black" and "exploitation".
385
00:18:00,992 --> 00:18:02,385
Blacks are on the big screen.
386
00:18:02,429 --> 00:18:06,563
Black audiences are really
joyful for the inclusion
387
00:18:06,607 --> 00:18:10,263
but the representations
are sometimes just not right.
388
00:18:10,306 --> 00:18:13,222
KEITH DAVID: We went
from maids to pimps and hos.
389
00:18:13,266 --> 00:18:15,094
At that time,
we didn't use that word
390
00:18:15,137 --> 00:18:16,312
profile...
- No, no.
391
00:18:16,356 --> 00:18:19,489
- But we were
horrifically profiled.
392
00:18:19,533 --> 00:18:22,449
I like to wear hats
and I bought me a new hat
393
00:18:22,492 --> 00:18:26,801
and some white boy yells at me,
"Hey, pimp!" you know,
394
00:18:26,844 --> 00:18:28,324
and I think he's thinking
395
00:18:28,368 --> 00:18:30,979
that he thinks
he's complimented me.
396
00:18:31,022 --> 00:18:33,721
RICHARD LAWSON:
The big hats and collars
397
00:18:33,764 --> 00:18:40,684
and they were images that were
perpetrated by white people
398
00:18:40,728 --> 00:18:46,734
who exploited these images
for their own gain.
399
00:18:46,777 --> 00:18:52,131
Sam Arkoff owned American
International Pictures, AIP,
400
00:18:52,174 --> 00:18:56,178
they were the great producers
of films
401
00:18:56,222 --> 00:18:59,877
that fell under
the blacksploitation period.
402
00:18:59,921 --> 00:19:01,401
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
There are studios who get in
403
00:19:01,444 --> 00:19:03,707
on the blacksploitation craze.
404
00:19:03,751 --> 00:19:07,798
And AIP's business model was,
"We're not going to lead.
405
00:19:07,842 --> 00:19:11,367
We're going to look,
see what's happening out there,
406
00:19:11,411 --> 00:19:13,152
what might be popular,
407
00:19:13,195 --> 00:19:16,242
and then we're going to get on
kind of the back side of this
408
00:19:16,285 --> 00:19:17,852
and produce more of it."
409
00:19:17,895 --> 00:19:22,204
Theirs was a strictly
for-profit budget model,
410
00:19:22,248 --> 00:19:24,467
investing
as little as they could
411
00:19:24,511 --> 00:19:26,426
and hoping something stuck.
412
00:19:28,123 --> 00:19:32,432
Their films would go on just
a few screens in some cases,
413
00:19:32,475 --> 00:19:36,087
often in black neighborhoods,
very low investment,
414
00:19:36,131 --> 00:19:38,177
very low quality.
415
00:19:38,220 --> 00:19:40,222
- At the time,
I was astute enough
416
00:19:40,266 --> 00:19:42,485
to look up AIP's budget,
417
00:19:42,529 --> 00:19:44,357
but they weren't making
any money at all.
418
00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:48,317
I mean, the rumor was, was
that they were in deep water,
419
00:19:48,361 --> 00:19:51,277
and then "Blacula" brought in
a lot of money for them.
420
00:19:54,236 --> 00:19:58,719
- The name is Blacula!
421
00:19:58,762 --> 00:20:00,590
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
Starring William Marshall,
422
00:20:00,634 --> 00:20:01,896
a black actor,
423
00:20:01,939 --> 00:20:05,378
directed by William Crain,
a black director.
424
00:20:05,421 --> 00:20:07,249
And so here's where you see
425
00:20:07,293 --> 00:20:11,384
how knowledgeable
black directors and actors
426
00:20:11,427 --> 00:20:14,561
can have an extraordinary
impact on a film.
427
00:20:14,604 --> 00:20:16,606
- They wanted to do
"Count Brown's in Town".
428
00:20:16,650 --> 00:20:18,478
- "Brown's in Town"? Really?
- Yeah.
429
00:20:18,521 --> 00:20:19,870
It was really...Yeah.
- "Brown's in Town"?
430
00:20:19,914 --> 00:20:21,611
- So, we decided we were
gonna do something else.
431
00:20:21,655 --> 00:20:23,613
I wasn't the favorite
person there for them...
432
00:20:23,657 --> 00:20:25,789
- No, of course not.
- ...because we had
433
00:20:25,833 --> 00:20:27,226
something else in mind.
434
00:20:27,269 --> 00:20:30,316
- The movie opens
with him with his queen
435
00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:32,579
trying to argue
with Count Dracula
436
00:20:32,622 --> 00:20:35,103
to end the transatlantic
slave trade.
437
00:20:35,146 --> 00:20:37,584
- To totally cease
the slave trade?
438
00:20:37,627 --> 00:20:38,759
TANANARIVE DUE:
When is the last time
439
00:20:38,802 --> 00:20:40,804
black audiences
had seen themselves
440
00:20:40,848 --> 00:20:45,418
expressed visually in the 1700s
as erudite and intelligent
441
00:20:45,461 --> 00:20:49,770
and holding court and trying to
discuss world affairs?
442
00:20:49,813 --> 00:20:52,947
- Slavery has merit,
I believe.
443
00:20:52,990 --> 00:20:57,778
- Merit? You find
"merit" in barbarity?
444
00:20:57,821 --> 00:20:59,562
- But it was a big deal!
- It was a big deal.
445
00:20:59,606 --> 00:21:01,434
I just remember
right out of school
446
00:21:01,477 --> 00:21:02,652
everyone say
Black Dracula.
447
00:21:02,696 --> 00:21:04,959
- Vampires,
I think they're possibly
448
00:21:05,002 --> 00:21:06,308
the most fascinatin of all.
449
00:21:06,352 --> 00:21:07,483
- That's all I remember.
450
00:21:07,527 --> 00:21:09,877
"What? A black Dracula?"
451
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,314
And it gave you a sense of
something I can't even explain.
452
00:21:12,358 --> 00:21:14,360
I wanted to be an actor.
Something opened up
453
00:21:14,403 --> 00:21:16,362
'cause I think that
affected me in a way
454
00:21:16,405 --> 00:21:19,278
that probably
I don't even understand.
455
00:21:19,321 --> 00:21:21,323
- I was still in high school
456
00:21:21,367 --> 00:21:25,109
and I had dreams of being
the first black Dracula.
457
00:21:25,153 --> 00:21:26,197
[laughs]
458
00:21:26,241 --> 00:21:28,025
- [Blacula laughs]
459
00:21:28,069 --> 00:21:31,333
- But when William Marshall,
who came out with it,
460
00:21:31,377 --> 00:21:33,335
I was like,
"Who could be mad about that?"
461
00:21:33,379 --> 00:21:36,599
I mean, it was--
because he was...
462
00:21:36,643 --> 00:21:38,297
I've loved William Marshall.
463
00:21:38,340 --> 00:21:39,776
- When I was a kid,
464
00:21:39,820 --> 00:21:42,431
the vampires and the Draculas
that had been going on
465
00:21:42,475 --> 00:21:45,565
were these really soft,
metrosexual white guys
466
00:21:45,608 --> 00:21:48,350
who didn't really have
an energy to them for me,
467
00:21:48,394 --> 00:21:50,483
and then, Blacula.
468
00:21:50,526 --> 00:21:55,836
Okay, so he's this yummy,
yummy chocolate, dark, sexy man
469
00:21:55,879 --> 00:21:57,098
and so it was sort of,
470
00:21:57,141 --> 00:21:58,708
it was this really
confusing thing as a child
471
00:21:58,752 --> 00:22:00,362
because I'm like,
"Oh, my God, I'm scared!
472
00:22:00,406 --> 00:22:02,364
But I'm excited.
But I'm scared.
473
00:22:02,408 --> 00:22:04,671
But I'm interested.
I think I wanna kiss him."
474
00:22:04,714 --> 00:22:08,718
And I hadn't really experienced
that with a "villain" before,
475
00:22:08,762 --> 00:22:13,462
so I would say Blacula
scared the fuck out of me.
476
00:22:13,506 --> 00:22:15,551
- I was proud
that a black man
477
00:22:15,595 --> 00:22:17,771
was kicking some butt.
- Was eating people.
478
00:22:17,814 --> 00:22:20,339
- Kicking butt, yeah.
- Hi, what'll you have?
479
00:22:20,382 --> 00:22:21,862
- Make is a Bloody Mary.
480
00:22:21,905 --> 00:22:24,604
- [laughs] He was
having a Bloody Mary!
481
00:22:27,084 --> 00:22:30,436
WILLIAM CRAIN: I found
a lot of tangible resistance
482
00:22:30,479 --> 00:22:34,396
and maybe even
tangible resentment...
483
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:36,529
- Racism?
- Yeah. Well, for racism,
484
00:22:36,572 --> 00:22:38,313
I mean, nobody...
- Because I'm sure your crew
485
00:22:38,357 --> 00:22:40,707
was predominantly white.
486
00:22:40,750 --> 00:22:42,361
- Everybody was white.
- All right.
487
00:22:43,623 --> 00:22:44,754
- Right now,
I can't remember
488
00:22:44,798 --> 00:22:46,582
anyone else black
that was on that set.
489
00:22:46,626 --> 00:22:47,757
WILLIAM MARSHALL: There was
something of a resentment
490
00:22:47,801 --> 00:22:49,193
on the part of many producers
491
00:22:49,237 --> 00:22:53,720
who didn't want our voices
to ring resonantly about
492
00:22:53,763 --> 00:22:56,070
and create a new kind of genre.
493
00:22:56,113 --> 00:22:58,464
[disco music]
494
00:22:58,507 --> 00:23:00,335
WILLIAM CRAIN:
Remember the night club scene?
495
00:23:00,379 --> 00:23:02,076
And the 150 actors
in that club scene, right?
496
00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:03,686
- Right, right, right.
497
00:23:03,730 --> 00:23:06,733
- And so, there was
a mix of white and black.
498
00:23:06,776 --> 00:23:08,125
PAUL JAI PARKER:
Right. Beautiful.
499
00:23:08,169 --> 00:23:09,475
WILLIAM CRAIN:
It really worked.
500
00:23:09,518 --> 00:23:12,782
And once the music
was supposed to start,
501
00:23:12,826 --> 00:23:15,916
kids were supposed to be dancing
and I watched the AD,
502
00:23:15,959 --> 00:23:20,529
the assistant director,
he had the black couples
503
00:23:20,573 --> 00:23:22,879
and he had white couples,
so I had this...
504
00:23:22,923 --> 00:23:25,142
- He didn't mix it up?
- No, he didn't. He didn't.
505
00:23:25,186 --> 00:23:26,883
They didn't have gloves
to throw down but I said,
506
00:23:26,927 --> 00:23:28,276
"Hold up, we're not
gonna do this.
507
00:23:28,319 --> 00:23:29,277
This is what you're gonna do.
508
00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:30,844
You're gonna mix
these people up."
509
00:23:32,106 --> 00:23:35,414
And it went
all the way up to Sam Arkoff.
510
00:23:35,457 --> 00:23:36,676
- He got some resistance
511
00:23:36,719 --> 00:23:39,156
but his pushback helped
even the higher-ups
512
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:41,463
doing this film understand
that he was making
513
00:23:41,507 --> 00:23:43,857
something really meaty
and meaningful.
514
00:23:43,900 --> 00:23:47,948
It makes the film so memorable
and impactful even to this day.
515
00:23:49,993 --> 00:23:51,604
WILLIAM CRAIN:
We're sitting in this wonderful
516
00:23:51,647 --> 00:23:55,738
old police station,
and I saw this long range
517
00:23:55,782 --> 00:24:00,003
of about at least 20 yards,
518
00:24:00,047 --> 00:24:01,048
and then I asked them
519
00:24:01,091 --> 00:24:02,832
for a high-speed camera.
- Okay.
520
00:24:02,876 --> 00:24:04,181
- Which would be
a slow-motion camera.
521
00:24:04,225 --> 00:24:05,531
- Right. Okay.
522
00:24:05,574 --> 00:24:07,794
- They didn't wanna do it.
I wasn't gonna get it.
523
00:24:07,837 --> 00:24:10,492
This went on
for at least a week.
524
00:24:10,536 --> 00:24:11,493
- Right.
- And so, I was waiting
525
00:24:11,537 --> 00:24:12,625
for this camera to show up.
526
00:24:12,668 --> 00:24:13,974
Never did show up.
527
00:24:14,017 --> 00:24:16,498
On the morning
that we got ready to do that,
528
00:24:16,542 --> 00:24:18,848
this extra van pulls up...
529
00:24:18,892 --> 00:24:20,850
- And they gave it to you?
- And these guys come out
530
00:24:20,894 --> 00:24:23,026
with this high-speed,
slow motion camera.
531
00:24:23,070 --> 00:24:24,071
- Okay.
532
00:24:24,114 --> 00:24:25,289
- They decided
to give it to you.
533
00:24:25,333 --> 00:24:26,726
- I bet they did
after they start seeing
534
00:24:26,769 --> 00:24:27,988
those dailies, right?
535
00:24:28,031 --> 00:24:29,990
- People are still
talking about that shot.
536
00:24:30,033 --> 00:24:32,906
[screaming]
537
00:24:43,264 --> 00:24:45,527
TINA MABRY: And it created
kind of a cultural shift
538
00:24:45,571 --> 00:24:47,529
and to have that awareness
to say, "Me, too,"
539
00:24:47,573 --> 00:24:50,619
and then to come back with
"Scream Blacula Scream",
540
00:24:50,663 --> 00:24:53,709
Pam Grier and Richard Lawson's
first role.
541
00:24:53,753 --> 00:24:55,145
RICHARD LAWSON:
"Scream Blacula Scream"
542
00:24:55,189 --> 00:24:59,889
I did with William Marshall,
Pam Grier, Don Mitchell,
543
00:24:59,933 --> 00:25:03,066
and a host of other
wonderful black actors.
544
00:25:03,110 --> 00:25:04,851
PAULA JAI PARKER:
I'm a Pam Grier fan.
545
00:25:04,894 --> 00:25:07,897
She ends up becoming
the lead of the film
546
00:25:07,941 --> 00:25:11,640
which to me is fun
because, in my opinion,
547
00:25:11,684 --> 00:25:14,556
it's one of the only times
they let her act,
548
00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:18,604
like she really got to be
a real person
549
00:25:18,647 --> 00:25:20,910
and not a sex symbol.
550
00:25:20,954 --> 00:25:24,653
- Stay away! Who are you?
551
00:25:24,697 --> 00:25:28,091
- This is when you start to see
women really emerge.
552
00:25:28,135 --> 00:25:30,746
Women are now starting to take
the center stage.
553
00:25:30,790 --> 00:25:32,139
- How about that?
554
00:25:32,182 --> 00:25:34,271
- She got to use her mind.
- Change her wardrobe,
555
00:25:34,315 --> 00:25:35,359
she used her mind,
556
00:25:35,403 --> 00:25:36,622
of course she saves
the two guys
557
00:25:36,665 --> 00:25:37,971
at the end.
- Yes.
558
00:25:38,014 --> 00:25:42,453
And she's like an historian
of black antiquity,
559
00:25:42,497 --> 00:25:43,672
you know...
- Exactly.
560
00:25:43,716 --> 00:25:45,805
PAULA JAI PARKER:
That whole diaspora.
561
00:25:45,848 --> 00:25:46,980
- In the white horror movies,
562
00:25:47,023 --> 00:25:50,853
the voodoo is always
like the evil force.
563
00:25:50,897 --> 00:25:52,115
- Yeah.
- And the villain.
564
00:25:52,159 --> 00:25:53,987
But in like
"Scream Blacula Scream"
565
00:25:54,030 --> 00:25:56,511
it was like the force of good,
it was kind of...
566
00:25:56,555 --> 00:25:58,600
- Exactly.
- They relied on that
567
00:25:58,644 --> 00:26:00,863
to conquer his curse basically.
568
00:26:00,907 --> 00:26:03,953
They were using it
to remove his curse.
569
00:26:03,997 --> 00:26:06,869
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
The cross horrors history voodoo
570
00:26:06,913 --> 00:26:09,698
is explicitly
a sign to black people.
571
00:26:09,742 --> 00:26:11,308
All black people know voodoo!
572
00:26:11,352 --> 00:26:14,964
And it's really helpful
if they're in Louisiana.
573
00:26:15,008 --> 00:26:18,620
- How do you kill
someone with voodoo?
574
00:26:18,664 --> 00:26:20,927
- You often see black women
575
00:26:20,970 --> 00:26:24,365
associated with voodoo
on screen.
576
00:26:24,408 --> 00:26:28,369
Commonly, we've seen black women
be voodoo priestesses
577
00:26:28,412 --> 00:26:31,372
and things of that nature,
and always use it for ill-will.
578
00:26:31,415 --> 00:26:35,158
- A [indistinct] is gonna growl,
and rain is gonna rain.
579
00:26:35,202 --> 00:26:37,291
- Black women
were very much centered
580
00:26:37,334 --> 00:26:41,251
as frightening because
they wielded power.
581
00:26:41,295 --> 00:26:45,647
"Abby" the blacksploitation era
film, is a really good example
582
00:26:45,691 --> 00:26:48,955
of both fear of black women
in general
583
00:26:48,998 --> 00:26:53,002
but fear of black women's
sexuality in particular.
584
00:26:53,046 --> 00:26:55,091
- [growling]
585
00:26:55,135 --> 00:26:58,834
ABBY: You're mine now!
Mine!
586
00:26:58,878 --> 00:27:01,097
- Abby.
- That's Abby.
587
00:27:01,141 --> 00:27:03,970
This scared me so much
when I was a kid
588
00:27:04,013 --> 00:27:06,712
because she was pretty,
but then she went crazy.
589
00:27:06,755 --> 00:27:08,322
- [laughs]
- Yeah.
590
00:27:08,365 --> 00:27:11,542
- What do you think
of my powers now?
591
00:27:11,586 --> 00:27:13,675
[evil laughter]
592
00:27:13,719 --> 00:27:15,721
- Black women, of course,
have always been depicted
593
00:27:15,764 --> 00:27:17,853
as highly sexualized.
594
00:27:17,897 --> 00:27:22,684
This is definitely something
that came to the fore with Abby.
595
00:27:22,728 --> 00:27:24,425
On the one level,
you could say she's sort of
596
00:27:24,468 --> 00:27:29,169
resisting her defined role
as sort of a church wife,
597
00:27:29,212 --> 00:27:31,954
becoming possessed
by a sex demon
598
00:27:31,998 --> 00:27:35,871
who basically attacks men
through sex. [laughs]
599
00:27:35,915 --> 00:27:37,525
It's a silly film,
600
00:27:37,568 --> 00:27:41,703
but what's not silly about it
is it does point to this fear
601
00:27:41,747 --> 00:27:44,575
of black women
and black womanhood.
602
00:27:44,619 --> 00:27:46,099
- There is this one, I think,
603
00:27:46,142 --> 00:27:49,363
kind of cool movie.
It's called "Sugar Hill".
604
00:27:49,406 --> 00:27:51,713
- [loud laughter]
605
00:27:51,757 --> 00:27:55,064
- Sugar's community
is under siege
606
00:27:55,108 --> 00:27:58,241
by some corrupt
white gangsters.
607
00:27:58,285 --> 00:28:00,417
- [grunting]
608
00:28:00,461 --> 00:28:02,811
MARK H. HARRIS:
She conjured this voodoo god
609
00:28:02,855 --> 00:28:04,944
to get revenge
on these gangsters
610
00:28:04,987 --> 00:28:06,336
who killed her boyfriend.
611
00:28:06,380 --> 00:28:09,209
- I want the power
to destroy my enemies.
612
00:28:09,252 --> 00:28:11,733
RICHARD LAWSON: It was
one of the early films
613
00:28:11,777 --> 00:28:14,257
where a black woman
was the lead.
614
00:28:14,301 --> 00:28:15,389
- Remember me?
615
00:28:15,432 --> 00:28:18,174
- She had made
her own determinations,
616
00:28:18,218 --> 00:28:23,136
was not suppressed by men
and the system.
617
00:28:23,179 --> 00:28:26,269
She was smart, powerful,
she was sexy,
618
00:28:26,313 --> 00:28:29,751
she was intelligent,
and she was willful.
619
00:28:29,795 --> 00:28:31,927
- Show us what big man you are.
620
00:28:31,971 --> 00:28:33,015
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
This is a narrative
621
00:28:33,059 --> 00:28:34,887
that isn't entirely
unproblematic.
622
00:28:34,930 --> 00:28:40,283
It does resurrect
these early notions of black men
623
00:28:40,327 --> 00:28:42,285
lusting for white women.
624
00:28:42,329 --> 00:28:44,766
- [loud laughter]
625
00:28:44,810 --> 00:28:47,464
- And so,
for female audiences to watch
626
00:28:47,508 --> 00:28:49,902
these movies on the big screen,
627
00:28:49,945 --> 00:28:52,905
certainly came with
a bit of conflict.
628
00:28:52,948 --> 00:28:54,471
- So, the blacksploitation era
629
00:28:54,515 --> 00:28:57,779
probably gets mixed marks
in terms of, you know,
630
00:28:57,823 --> 00:29:01,217
overall how black life
was being portrayed,
631
00:29:01,261 --> 00:29:04,655
but you can see in even
just these horror films
632
00:29:04,699 --> 00:29:06,527
that there's an effort
to do more.
633
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:12,794
- One movie from the '70s
634
00:29:12,838 --> 00:29:15,797
that gets lumped in
with blacksploitation
635
00:29:15,841 --> 00:29:17,407
is "Ganja & Hess".
636
00:29:17,451 --> 00:29:19,888
It's really cool
and it's from a black director.
637
00:29:19,932 --> 00:29:21,803
Bill Gunn is his name.
638
00:29:21,847 --> 00:29:24,719
- Bill Gunn is a guy
639
00:29:24,763 --> 00:29:26,068
who a lot of people
don't know about
640
00:29:26,112 --> 00:29:29,245
because he was a playwright,
a screenwriter.
641
00:29:29,289 --> 00:29:32,335
He wrote the screenplay for
a movie called "The Landlord"
642
00:29:32,379 --> 00:29:34,207
that Hal Ashby did.
643
00:29:34,250 --> 00:29:37,210
Bill Gunn was in episodes
of "The Outer Limits",
644
00:29:37,253 --> 00:29:38,602
"Man From U.N.C.L.E.",
you know,
645
00:29:38,646 --> 00:29:39,995
they just wanted him to make
646
00:29:40,039 --> 00:29:41,214
a horror film.
- Right.
647
00:29:41,257 --> 00:29:42,998
- You know,
with black folks in it.
648
00:29:43,042 --> 00:29:46,132
And the story is that he just,
649
00:29:46,175 --> 00:29:48,177
I think the producers were
out of town or something,
650
00:29:48,221 --> 00:29:51,137
and he took the whole
cast and crew
651
00:29:51,180 --> 00:29:55,184
up to some place at New York
and rewrote it and shot it.
652
00:29:55,228 --> 00:29:57,621
- Wow.
- You know, to talk about
653
00:29:57,665 --> 00:30:00,276
the history of blood,
the history of African blood,
654
00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:02,148
and how it's passed down
to the ancestors.
655
00:30:02,191 --> 00:30:03,845
[screem]
656
00:30:03,889 --> 00:30:07,022
- This is a film about
a very erudite scholar
657
00:30:07,066 --> 00:30:08,371
who struggles with addiction,
658
00:30:08,415 --> 00:30:12,114
so he's using blood
as an addiction metaphor
659
00:30:12,158 --> 00:30:14,334
which is something
that spoke to this director
660
00:30:14,377 --> 00:30:16,858
and in his mind,
I'm sure spoke to his community.
661
00:30:16,902 --> 00:30:18,207
- He was recently
turned into a vampire
662
00:30:18,251 --> 00:30:20,296
and he falls in love
with this woman
663
00:30:20,340 --> 00:30:23,386
and he kinda has to decide
whether to turn her
664
00:30:23,430 --> 00:30:24,431
and that sort of thing.
665
00:30:24,474 --> 00:30:27,434
And it's very slow
and meditative.
666
00:30:31,612 --> 00:30:33,744
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
Throughout the movie, Hess,
667
00:30:33,788 --> 00:30:37,313
no matter how wealthy he is,
no matter how educated,
668
00:30:37,357 --> 00:30:39,881
is still very fearful
of the police.
669
00:30:39,925 --> 00:30:41,622
- There's no possible way
for you to know this
670
00:30:41,665 --> 00:30:45,452
but I'm the only colored
on the block, you see,
671
00:30:45,495 --> 00:30:48,803
and if another black man
washes ashore around here,
672
00:30:48,847 --> 00:30:50,283
you can believe
673
00:30:50,326 --> 00:30:52,938
the authorities will
drag me out for questioning.
674
00:30:52,981 --> 00:30:54,940
- The police still remain
a threat
675
00:30:54,983 --> 00:30:58,421
to even this very wealthy,
well-educated black man.
676
00:30:58,465 --> 00:31:00,946
- It got
like a standing ovation
677
00:31:00,989 --> 00:31:02,599
at the Cannes Film Festival.
- Yeah.
678
00:31:02,643 --> 00:31:06,908
- It played at Cannes
and got a lot of awards there.
679
00:31:06,952 --> 00:31:09,955
When it got to America,
not so much.
680
00:31:09,998 --> 00:31:11,957
- Hollywood hates this movie
681
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,307
because it doesn't look
anything like
682
00:31:14,350 --> 00:31:17,266
the blacksploitation films
of this period.
683
00:31:17,310 --> 00:31:19,225
Frankly, it's a little
too smart.
684
00:31:19,268 --> 00:31:21,444
It's a little too stylistic.
685
00:31:21,488 --> 00:31:26,101
The characters are really a bit
too developed and realized.
686
00:31:26,145 --> 00:31:27,624
They wanted something cruder.
687
00:31:27,668 --> 00:31:30,584
- They recut it. [indistinct]
before years, you know,
688
00:31:30,627 --> 00:31:34,675
I used to go some video stores
and it was recut as a movie
689
00:31:34,718 --> 00:31:36,372
called "Blood Couple".
690
00:31:36,416 --> 00:31:37,939
TANANARIVE DUE:
For the longest time,
691
00:31:37,983 --> 00:31:40,333
it was sort of
in this netherworld
692
00:31:40,376 --> 00:31:43,292
where the true version
of the film
693
00:31:43,336 --> 00:31:46,513
was at the Museum of Modern Art
in New York.
694
00:31:46,556 --> 00:31:48,950
- It was a film
that I heard about for years
695
00:31:48,994 --> 00:31:50,517
before I was finally to see it.
696
00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:51,953
- Hmm-mm.
697
00:31:51,997 --> 00:31:55,000
- Actually, Bill Gunn,
when I was at Howard, came.
698
00:31:55,043 --> 00:31:56,697
He didn't come with
a print of the film.
699
00:31:56,740 --> 00:31:58,003
- He just came
to talk about it?
700
00:31:58,046 --> 00:32:00,788
- Yeah, 'cause
the only print was available,
701
00:32:00,831 --> 00:32:04,574
the only print in existence
was at the Museum of Modern Art.
702
00:32:04,618 --> 00:32:06,011
He was an interesting cat,
703
00:32:06,054 --> 00:32:07,621
and "Ganja & Hess"
was his chance
704
00:32:07,664 --> 00:32:14,497
to elevate a vampire story
into something more meaningful.
705
00:32:14,541 --> 00:32:15,629
ASHLEE BLACKWELL:
"Ganja & Hess"
706
00:32:15,672 --> 00:32:17,370
is like this beautiful,
artistic film
707
00:32:17,413 --> 00:32:18,719
but it wasn't the only film
during that time
708
00:32:18,762 --> 00:32:21,243
that was making
these broad stroke statements
709
00:32:21,287 --> 00:32:23,550
about what was going on
in society.
710
00:32:23,593 --> 00:32:25,378
There's a lot of
blacksploitation horror films
711
00:32:25,421 --> 00:32:28,207
that kind of deal with kind of
involuntary experimentation
712
00:32:28,250 --> 00:32:30,339
and it doesn't feel
like a coincidence.
713
00:32:32,472 --> 00:32:35,083
The Tuskeegee Experiment
was this medical experiment
714
00:32:35,127 --> 00:32:38,217
that spanned a 40-year time.
715
00:32:38,260 --> 00:32:41,046
There were these tests done
on Southern men in the South,
716
00:32:41,089 --> 00:32:42,612
some had syphilis,
some didn't,
717
00:32:42,656 --> 00:32:44,092
but they all thought
they were being treated
718
00:32:44,136 --> 00:32:46,051
for what was called "bad blood".
719
00:32:48,227 --> 00:32:50,229
They were promised
free healthcare, free meals,
720
00:32:50,272 --> 00:32:53,580
free burial, but they weren't
even treated.
721
00:32:53,623 --> 00:32:55,103
They were pretty much
being tested
722
00:32:55,147 --> 00:32:58,672
to see the effects of syphilis
over a lifetime.
723
00:33:00,108 --> 00:33:01,457
Some of those men
lost their lives
724
00:33:01,501 --> 00:33:03,198
without knowing what they were
fully consenting to,
725
00:33:03,242 --> 00:33:04,721
and there was
this big investigation
726
00:33:04,765 --> 00:33:07,768
and it came a halt
in early to mid-1970s.
727
00:33:09,117 --> 00:33:12,425
- You wanna use me for some type
of human guinea pig, is that it?
728
00:33:13,513 --> 00:33:15,645
ASHLEE BLACKWELL:
"Dr. Black & Mr. Hyde",
729
00:33:15,689 --> 00:33:16,995
"Blackenstein",
730
00:33:17,038 --> 00:33:19,519
those are films that were
lackluster in quality
731
00:33:19,562 --> 00:33:22,043
and maybe even story,
but they are centered around
732
00:33:22,087 --> 00:33:24,480
medical experimentation
on black males.
733
00:33:26,526 --> 00:33:28,006
And so, you couldn't help
but notice
734
00:33:28,049 --> 00:33:30,617
those two things coming together
and kind of converging.
735
00:33:30,660 --> 00:33:32,619
- This could be a good chance
to try out that serum.
736
00:33:32,662 --> 00:33:35,752
- No, you can't
try that serum on a human.
737
00:33:35,796 --> 00:33:36,753
That's not right.
738
00:33:39,147 --> 00:33:40,409
ASHLEE BLACKWELL:
Since blacks were brought here
739
00:33:40,453 --> 00:33:42,455
during slavery,
we were treated as lab rats
740
00:33:42,498 --> 00:33:45,023
and for various,
different medical purposes,
741
00:33:45,066 --> 00:33:47,677
they treated us as inhuman,
as we were seen,
742
00:33:47,721 --> 00:33:50,376
and so, you see a lot of that
even today
743
00:33:50,419 --> 00:33:52,291
with movies like "Get Out".
744
00:33:52,334 --> 00:33:54,119
- Why us, huh?
745
00:33:56,686 --> 00:33:58,210
Why black people?
746
00:33:58,253 --> 00:33:59,776
ASHLEE BLACKWELL: Also
"The Girl with All the Gifts"
747
00:33:59,820 --> 00:34:01,517
and even "The First Purge".
748
00:34:01,561 --> 00:34:03,563
- Should you choose
to actively participate,
749
00:34:03,606 --> 00:34:05,652
we'll implant
a tracking device.
750
00:34:05,695 --> 00:34:08,524
After that, you'll be all set,
as they say, to purge.
751
00:34:10,352 --> 00:34:12,659
- As sort of bad as
752
00:34:12,702 --> 00:34:15,488
some of these
blacksploitation films were,
753
00:34:15,531 --> 00:34:17,055
they just simply got worse.
754
00:34:17,098 --> 00:34:18,317
- [screaming, grunting]
755
00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:20,232
- "Blackenstein" is so bad,
756
00:34:20,275 --> 00:34:22,147
literally,
you can't see the film.
757
00:34:22,190 --> 00:34:23,452
I mean, you're like,
758
00:34:23,496 --> 00:34:25,367
Did they purposefully
shoot it in shadow
759
00:34:25,411 --> 00:34:28,153
or just completely in the dark?
760
00:34:28,196 --> 00:34:29,545
In addition to that,
761
00:34:29,589 --> 00:34:33,288
civil rights groups
are protesting these films
762
00:34:33,332 --> 00:34:35,856
and saying that they're not good
for black culture,
763
00:34:35,899 --> 00:34:38,467
they're not good for
black representations.
764
00:34:38,511 --> 00:34:42,689
- We may not have
liked necessarily what we saw.
765
00:34:42,732 --> 00:34:43,733
- [screaming]
766
00:34:43,777 --> 00:34:45,039
- It was stereotypical,
767
00:34:45,083 --> 00:34:48,042
but those doors
slowly started to open.
768
00:34:48,086 --> 00:34:51,698
So, as all things in life,
there's a double-edged sword.
769
00:34:51,741 --> 00:34:54,483
- We're finally seeing
a number of movies
770
00:34:54,527 --> 00:34:57,878
where black people
are on the big screen.
771
00:34:57,921 --> 00:34:59,923
And so, you think, "Okay,
772
00:34:59,967 --> 00:35:02,056
the momentum
is going to continue
773
00:35:02,100 --> 00:35:03,362
and maybe in the '80s,
774
00:35:03,405 --> 00:35:06,539
we're going to get
these representations right."
775
00:35:06,582 --> 00:35:09,194
Exactly the opposite happens.
776
00:35:10,934 --> 00:35:11,935
- [grunting]
777
00:35:16,592 --> 00:35:19,378
- I always knew
that if there was somebody black
778
00:35:19,421 --> 00:35:21,554
in the horror film,
they will be the first to die.
779
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:25,906
MIGUEL A. NUÑEZ: I remember
one of the first things I did
780
00:35:25,949 --> 00:35:27,473
was when I got the script
781
00:35:27,516 --> 00:35:30,171
was count the number of pages
before I died.
782
00:35:30,215 --> 00:35:31,607
[laughter]
783
00:35:31,651 --> 00:35:33,609
- If we're not dead
in the first 15 minutes,
784
00:35:33,653 --> 00:35:36,482
we're certainly dead
by the last 30 minutes.
785
00:35:36,525 --> 00:35:38,832
- It's like
the red shirt phenomenon
786
00:35:38,875 --> 00:35:40,312
in "Star Trek".
787
00:35:40,355 --> 00:35:42,749
You know you can't kill Spock,
you can't kill McCoy,
788
00:35:42,792 --> 00:35:44,794
you can't kill Captain Kirk
or Uhura,
789
00:35:44,838 --> 00:35:49,103
so this poor crew member
with the red shirt
790
00:35:49,147 --> 00:35:50,626
is the one who's going to die.
791
00:35:53,151 --> 00:35:54,630
And I think that's very much
792
00:35:54,674 --> 00:35:57,677
where blacks were kind of
stuck in horror for a while.
793
00:35:57,720 --> 00:36:00,245
It became such a joke
about first to die
794
00:36:00,288 --> 00:36:01,768
that there were these
sort of tongue-in-cheek
795
00:36:01,811 --> 00:36:03,248
references to it.
796
00:36:03,291 --> 00:36:05,337
IRA KANE: Snag one.
797
00:36:05,380 --> 00:36:06,947
- Snag one?
- Yeah, snag one
798
00:36:06,990 --> 00:36:09,384
and put 'em in the bucket.
799
00:36:09,428 --> 00:36:11,299
- I seen this movie.
The black dude dies first.
800
00:36:11,343 --> 00:36:12,431
You snag it.
801
00:36:12,474 --> 00:36:13,997
- So, let's talk about
black people
802
00:36:14,041 --> 00:36:16,435
always die first
in horror movies.
803
00:36:16,478 --> 00:36:18,393
It's not entirely true.
804
00:36:18,437 --> 00:36:20,134
- Well, in "Alien",
Yaphet is actually
805
00:36:20,178 --> 00:36:24,094
the last male to die, you know?
- That's true. He is.
806
00:36:24,138 --> 00:36:26,227
Yeah, he makes it aways.
807
00:36:26,271 --> 00:36:28,229
- Get out of the room!
808
00:36:28,273 --> 00:36:30,275
- Sometimes they do die first.
809
00:36:30,318 --> 00:36:31,754
- [grunting]
810
00:36:31,798 --> 00:36:34,757
- But I wanna kinda dispel
a little bit of that myth.
811
00:36:34,801 --> 00:36:36,150
It often happens.
812
00:36:36,194 --> 00:36:38,283
- [grunting]
813
00:36:38,326 --> 00:36:39,545
- But then, at the same time,
814
00:36:39,588 --> 00:36:43,157
it can't always happen
because black people
815
00:36:43,201 --> 00:36:46,595
play a particular role
in horror films.
816
00:36:46,639 --> 00:36:51,905
For example, if you have
a really horrible, big,
817
00:36:51,948 --> 00:36:55,865
kind of badass monster,
how do you evidence
818
00:36:55,909 --> 00:37:00,392
that that creature
is as bad as it can get?
819
00:37:00,435 --> 00:37:02,089
You need a black guy.
820
00:37:02,132 --> 00:37:05,005
- I'm Sergeant Buford Brown,
but my teammates call me Buba.
821
00:37:05,048 --> 00:37:06,876
- If the monster beats that guy,
822
00:37:09,227 --> 00:37:11,838
then that monster
must be a true badass.
823
00:37:11,881 --> 00:37:14,014
- You believe any of this
voodoo bullshit, Blair?
824
00:37:14,057 --> 00:37:15,145
- Well, you know, my first,
825
00:37:15,189 --> 00:37:17,496
my very first movie was
"The Thing".
826
00:37:17,539 --> 00:37:19,498
- Yes! Yes, yes.
- I lived to the very end.
827
00:37:19,541 --> 00:37:21,456
I survived.
- Yes.
828
00:37:21,500 --> 00:37:25,547
In my next movie, I did die
but not till the end.
829
00:37:27,332 --> 00:37:30,335
- Their roles are tokens,
830
00:37:30,378 --> 00:37:33,163
and so, they show up
as sidekicks,
831
00:37:33,207 --> 00:37:35,383
incidental characters.
832
00:37:35,427 --> 00:37:37,516
- Which would be fine
833
00:37:37,559 --> 00:37:40,214
except that often,
they don't exist
834
00:37:40,258 --> 00:37:41,998
for any other reason
in the movie.
835
00:37:42,042 --> 00:37:45,828
They don't have wants,
needs of their own,
836
00:37:45,872 --> 00:37:47,003
their only concern
837
00:37:47,047 --> 00:37:49,615
is the welfare
of the white protagonists,
838
00:37:49,658 --> 00:37:51,617
and that's where
it becomes problematic.
839
00:37:51,660 --> 00:37:53,749
- I looked at it as I was
the chosen black person
840
00:37:53,793 --> 00:37:54,881
for the film.
- I know, that's right.
841
00:37:54,924 --> 00:37:55,969
- I didn't look at it
in a negative way.
842
00:37:56,012 --> 00:37:57,275
I looked at it like
I was chosen.
843
00:37:57,318 --> 00:37:58,841
- I didn't look at it
in a negative way, either,
844
00:37:58,885 --> 00:37:59,929
'cause I was getting a check.
MIGUEL A. NUÑEZ: Absolutely.
845
00:37:59,973 --> 00:38:01,627
Everybody who had said
anything about it,
846
00:38:01,670 --> 00:38:03,281
I'm in "Friday the 13th",
you're not,
847
00:38:03,324 --> 00:38:04,760
so I didn't look at it
like that.
848
00:38:04,804 --> 00:38:07,372
But it was really
a good thing to be black
849
00:38:07,415 --> 00:38:08,895
and, in any film,
in the '80s,
850
00:38:08,938 --> 00:38:11,593
not much less a horror movie,
but any film.
851
00:38:11,637 --> 00:38:12,768
- I was like,
"Hey, we're in this movie!"
852
00:38:12,812 --> 00:38:15,597
[laughs] We're dying first.
853
00:38:15,641 --> 00:38:19,688
- [muffled scream]
854
00:38:19,732 --> 00:38:21,473
- Or we're sacrificing
ourselves.
855
00:38:21,516 --> 00:38:24,606
- [screaming]
856
00:38:27,783 --> 00:38:30,351
Or we're just a sidekick
or we're just being sassy.
857
00:38:30,395 --> 00:38:32,353
- Dan keeping you up again?
858
00:38:32,397 --> 00:38:33,920
Girl, you gotta put a lock
in that window.
859
00:38:33,963 --> 00:38:36,488
- Or we're not gonna appear
after the first act or whatever.
860
00:38:36,531 --> 00:38:39,578
But we were in it.
We were in it!
861
00:38:39,621 --> 00:38:42,624
It's such a powerful validation
of your existence
862
00:38:42,668 --> 00:38:46,454
and I think it's really
difficult for a lot of whites
863
00:38:46,498 --> 00:38:48,761
to even imagine
what it would feel like
864
00:38:48,804 --> 00:38:50,806
if you were surrounded
by entertainment
865
00:38:50,850 --> 00:38:53,548
that was nothing
but black people, right?
866
00:38:53,592 --> 00:38:55,942
- I got on set
and I read the script,
867
00:38:55,985 --> 00:38:58,074
and there was several little
racial things in there.
868
00:39:01,513 --> 00:39:03,210
- I see you!
869
00:39:03,253 --> 00:39:05,168
Chocolate man.
870
00:39:05,212 --> 00:39:06,431
- And so,
I, you know, I said,
871
00:39:06,474 --> 00:39:09,172
"Okay, you know,
I'm gonna be alone on this."
872
00:39:11,479 --> 00:39:14,395
- Scary, isn't it?
873
00:39:14,439 --> 00:39:15,744
- Back when
I was doing "The Craft",
874
00:39:15,788 --> 00:39:17,659
I definitely
was really nervous
875
00:39:17,703 --> 00:39:19,444
about how to portray
this character.
876
00:39:19,487 --> 00:39:23,535
Like Bonnie has burns,
or what's her name?
877
00:39:23,578 --> 00:39:26,668
Sarah!
[laughs] scars.
878
00:39:26,712 --> 00:39:29,105
And the other one is poor
and very angry
879
00:39:29,149 --> 00:39:30,803
and probably bipolar, right?
880
00:39:30,846 --> 00:39:32,065
So when I first auditioned,
881
00:39:32,108 --> 00:39:34,502
I had a big monologue
about being anorexic
882
00:39:34,546 --> 00:39:37,026
and then I think
once they decided to cast me,
883
00:39:37,070 --> 00:39:40,900
that is when they made
race her issue,
884
00:39:40,943 --> 00:39:43,729
but for me, I was like,
"I don't have an issue."
885
00:39:43,772 --> 00:39:45,295
I didn't think it was
a big enough problem
886
00:39:45,339 --> 00:39:46,862
for her to have.
887
00:39:46,906 --> 00:39:49,125
Although, in retrospect,
I actually think it's fantastic
888
00:39:49,169 --> 00:39:52,694
they had it in because
that is the kind of racism,
889
00:39:52,738 --> 00:39:56,698
whether it was subtle or big,
that I went through,
890
00:39:56,742 --> 00:39:58,700
I'm sure you went through,
and everyone went through,
891
00:39:58,744 --> 00:40:00,180
but isn't it interesting
that I was able to
892
00:40:00,223 --> 00:40:02,138
compartmentalize it
and be like, "What?
893
00:40:02,182 --> 00:40:04,663
She doesn't have a problem,"
because it's so ingrained in me
894
00:40:04,706 --> 00:40:06,534
that that's a part of me
that I'm gonna go into a store
895
00:40:06,578 --> 00:40:07,970
and someone's
gonna be horrible to me
896
00:40:08,014 --> 00:40:10,495
or somebody white's gonna say
something terrible.
897
00:40:10,538 --> 00:40:12,148
- Why are you doing this
to me, Laura?
898
00:40:13,802 --> 00:40:16,414
- Because I don't like Negroids.
899
00:40:16,457 --> 00:40:17,806
- To this day,
people come up to me
900
00:40:17,850 --> 00:40:19,417
and tell me how much it meant.
901
00:40:19,460 --> 00:40:21,070
I was getting off a train,
this little girl was getting on
902
00:40:21,114 --> 00:40:22,332
and she would,
903
00:40:22,376 --> 00:40:24,944
"Yo... yo.. you were
in the Crafts movie!"
904
00:40:24,987 --> 00:40:27,599
And I realized,
"Oh! Oh, oh!"
905
00:40:27,642 --> 00:40:30,819
I wasn't even thinking
that like I'm now in a movie,
906
00:40:30,863 --> 00:40:32,908
so these girls don't have to
go through what I did
907
00:40:32,952 --> 00:40:34,997
which was, you know,
watching "Pretty in Pink"
908
00:40:35,041 --> 00:40:36,564
and going, "There's no one
who looks like me,
909
00:40:36,608 --> 00:40:38,958
or acts like me,
or sounds like me."
910
00:40:39,001 --> 00:40:41,526
I am going to be that
for these girls.
911
00:40:41,569 --> 00:40:43,745
- I drink of my sisters
912
00:40:43,789 --> 00:40:48,315
and I ask for the ability
to not hate those who hate me,
913
00:40:48,358 --> 00:40:51,797
especially racist pieces
of bleach blonde shit
914
00:40:51,840 --> 00:40:53,189
like Laura Lizzie.
915
00:40:53,233 --> 00:40:56,323
- I think what Rochelle did
was she gave us...
916
00:40:56,366 --> 00:40:58,760
she gave us a way to kind of
talk about our own experiences
917
00:40:58,804 --> 00:41:00,153
and be comfortable with them
918
00:41:00,196 --> 00:41:03,504
because a lot of us were
in like all-white spaces.
919
00:41:03,548 --> 00:41:05,071
- I live in a white world.
920
00:41:05,114 --> 00:41:06,594
I mean, most of the time,
all I'm around is white people.
921
00:41:06,638 --> 00:41:08,640
A lot of times,
when you're living in the world,
922
00:41:08,683 --> 00:41:11,294
so you don't think of it being,
"Oh, I'm a token,"
923
00:41:11,338 --> 00:41:12,861
or anything like that.
924
00:41:12,905 --> 00:41:15,124
You're just thinking, "Oh,
I finally got a position in this
925
00:41:15,168 --> 00:41:17,126
and it'll bring me
other positions,"
926
00:41:17,170 --> 00:41:21,827
so I think you think positively
about what you're doing.
927
00:41:21,870 --> 00:41:23,393
KEN SAGOES: It didn't
really matter to me
928
00:41:23,437 --> 00:41:24,786
because we were working.
929
00:41:24,830 --> 00:41:27,615
I was so happy that I had
a check but, on the set,
930
00:41:27,659 --> 00:41:30,052
it was absolute...
I was the only black there.
931
00:41:30,096 --> 00:41:32,620
And I think minorities
all over the world
932
00:41:32,664 --> 00:41:34,709
felt that Kincaid
was their hero.
933
00:41:34,753 --> 00:41:36,145
Let's go kick
the motherfucker's ass
934
00:41:36,189 --> 00:41:37,886
all over dreamland.
935
00:41:37,930 --> 00:41:39,801
RICHARD LAWSON:
Every script that I read
936
00:41:39,845 --> 00:41:41,020
and the leading man,
937
00:41:42,151 --> 00:41:43,588
that was my part!
938
00:41:43,631 --> 00:41:44,893
That's the part
I shoulda played!
939
00:41:44,937 --> 00:41:47,156
But I understood where it was.
940
00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:47,983
There was no resentment.
941
00:41:48,027 --> 00:41:51,334
It was like, "In due time."
942
00:41:51,378 --> 00:41:53,989
- Perhaps the quintessential,
943
00:41:54,033 --> 00:41:56,775
although it pains me to say,
token character,
944
00:41:56,818 --> 00:41:59,517
is Scatman Crothers
in "The Shining".
945
00:41:59,560 --> 00:42:00,735
- No problem, Mr. Urban,
946
00:42:00,779 --> 00:42:03,085
I was just getting
to the ice cream.
947
00:42:03,129 --> 00:42:07,263
- It pains me to say it because
he's a terrific performer.
948
00:42:07,307 --> 00:42:09,527
[♪]
949
00:42:09,570 --> 00:42:12,138
TANANARIVE DUE: The character
played by Scatman Crothers
950
00:42:12,181 --> 00:42:16,359
who is a psychic in the book
survives, but in the film,
951
00:42:16,403 --> 00:42:19,754
to set up a danger
for the important characters,
952
00:42:19,798 --> 00:42:22,235
meaning the child and the wife,
953
00:42:22,278 --> 00:42:24,716
Scatman Crothers
got an axe to his chest
954
00:42:24,759 --> 00:42:26,674
the minute the brother
walked through the door.
955
00:42:26,718 --> 00:42:28,502
- [manic shouting]
956
00:42:28,546 --> 00:42:30,243
[screaming]
957
00:42:31,984 --> 00:42:33,507
- Always bothered me
'cause I was always thinking,
958
00:42:33,551 --> 00:42:36,031
"Oh, if he's shinin', how come
959
00:42:36,075 --> 00:42:37,511
he didn't see it coming?"
- He should see that.
960
00:42:37,555 --> 00:42:38,730
- He shoulda ducked that axe.
961
00:42:38,773 --> 00:42:40,688
- At the time, I mean,
962
00:42:40,732 --> 00:42:42,385
I thought it was
an unusual choice
963
00:42:42,429 --> 00:42:44,866
because I knew it hadn't
happened that way in the novel.
964
00:42:44,910 --> 00:42:46,868
I didn't understand
that I was seeing a trope called
965
00:42:46,912 --> 00:42:48,566
the sacrificial Negro.
966
00:42:48,609 --> 00:42:49,915
- The sacrificial Negro
967
00:42:49,958 --> 00:42:52,570
is just the character
who literally just like
968
00:42:52,613 --> 00:42:54,441
puts themselves
in the face of danger
969
00:42:54,484 --> 00:42:58,576
and dies in order for
the white character to survive.
970
00:42:58,619 --> 00:43:00,229
- In the first "Annabelle",
971
00:43:00,273 --> 00:43:03,189
poor Alfre Woodard
has no investment in the film
972
00:43:03,232 --> 00:43:05,060
other than helping
the white characters...
973
00:43:05,104 --> 00:43:07,802
- No, no!
- [screams]
974
00:43:07,846 --> 00:43:09,325
TANANARIVE DUE: And I was like,
"That's a little retro,"
975
00:43:09,369 --> 00:43:12,111
because you don't see
that so much anymore.
976
00:43:12,154 --> 00:43:14,287
- It was literally
Alfre Woodard saying,
977
00:43:14,330 --> 00:43:17,551
"Oh, I have lived my entire life
just to save you."
978
00:43:17,595 --> 00:43:19,292
And it's just like,
979
00:43:19,335 --> 00:43:22,600
[laughs] "Oh, my God,
that drove me nuts!"
980
00:43:22,643 --> 00:43:23,688
- I'm over that.
981
00:43:23,731 --> 00:43:25,124
I've seen that
in almost every movie
982
00:43:25,167 --> 00:43:27,605
I grew up with as a child
where, you know,
983
00:43:27,648 --> 00:43:33,349
the desexualized
black woman mammy figure
984
00:43:33,393 --> 00:43:37,832
gives her life so that
the little white girl can live.
985
00:43:37,876 --> 00:43:41,183
That's noble, I guess,
but I just feel like,
986
00:43:41,227 --> 00:43:44,273
Why can't everybody live?
Or everybody die?
987
00:43:44,317 --> 00:43:46,624
- I think it really
honestly goes back
988
00:43:46,667 --> 00:43:49,365
to that era of
the "Birth of a Nation"
989
00:43:49,409 --> 00:43:51,629
where you have
the faithful servant trope.
990
00:43:51,672 --> 00:43:56,677
That faithful servant trope
is a really important image
991
00:43:56,721 --> 00:44:00,725
for a lot of races
because it shows them
992
00:44:00,768 --> 00:44:03,989
that slavery and Jim Crow
weren't so bad!
993
00:44:04,032 --> 00:44:05,468
Sometimes those
secondary characters
994
00:44:05,512 --> 00:44:07,862
are just gonna have to die
because if they don't,
995
00:44:07,906 --> 00:44:09,472
the audience won't believe
996
00:44:09,516 --> 00:44:11,953
something scary is about to
happen to the real characters
997
00:44:11,997 --> 00:44:13,781
who are not
the black characters,
998
00:44:13,825 --> 00:44:16,871
which is what I think
gives birth to this other
999
00:44:16,915 --> 00:44:19,004
horrible trope
which is the magical Negro.
1000
00:44:19,047 --> 00:44:21,833
- Molly, you in danger, girl.
1001
00:44:21,876 --> 00:44:23,486
- They have super wisdom
1002
00:44:23,530 --> 00:44:26,272
that helps like these
white characters kind of thrive.
1003
00:44:26,315 --> 00:44:28,666
- It's one of those boxes
that black people get put in,
1004
00:44:28,709 --> 00:44:30,842
the sort Uncle Remus thing,
1005
00:44:30,885 --> 00:44:35,934
where we're somehow afforded
some mystical wisdom.
1006
00:44:35,977 --> 00:44:39,372
- Alex,
your friend's departure shows
1007
00:44:39,415 --> 00:44:43,115
that death has a new design
for all of you.
1008
00:44:43,158 --> 00:44:45,813
- Then you have the other side
of a terrible coin
1009
00:44:45,857 --> 00:44:47,728
which is invisibility.
1010
00:44:47,772 --> 00:44:49,034
- I remember being
when I was younger...
1011
00:44:49,077 --> 00:44:50,688
- Yeah.
- Like around that age,
1012
00:44:50,731 --> 00:44:52,820
like seven to eight grade and
like discovering scary movies
1013
00:44:52,864 --> 00:44:55,954
like, "You know what,
I'm not gonna die
1014
00:44:55,997 --> 00:44:57,738
'cause I'm not even in this."
- [laughs]
1015
00:44:57,782 --> 00:44:59,392
MONICA SURIYAGE: It's like
all my friends at the sleepover
1016
00:44:59,435 --> 00:45:01,220
should be scared
'cause they're all white
1017
00:45:01,263 --> 00:45:03,657
and no one's coming for the man
who looks like me!
1018
00:45:03,701 --> 00:45:05,180
- No one's coming for us.
Exactly.
1019
00:45:05,224 --> 00:45:06,399
- 'Cause I'm not even in it!
1020
00:45:08,793 --> 00:45:09,968
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
It's the Reagan era
1021
00:45:10,011 --> 00:45:13,145
and black people
become the face
1022
00:45:13,188 --> 00:45:15,800
of what is bringing
this country down.
1023
00:45:15,843 --> 00:45:17,845
The nation is led to believe
1024
00:45:17,889 --> 00:45:21,022
that their good,
hard tax dollars
1025
00:45:21,066 --> 00:45:24,025
are being put
into these young women
1026
00:45:24,069 --> 00:45:27,681
who are having babies
and collecting welfare checks
1027
00:45:27,725 --> 00:45:29,770
and it's a propaganda message
1028
00:45:29,814 --> 00:45:33,121
that really encourages
the nation
1029
00:45:33,165 --> 00:45:35,863
to turn its back
on social programs.
1030
00:45:35,907 --> 00:45:41,260
Black people become monstrous
in a real way in the political.
1031
00:45:41,303 --> 00:45:43,262
NEWS ANCHOR: Horton fled,
kidnapped a young couple,
1032
00:45:43,305 --> 00:45:46,787
stabbing the man and repeatedly
raping his girlfriend.
1033
00:45:46,831 --> 00:45:49,311
- On the big screen then,
1034
00:45:49,355 --> 00:45:54,534
what is encouraged
is that white, fleety urban.
1035
00:45:54,577 --> 00:45:58,407
"A Nightmare on Elm Street",
"Amityville Horror",
1036
00:45:58,451 --> 00:46:01,106
"Halloween",
all have pushed us out
1037
00:46:01,149 --> 00:46:03,804
into the suburban,
away from the urban,
1038
00:46:03,848 --> 00:46:05,980
and so we have to imagine
new monsters.
1039
00:46:06,024 --> 00:46:07,329
- [growling]
1040
00:46:07,373 --> 00:46:09,462
- Take a movie like
"Poltergeist",
1041
00:46:09,505 --> 00:46:12,595
"Our homes are built
on Indian burial grounds
1042
00:46:12,639 --> 00:46:17,122
and somehow it's radiating up
and affecting us in awful ways
1043
00:46:17,165 --> 00:46:19,385
not because
we're inherently evil
1044
00:46:19,428 --> 00:46:21,909
but because
black and brown people
1045
00:46:21,953 --> 00:46:24,390
were still the source of evil."
1046
00:46:24,433 --> 00:46:26,261
- One horror film
with a lot of black faces in it
1047
00:46:26,305 --> 00:46:28,437
that stands out
from the 1980s is
1048
00:46:28,481 --> 00:46:31,745
"The Serpent and the Rainbow",
directed by Wes Craven,
1049
00:46:31,789 --> 00:46:35,140
and Wes Craven, I would say,
was one of those filmmakers
1050
00:46:35,183 --> 00:46:37,838
who really did try to be
inclusive in his films.
1051
00:46:37,882 --> 00:46:39,187
He also did "Vampire Brooklyn"
1052
00:46:39,231 --> 00:46:42,060
and he did
"The People Under the Stairs".
1053
00:46:42,103 --> 00:46:43,931
KELLY JO MINTER:
"The People Under the Stairs"
1054
00:46:43,975 --> 00:46:46,499
you had a young black kid
1055
00:46:46,542 --> 00:46:50,155
leading a major film
for Universal.
1056
00:46:50,198 --> 00:46:51,809
It was ahead of its time.
1057
00:46:51,852 --> 00:46:55,421
- I remember seeing it
on the VHS and I'm being like,
1058
00:46:55,464 --> 00:46:59,512
"This movie has a black
child actor as the lead?
1059
00:46:59,555 --> 00:47:01,035
What's going on here?"
1060
00:47:01,079 --> 00:47:03,168
- I don't wanna kill you
1061
00:47:03,211 --> 00:47:06,258
but I will 'cause
I don't like you much, anyway.
1062
00:47:06,301 --> 00:47:09,348
- One of the things
that movie really captures is,
1063
00:47:10,740 --> 00:47:13,091
you know, black fear
of white spaces, you know,
1064
00:47:13,134 --> 00:47:14,788
this thing we're talking about.
1065
00:47:14,832 --> 00:47:18,183
And this particular white space,
you know, this is stereotypical
1066
00:47:18,226 --> 00:47:21,882
but like, you know, this idea
of like sadomasochism
1067
00:47:21,926 --> 00:47:25,277
and leather
like psychosexual shit,
1068
00:47:25,320 --> 00:47:28,193
like this torturing stuff.
1069
00:47:28,236 --> 00:47:31,196
It all seemed
very white, you know?
1070
00:47:31,239 --> 00:47:33,415
- There's no community here.
1071
00:47:34,939 --> 00:47:38,290
All I see you
are a couple of n...
1072
00:47:38,333 --> 00:47:40,596
[indistinct] ass bitch.
You can.
1073
00:47:42,163 --> 00:47:44,122
- What are you gonna do?
1074
00:47:44,165 --> 00:47:45,166
Shoot us all?
1075
00:47:45,210 --> 00:47:47,473
- They had Roach in there,
1076
00:47:47,516 --> 00:47:51,607
in the walls, as a victim,
and that, I think,
1077
00:47:51,651 --> 00:47:54,045
was the most powerful
1078
00:47:54,088 --> 00:47:57,004
and terrifying part
about that movie.
1079
00:47:57,048 --> 00:47:59,659
You look at "Get Out",
1080
00:47:59,702 --> 00:48:03,228
it's clear that my deepest,
deepest fears
1081
00:48:03,271 --> 00:48:05,230
come to this idea
of confinement.
1082
00:48:05,273 --> 00:48:08,102
- And then we get
this beautiful renaissance
1083
00:48:08,146 --> 00:48:09,451
called the '90s.
1084
00:48:09,495 --> 00:48:12,715
- I actually am not afraid
to say Candyman.
1085
00:48:12,759 --> 00:48:15,849
- Candyman.
1086
00:48:15,893 --> 00:48:17,198
- Candyman!
1087
00:48:17,242 --> 00:48:20,071
- [girl shouting]
No, no.
1088
00:48:20,114 --> 00:48:22,290
- I'm a really hard person
to scare
1089
00:48:22,334 --> 00:48:24,510
and "Candyman" was like
1090
00:48:24,553 --> 00:48:27,730
one of the first things
in a while that got me.
1091
00:48:27,774 --> 00:48:29,080
- That really got to you?
1092
00:48:29,123 --> 00:48:31,909
- Yeah, I mean,
that shot with the open mouth
1093
00:48:31,952 --> 00:48:35,260
inside the vacated apartment.
1094
00:48:35,303 --> 00:48:37,305
- I guess we kinda knew
that we had something
1095
00:48:37,349 --> 00:48:39,394
but we didn't know what.
1096
00:48:39,438 --> 00:48:41,179
We had Tony Richmond,
was our DP,
1097
00:48:41,222 --> 00:48:43,007
who did
"The Man Who Fell to Earth",
1098
00:48:43,050 --> 00:48:44,443
we had Philip Glass
1099
00:48:44,486 --> 00:48:47,141
whose incredible score
kicked off the film,
1100
00:48:47,185 --> 00:48:51,232
we had the beautiful city
of Chicago as our backdrop,
1101
00:48:51,276 --> 00:48:54,453
and we had a interracial
conflict.
1102
00:48:55,497 --> 00:48:59,545
TANANARIVE DUE: Tony Todd
is such a powerful actor
1103
00:48:59,588 --> 00:49:02,548
and brings such gravitas
to that role.
1104
00:49:02,591 --> 00:49:04,898
- Be my victim.
1105
00:49:04,942 --> 00:49:06,421
- Candyman is Tony Todd,
1106
00:49:06,465 --> 00:49:09,120
and Tony Todd is Candyman,
for a lot of us.
1107
00:49:09,163 --> 00:49:10,817
- Out of the blue, I get
a call from my manager
1108
00:49:10,860 --> 00:49:14,081
at the time, saying
there's a script on their table,
1109
00:49:14,125 --> 00:49:17,606
it's called "Candyman"
and I kinda...
1110
00:49:17,650 --> 00:49:21,871
in my cockiness, I hung up
the phone because I said,
1111
00:49:21,915 --> 00:49:23,134
"What are we talking about?
1112
00:49:23,177 --> 00:49:26,137
Is this Sami Davis, Jr.'s story
we doin'?
1113
00:49:26,180 --> 00:49:27,312
I'm way too tall."
1114
00:49:28,878 --> 00:49:30,837
- Do I know you?
1115
00:49:30,880 --> 00:49:34,014
- No, but you doubted me.
1116
00:49:34,058 --> 00:49:36,103
- Tony's got a great
screen presence.
1117
00:49:36,147 --> 00:49:37,931
- He does.
- Candyman" was, you know,
1118
00:49:37,975 --> 00:49:39,541
it was obviously unique
1119
00:49:39,585 --> 00:49:42,457
because that was the first
black supernatural killer.
1120
00:49:43,763 --> 00:49:47,288
I loved Clive Barker,
and Candyman being
1121
00:49:47,332 --> 00:49:50,639
sort of like the patron saint
of urban legends.
1122
00:49:50,683 --> 00:49:55,993
You know, I thought that was
just such a beautiful invention,
1123
00:49:56,036 --> 00:49:57,429
such a beautiful monster.
1124
00:49:57,472 --> 00:49:58,821
- Candyman
is not a bogeyman.
1125
00:49:58,865 --> 00:50:02,912
He was an artist who was
happily doing his thing.
1126
00:50:02,956 --> 00:50:06,177
He happened to fall in love with
a woman that wasn't his race
1127
00:50:06,220 --> 00:50:07,700
and he was lynched
because of it,
1128
00:50:07,743 --> 00:50:11,182
and not only that,
they cut off his art hand.
1129
00:50:11,225 --> 00:50:14,489
TANANARIVE DUE: Bernard Rose
directed "Candyman"
1130
00:50:14,533 --> 00:50:18,450
based on a short story
set in the UK by Clive Barker.
1131
00:50:18,493 --> 00:50:20,539
They changed the original story
1132
00:50:20,582 --> 00:50:23,585
from sort of
a class conversation
1133
00:50:23,629 --> 00:50:27,502
to one that is rooted
in American racial history.
1134
00:50:27,546 --> 00:50:29,678
- It dealt with
the social things.
1135
00:50:29,722 --> 00:50:32,464
You have this white woman,
you got this black guy,
1136
00:50:32,507 --> 00:50:34,553
you got this backstory
about this black guy
1137
00:50:34,596 --> 00:50:38,209
and this white woman
and kind of, you know,
1138
00:50:38,252 --> 00:50:42,387
how he is attacked
because of this relationship.
1139
00:50:42,430 --> 00:50:44,563
- It was a very terrifying film,
1140
00:50:44,606 --> 00:50:47,914
a film that I loved
but a film that, you know,
1141
00:50:47,957 --> 00:50:49,611
is kind of problematic.
1142
00:50:49,655 --> 00:50:52,614
CANDYMAN: We shall die together
in front of their very eyes.
1143
00:50:52,658 --> 00:50:54,312
ASHLEE BLACKWELL: Here again,
we have a movie
1144
00:50:54,355 --> 00:50:57,315
that echoes what happened
in "King Kong" in the '30s.
1145
00:50:57,358 --> 00:50:59,273
There is this black bogeyman
1146
00:50:59,317 --> 00:51:02,798
and he's in pursuit
of this blonde white woman.
1147
00:51:02,842 --> 00:51:04,409
- He becomes obsessed,
1148
00:51:04,452 --> 00:51:07,281
recirculating the same tropes.
1149
00:51:07,325 --> 00:51:09,196
- I don't think that character
1150
00:51:09,240 --> 00:51:11,590
would go after
poor black people.
1151
00:51:11,633 --> 00:51:13,070
- Right.
- This is where you can tell
1152
00:51:13,113 --> 00:51:15,855
that "Candyman" came
from the mind of a white person.
1153
00:51:15,898 --> 00:51:17,813
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN:
He chooses to haunt,
1154
00:51:17,857 --> 00:51:21,426
to disrupt the lives
of blacks in Chicago
1155
00:51:21,469 --> 00:51:23,689
in the Cabrini-Green Projects.
1156
00:51:23,732 --> 00:51:25,691
When really,
right across the tracks,
1157
00:51:25,734 --> 00:51:27,954
are essentially
the representatives,
1158
00:51:27,997 --> 00:51:31,262
the sort of, the folks
who would have been responsible,
1159
00:51:31,305 --> 00:51:33,481
their ancestors,
for his lynching.
1160
00:51:33,525 --> 00:51:35,788
- He is a personification
of racism in the United States,
1161
00:51:35,831 --> 00:51:37,964
like what it looks like
and what it can conjure,
1162
00:51:38,007 --> 00:51:39,270
like all that negative energy,
1163
00:51:39,313 --> 00:51:41,054
like what does it look like,
and what does it do?
1164
00:51:41,098 --> 00:51:42,447
- Keep away from me!
1165
00:51:42,490 --> 00:51:43,796
TONY TODD:
For me, it's a character.
1166
00:51:43,839 --> 00:51:46,277
I don't live and breathe
and die by it.
1167
00:51:46,320 --> 00:51:48,975
I'm happy
that I was able to do him
1168
00:51:49,018 --> 00:51:51,978
and hopefully I did him right.
1169
00:51:52,021 --> 00:51:54,502
- It was very empowering to me
1170
00:51:54,546 --> 00:51:58,158
to feel like we could... like
black people can do anything.
1171
00:51:58,202 --> 00:51:59,681
We're not in this box.
1172
00:51:59,725 --> 00:52:02,293
We can be the Freddie
of a movie.
1173
00:52:02,336 --> 00:52:04,686
- [screams] No!
1174
00:52:04,730 --> 00:52:06,906
- I remember
Vondie Curtis-Hall
1175
00:52:06,949 --> 00:52:11,606
who was married to Kasi Lemmons
who was in the film.
1176
00:52:11,650 --> 00:52:14,566
In the original screening,
he shook his head, he says,
1177
00:52:14,609 --> 00:52:19,179
"Man, you realize,"
and I said, "What?"
1178
00:52:19,223 --> 00:52:21,834
"You gonna be Candyman forever."
1179
00:52:21,877 --> 00:52:24,315
ANNOUNCER: Candyman,
Day of the Dead.
1180
00:52:24,358 --> 00:52:25,968
- Unfortunately,
I think the sequels
1181
00:52:26,012 --> 00:52:27,318
kind of get overlooked.
1182
00:52:27,361 --> 00:52:29,885
It gives Candyman
a sympathetic backstory.
1183
00:52:29,929 --> 00:52:33,628
He is the spirit that's conjured
from the history of racism
1184
00:52:33,672 --> 00:52:36,414
and white supremacy
in the United States.
1185
00:52:36,457 --> 00:52:39,286
- [screaming]
1186
00:52:41,593 --> 00:52:42,637
- I feel like the sequel
1187
00:52:42,681 --> 00:52:44,117
helps you understand
the original
1188
00:52:44,161 --> 00:52:45,858
a little bit better maybe.
1189
00:52:50,384 --> 00:52:51,646
TANANARIVE DUE:
The '90s were a renaissance
1190
00:52:51,690 --> 00:52:54,040
not just in film,
I want to point out,
1191
00:52:54,083 --> 00:52:55,520
but also in literature.
1192
00:52:55,563 --> 00:52:58,436
This is the era that Spike Lee
helped give birth to.
1193
00:52:58,479 --> 00:53:02,091
Spike Lee was like
the Terry McMillan in film
1194
00:53:02,135 --> 00:53:04,746
as what Terry McMillan
was doing in publishing.
1195
00:53:04,790 --> 00:53:07,096
You know, black people
are going to see movies.
1196
00:53:07,140 --> 00:53:09,403
MARK H. HARRIS: There was
a push for black filmmaking
1197
00:53:09,447 --> 00:53:11,579
started by like Spike Like
and John Singleton
1198
00:53:11,623 --> 00:53:13,102
and people like that,
1199
00:53:13,146 --> 00:53:17,977
and I think it was kind of
a response to the '80s
1200
00:53:18,020 --> 00:53:21,589
where black people were
kind of marginalized.
1201
00:53:21,633 --> 00:53:23,112
- In the early 1990s,
1202
00:53:23,156 --> 00:53:25,202
you kind of saw like
a lot of black filmmakers
1203
00:53:25,245 --> 00:53:27,813
kind of come into the fold
and not just make comedies
1204
00:53:27,856 --> 00:53:30,207
and dramatic films
but also horror films,
1205
00:53:30,250 --> 00:53:31,251
and I think
what they were doing
1206
00:53:31,295 --> 00:53:32,470
with the horror films
at the time,
1207
00:53:32,513 --> 00:53:34,341
they were making movies
that were kind of
1208
00:53:34,385 --> 00:53:36,778
socially conscious
and more directly in tune
1209
00:53:36,822 --> 00:53:38,998
with what was going on
in the outside world.
1210
00:53:39,041 --> 00:53:41,043
- What you saw today,
young brother,
1211
00:53:41,087 --> 00:53:43,655
were victims of economics,
1212
00:53:45,004 --> 00:53:48,442
environment Reganomics.
1213
00:53:48,486 --> 00:53:49,965
ASHLEE BLACKWELL:
Joel as the main character,
1214
00:53:50,009 --> 00:53:52,098
this up-and-coming
and soon to be minister.
1215
00:53:52,141 --> 00:53:55,101
He goes and visits his cousin
that lives in New York City.
1216
00:53:55,144 --> 00:53:57,799
It really centers around
Joel and his crisis of faith.
1217
00:53:57,843 --> 00:54:00,367
"Do I stick with
kind of like my Bible
1218
00:54:00,411 --> 00:54:01,977
and Christian fundamentalism,
1219
00:54:02,021 --> 00:54:04,850
or do I kind of stray a little
and have a little fun?"
1220
00:54:04,893 --> 00:54:08,680
- No, I wouldn't.
Fornication is a sin.
1221
00:54:08,723 --> 00:54:10,159
- It gets even more
extreme than that
1222
00:54:10,203 --> 00:54:11,378
because his, literally,
1223
00:54:11,422 --> 00:54:13,902
his soul is at stake
with a demon who is like
1224
00:54:13,946 --> 00:54:16,253
looking to immediately
kind of eradicate him.
1225
00:54:16,296 --> 00:54:17,645
- [laughs]
1226
00:54:17,689 --> 00:54:19,865
- It is super biblical,
now that I think about it,
1227
00:54:19,908 --> 00:54:22,171
'cause she's basically
the parallel of the devil.
1228
00:54:22,215 --> 00:54:23,390
- [screams] No!
1229
00:54:23,434 --> 00:54:24,957
- "Def by Temptation"
1230
00:54:25,000 --> 00:54:28,308
is all about that battle
between good and evil.
1231
00:54:28,352 --> 00:54:30,789
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN: So,
this is also a morality tale.
1232
00:54:30,832 --> 00:54:33,661
These are the lessons
that mirror so closely
1233
00:54:33,705 --> 00:54:36,708
to what Michaeux
and Spencer Williams
1234
00:54:36,751 --> 00:54:39,841
were offering up
in earlier decades.
1235
00:54:39,885 --> 00:54:41,016
ASHLEE BLACKWELL:
I love that connection
1236
00:54:41,060 --> 00:54:42,235
that "Def by Temptation"
1237
00:54:42,279 --> 00:54:44,324
has with those older films
from the 1940s.
1238
00:54:44,368 --> 00:54:46,674
It was unique for the time
because you weren't seeing
1239
00:54:46,718 --> 00:54:49,808
a lot of black horror films
made in 1990, if any.
1240
00:54:49,851 --> 00:54:51,418
That's what makes it
a real landmark.
1241
00:54:51,462 --> 00:54:54,247
[♪]
1242
00:54:57,511 --> 00:54:58,904
I feel like
"Tales from the Hood"
1243
00:54:58,947 --> 00:55:02,516
did more to kind of cement
black horror for the '90s.
1244
00:55:02,560 --> 00:55:06,781
- Welcome to hell!
1245
00:55:08,174 --> 00:55:10,132
- "Tales from the Hood"
was groundbreaking.
1246
00:55:10,176 --> 00:55:12,526
- Oh, the shit!
[laughs]
1247
00:55:12,570 --> 00:55:13,484
ASHLEE BLACKWELL:
"Tales from the Hood"
1248
00:55:13,527 --> 00:55:14,920
was this anthology horror film.
1249
00:55:14,963 --> 00:55:17,444
There's four short stories
with one wraparound story.
1250
00:55:17,488 --> 00:55:20,708
- My dad used to drag me
to march after march
1251
00:55:20,752 --> 00:55:23,145
if it had black, colored,
or Negro in the title,
1252
00:55:23,189 --> 00:55:24,538
he was a member.
1253
00:55:24,582 --> 00:55:29,326
So, when I, you know,
started to look at horror
1254
00:55:29,369 --> 00:55:32,372
as something to do myself,
I'm like,
1255
00:55:32,416 --> 00:55:36,768
Well, I gotta have
something in there to...
1256
00:55:36,811 --> 00:55:38,552
we gotta do,
we gotta mix it up.
1257
00:55:38,596 --> 00:55:40,511
Not just have horror
for horror's sake.
1258
00:55:40,554 --> 00:55:41,947
ASHLEE BLACKWELL:
It deals with spousal abuse
1259
00:55:41,990 --> 00:55:44,253
and then child abuse
in the home.
1260
00:55:44,297 --> 00:55:45,559
It deals with gang violence.
1261
00:55:45,603 --> 00:55:47,735
It deals with
racist politicians.
1262
00:55:47,779 --> 00:55:51,260
- Can't we all
just get along?
1263
00:55:51,304 --> 00:55:52,871
ASHLEE BLACKWELL:
It deals with police brutality.
1264
00:55:52,914 --> 00:55:55,526
So, all of these things
kind of intertwine
1265
00:55:55,569 --> 00:55:57,745
and create this kind of
supernatural tale
1266
00:55:57,789 --> 00:56:00,574
about revenge and retribution.
1267
00:56:00,618 --> 00:56:03,055
- [screaming]
1268
00:56:03,098 --> 00:56:05,710
MARK H. HARRIS: It deals with
a lot of different things.
1269
00:56:05,753 --> 00:56:09,104
The anthology format is actually
really good in terms of
1270
00:56:09,148 --> 00:56:10,802
you can address a lot of
different issues
1271
00:56:10,845 --> 00:56:12,499
with short stories.
1272
00:56:12,543 --> 00:56:14,806
- You have
a racist politician.
1273
00:56:14,849 --> 00:56:16,764
ANNOUNCER:
An original American.
1274
00:56:16,808 --> 00:56:18,331
Isn't it about time?
1275
00:56:19,593 --> 00:56:22,422
- That's great.
I'd even vote for me!
1276
00:56:22,466 --> 00:56:23,989
- Is it really that
farfetched
1277
00:56:24,032 --> 00:56:26,644
that someone would have that
as a campaign slogan today?
1278
00:56:26,687 --> 00:56:27,732
- I always tell my kids,
1279
00:56:27,775 --> 00:56:29,342
I'm like, you know,
people in grave...
1280
00:56:29,386 --> 00:56:33,390
the dead people and the spirits
are not gonna mess with you.
1281
00:56:33,433 --> 00:56:35,304
It's livin'...
1282
00:56:35,348 --> 00:56:36,741
- It's living people
you gotta worry about, yeah.
1283
00:56:36,784 --> 00:56:37,611
- Yes, that's what
we gotta worry about.
1284
00:56:37,655 --> 00:56:41,659
[scary music]
1285
00:56:46,490 --> 00:56:50,450
That's how we kinda twisted
when we started to do "Tales",
1286
00:56:50,494 --> 00:56:54,280
we gotta turn the tables
and make the horror redemptive.
1287
00:56:54,323 --> 00:56:56,238
- [screaming] No!
1288
00:57:01,853 --> 00:57:03,507
- This movie is kind of like
1289
00:57:03,550 --> 00:57:06,205
helping us see justice happening
when we're not seeing it happen
1290
00:57:06,248 --> 00:57:09,338
outside of a movie screen
or a movie theatre.
1291
00:57:09,382 --> 00:57:11,776
There's cops being acquitted
and there's LA riots
1292
00:57:11,819 --> 00:57:13,342
and it just seems like
things are so hopeless
1293
00:57:13,386 --> 00:57:16,650
but then you kind of like
exercise retribution
1294
00:57:16,694 --> 00:57:19,218
in a horror film for,
you know, for justice,
1295
00:57:19,261 --> 00:57:21,394
for racial justice,
and I think that's super dope.
1296
00:57:21,438 --> 00:57:27,182
- You tackled, you know,
subjects that are horrific.
1297
00:57:27,226 --> 00:57:28,357
- Right. Right.
1298
00:57:28,401 --> 00:57:29,358
- We're running around
1299
00:57:29,402 --> 00:57:32,013
looking for
ghosts and vampires
1300
00:57:32,057 --> 00:57:34,799
when the vampire is,
you're married to him.
1301
00:57:34,842 --> 00:57:35,887
- You're married to him.
Exactly.
1302
00:57:35,930 --> 00:57:38,803
- You know,
he's sucking you dry,
1303
00:57:38,846 --> 00:57:40,674
you know, and beating you,
1304
00:57:40,718 --> 00:57:44,852
and also hurting
and destroying your child.
1305
00:57:44,896 --> 00:57:50,554
That, and I was so young,
I learned a lot on that set.
1306
00:57:50,597 --> 00:57:52,686
- [groans]
1307
00:57:52,730 --> 00:57:54,035
[screams]
1308
00:57:54,079 --> 00:57:56,385
- I always liked
David Alan Grier as a comedian--
1309
00:57:56,429 --> 00:57:57,778
- Yeah.
1310
00:57:57,822 --> 00:58:01,303
- --but realizing
what he could do as an actor.
1311
00:58:01,347 --> 00:58:03,131
That really, that really...
1312
00:58:03,175 --> 00:58:05,264
and then I found out
that he was Shakespearian...
1313
00:58:05,307 --> 00:58:07,222
- Shakespearian trained.
- Shakespearian trained.
1314
00:58:07,266 --> 00:58:10,312
- Yeah, I, you know,
I used to do standup,
1315
00:58:10,356 --> 00:58:12,532
so I kinda knew David
from the comedic thing
1316
00:58:12,576 --> 00:58:16,101
but I also knew that he had
this Shakespearian background,
1317
00:58:16,144 --> 00:58:21,628
and when I was thinking of
who to play that part,
1318
00:58:21,672 --> 00:58:24,544
I purposefully wanted someone
1319
00:58:24,588 --> 00:58:28,156
that everyone looked at
as a nice guy.
1320
00:58:28,200 --> 00:58:30,419
There was an interesting thing
that happened
1321
00:58:30,463 --> 00:58:32,552
when we screened that episode.
1322
00:58:32,596 --> 00:58:35,294
- I'm gonna teach you
and that boy some respect.
1323
00:58:35,337 --> 00:58:36,904
RUSTY CUNDIEFF:
When David Allen Grier
1324
00:58:36,948 --> 00:58:40,255
was first hitting Paula,
these kids were laughing.
1325
00:58:40,299 --> 00:58:43,258
- Wow.
- And you know what happens,
1326
00:58:43,302 --> 00:58:45,260
particularly I think
as a black teenager,
1327
00:58:45,304 --> 00:58:46,914
as someone that
goes through the world,
1328
00:58:46,958 --> 00:58:49,047
you're always on the lookout
1329
00:58:49,090 --> 00:58:51,266
for how something
is gonna mess with you.
1330
00:58:51,310 --> 00:58:55,575
You're not trying to
show your vulnerability.
1331
00:58:55,619 --> 00:58:56,750
- Right.
1332
00:58:56,794 --> 00:58:58,404
- And the easiest way
to do that is to
1333
00:58:58,447 --> 00:58:59,840
- Laugh it off. Yeah.
- laugh at something.
1334
00:58:59,884 --> 00:59:01,276
And laugh at something.
1335
00:59:01,320 --> 00:59:02,626
- [groaning]
1336
00:59:02,669 --> 00:59:04,105
- As the beating went on,
1337
00:59:04,149 --> 00:59:06,891
it got quieter and quieter
and quieter
1338
00:59:06,934 --> 00:59:09,589
until it felt like
they were about to cry.
1339
00:59:09,633 --> 00:59:11,635
- When I rewatch this film,
1340
00:59:11,678 --> 00:59:14,768
it really stands
head and shoulders above
1341
00:59:14,812 --> 00:59:17,118
a lot of black horror
up to that point
1342
00:59:17,162 --> 00:59:21,166
because in those four segments,
what Rusty Cundieff is doing
1343
00:59:21,209 --> 00:59:24,125
is using that metaphor
to tell stories
1344
00:59:24,169 --> 00:59:26,475
that were about
real-life problems
1345
00:59:26,519 --> 00:59:27,912
facing the black communities.
1346
00:59:27,955 --> 00:59:29,217
- It kind of became more kind of
1347
00:59:29,261 --> 00:59:31,785
a genre classic or something
that, you know,
1348
00:59:31,829 --> 00:59:33,657
the black community kind of
like talked about
1349
00:59:33,700 --> 00:59:35,789
and it was kind of
a word of mouth thing
1350
00:59:35,833 --> 00:59:38,357
but maybe it is because of
"Get Out" that it got
1351
00:59:38,400 --> 00:59:40,968
this kind of resurgence
and then got a sequel.
1352
00:59:41,012 --> 00:59:43,754
- This shit
ain't over yet, bitch!
1353
00:59:43,797 --> 00:59:46,365
- "Tales from the Hood 2",
1354
00:59:46,408 --> 00:59:47,975
you know, Darren and I
have been trying
1355
00:59:48,019 --> 00:59:50,021
to get this thing made forever.
1356
00:59:50,064 --> 00:59:53,502
- I think it's gonna be
quite amazing!
1357
00:59:53,546 --> 00:59:55,461
RUSTY CUNDIEFF:
We're back to telling [laughs]
1358
00:59:55,504 --> 00:59:56,984
...back to telling stories
1359
00:59:57,028 --> 01:00:00,640
that hopefully deal with
some issues that people have.
1360
01:00:00,684 --> 01:00:01,815
This one I think is,
1361
01:00:01,859 --> 01:00:04,252
there's some stuff
that's a little headier.
1362
01:00:04,296 --> 01:00:06,907
It's a different
kind of "Tales" story,
1363
01:00:06,951 --> 01:00:09,388
touches people
in a different way,
1364
01:00:09,431 --> 01:00:10,650
though it is scary.
1365
01:00:10,694 --> 01:00:13,958
- [screaming]
1366
01:00:14,001 --> 01:00:16,961
[♪]
1367
01:00:19,485 --> 01:00:22,314
- You start to see more women
on screen in the 1990s.
1368
01:00:22,357 --> 01:00:24,055
TANANARIVE DUE:
"Eve's Bayou", Kasi Lemmons,
1369
01:00:24,098 --> 01:00:25,709
which is one of my favorite.
1370
01:00:25,752 --> 01:00:27,058
Some people
don't consider it horror
1371
01:00:27,101 --> 01:00:30,191
but I do because it's just,
1372
01:00:30,235 --> 01:00:33,804
really, it's one of those great
interchanges of human horror
1373
01:00:33,847 --> 01:00:36,676
and hints of the supernatural.
1374
01:00:36,720 --> 01:00:38,243
ASHLEE BLACKWELL:
During the time,
1375
01:00:38,286 --> 01:00:40,027
it was still super rare to see
black women be directors,
1376
01:00:40,071 --> 01:00:42,073
so Kasi Lemmons
really pushing to direct
1377
01:00:42,116 --> 01:00:45,554
was really groundbreaking
and really important.
1378
01:00:45,598 --> 01:00:48,340
TANANARIVE DUE: It has that
beautiful cinematography.
1379
01:00:48,383 --> 01:00:49,863
The whole thing
is like a poem, really,
1380
01:00:49,907 --> 01:00:51,169
it's just so beautiful.
1381
01:00:51,212 --> 01:00:54,520
The script by Kasi Lemmons
is just fantastic.
1382
01:00:54,563 --> 01:00:57,088
I've taught it in my black
horror class at UCLA
1383
01:00:57,131 --> 01:00:58,350
and when I teach it,
1384
01:00:58,393 --> 01:01:00,874
I like to tweet out lines
from the script.
1385
01:01:00,918 --> 01:01:02,528
It's just so beautifully
written.
1386
01:01:02,571 --> 01:01:06,271
- That opening scene
and the first thing you hear...
1387
01:01:06,314 --> 01:01:07,751
EVE BATISTE: The summer
I killed my father,
1388
01:01:07,794 --> 01:01:09,230
I was ten years old.
1389
01:01:09,274 --> 01:01:10,841
RUSTY CUNDIEFF:
...it's just brilliant,
1390
01:01:10,884 --> 01:01:13,974
and it was a different
kind of scary movie.
1391
01:01:14,018 --> 01:01:15,715
- Bad girl.
1392
01:01:15,759 --> 01:01:17,935
ASHLEE BLACKWELL: It's a movie
about what memory means
1393
01:01:17,978 --> 01:01:19,327
in the eyes of
a black young girl
1394
01:01:19,371 --> 01:01:23,505
and how she tries to help
keep her family together
1395
01:01:23,549 --> 01:01:27,901
and also kind of heal any wounds
that are kind of lingering
1396
01:01:27,945 --> 01:01:30,730
within, her father's,
you know, infidelity,
1397
01:01:30,774 --> 01:01:33,733
and also maybe that kind of
like touchy subject of,
1398
01:01:33,777 --> 01:01:36,301
"Is he being inappropriate
with one of his daughters?"
1399
01:01:37,258 --> 01:01:38,825
- That Debbi Morgan character,
1400
01:01:38,869 --> 01:01:43,134
you feel so...
so much strength from her.
1401
01:01:45,353 --> 01:01:49,053
But you feel so much pain
because of what she's lost.
1402
01:01:49,096 --> 01:01:51,403
- Sometimes I feel like
I've lost so much,
1403
01:01:51,446 --> 01:01:54,667
I have to find new things
to lose.
1404
01:01:54,711 --> 01:01:57,539
TANANARIVE DUE: Magic steps in
to sort of take the place
1405
01:01:57,583 --> 01:01:59,150
of those harder questions
1406
01:01:59,193 --> 01:02:01,369
about what's really
happening in that house.
1407
01:02:01,413 --> 01:02:02,893
ASHLEE BLACKWELL: I think
what Kasi Lemmons does
1408
01:02:02,936 --> 01:02:04,503
and what she
kind of inspired
1409
01:02:04,546 --> 01:02:07,288
for a lot of the black women
horror filmmakers that I talk to
1410
01:02:07,332 --> 01:02:11,553
is we do have a story to tell
and don't be afraid
1411
01:02:11,597 --> 01:02:14,992
to kind of like, you know,
"Oh, because a studio exec
1412
01:02:15,035 --> 01:02:17,951
or higher ups may not like
seeing an all-black cast
1413
01:02:17,995 --> 01:02:20,693
or a film centered around
black women,
1414
01:02:20,737 --> 01:02:21,868
then I can't do this."
1415
01:02:21,912 --> 01:02:23,348
And I think what
Kasi Lemmons' film did,
1416
01:02:23,391 --> 01:02:24,958
she says,
"No, we can do this,"
1417
01:02:25,002 --> 01:02:27,178
and to not be afraid
of any pushback,
1418
01:02:27,221 --> 01:02:29,528
to keep pushing
for your story, your voice,
1419
01:02:29,571 --> 01:02:31,138
which she did for a generation
is tell them
1420
01:02:31,182 --> 01:02:33,184
that their voice
really does matter.
1421
01:02:36,013 --> 01:02:37,101
- Horrible, isn't it?
1422
01:02:39,059 --> 01:02:40,539
- There's Billy
and there's Jada.
1423
01:02:40,582 --> 01:02:41,583
- Billy and Jada.
1424
01:02:41,627 --> 01:02:42,541
- Do we have a deal?
1425
01:02:44,064 --> 01:02:45,500
ERNEST DICKERSON:
She did surprise me, though.
1426
01:02:45,544 --> 01:02:47,676
She called me up,
"Ernest, I colored my hair."
1427
01:02:47,720 --> 01:02:49,548
"What?"
1428
01:02:49,591 --> 01:02:52,551
"I hope it doesn't
mess you up too much.
1429
01:02:52,594 --> 01:02:55,032
I made it
kind of like platinum."
1430
01:02:55,075 --> 01:02:57,774
I said, "Oh, Jada, Jada."
1431
01:02:58,992 --> 01:03:00,080
- [screams]
1432
01:03:00,124 --> 01:03:01,212
ASHLEE BLACKWELL: In 1995,
1433
01:03:01,255 --> 01:03:02,779
something really
groundbreaking happens
1434
01:03:02,822 --> 01:03:05,694
because we kind of see this
like first like contemporary
1435
01:03:05,738 --> 01:03:08,393
black final girl,
and it's Jada Pinkette.
1436
01:03:08,436 --> 01:03:10,874
The final girl is this term
coined by Carol Clover.
1437
01:03:10,917 --> 01:03:13,093
She wrote this book called
"Men, Women, and Chainsaws,
1438
01:03:13,137 --> 01:03:14,791
Gender in The Modern
Horror Film"
1439
01:03:14,834 --> 01:03:17,619
and the final girl is basically
the last girl standing
1440
01:03:17,663 --> 01:03:22,189
and the common theme was
that they were all white.
1441
01:03:22,233 --> 01:03:25,105
- I know
that the producers wanted
1442
01:03:25,149 --> 01:03:28,630
another actress,
a white actress, for that role
1443
01:03:28,674 --> 01:03:34,419
but I had just seen Jada
in "Menace to Society"...
1444
01:03:34,462 --> 01:03:36,290
And I just said,
"Oh, she's my Jeryline,"
1445
01:03:36,334 --> 01:03:41,339
so I had to campaign hard
to get her in there.
1446
01:03:41,382 --> 01:03:42,819
I said, you know,
it's the perfect setup
1447
01:03:42,862 --> 01:03:46,735
because everybody's gonna think,
"Oh, she's gonna die."
1448
01:03:46,779 --> 01:03:48,259
- Right.
1449
01:03:48,302 --> 01:03:49,303
- She's dead already,
you know? We know that.
1450
01:03:49,347 --> 01:03:52,785
And she winds up
being the sister
1451
01:03:52,829 --> 01:03:54,787
that winds up
saving the world.
1452
01:03:54,831 --> 01:03:57,921
- [screams]
1453
01:03:57,964 --> 01:03:59,879
- That was just like,
"Oh, crap."
1454
01:03:59,923 --> 01:04:02,316
You wouldn't have
seen that in '80s.
1455
01:04:02,360 --> 01:04:04,144
Fearless women on screen
have been on the rise
1456
01:04:04,188 --> 01:04:07,974
ever since Kira in
"The Invitation",
1457
01:04:08,018 --> 01:04:10,498
Aaliyah in
"Queen of the Damned",
1458
01:04:10,542 --> 01:04:12,979
Sennia Nanua in
"The Girl with All the Gifts".
1459
01:04:13,023 --> 01:04:15,242
They're black women
and they're survivors.
1460
01:04:15,286 --> 01:04:17,941
Seeing Saana Lathan
side by side with the predator
1461
01:04:17,984 --> 01:04:20,378
and just killing aliens
was just like,
1462
01:04:20,421 --> 01:04:22,946
"Wait a minute,
so her and this predator
1463
01:04:22,989 --> 01:04:24,773
are gonna start like..."
[laughs]
1464
01:04:24,817 --> 01:04:26,297
That was so cool
1465
01:04:26,340 --> 01:04:28,212
because I think she was like
the last person alive
1466
01:04:28,255 --> 01:04:32,129
and like he made her
kind of a tribeswoman,
1467
01:04:32,172 --> 01:04:33,870
like she was a part
of their crew now.
1468
01:04:36,176 --> 01:04:38,309
Right around the turn
of the 21st century,
1469
01:04:38,352 --> 01:04:40,833
hip hop-inspired horror films
started to come out.
1470
01:04:40,877 --> 01:04:42,661
- Then it's just add Z.
1471
01:04:42,704 --> 01:04:46,230
So "Wolvez" with a Z,
1472
01:04:46,273 --> 01:04:50,669
"Vampz" with a Z,
"Bloodz VS Wolvez",
1473
01:04:50,712 --> 01:04:53,367
so there's just Zs
exploding all over the place
1474
01:04:53,411 --> 01:04:56,414
but the Zs are there to indicate
1475
01:04:56,457 --> 01:04:58,764
that it's kind of
a hip-hop kind of thing.
1476
01:04:58,807 --> 01:05:02,420
You have rappers just
showing up in horror movies.
1477
01:05:02,463 --> 01:05:06,728
LL Cool J
is in "Halloween H20".
1478
01:05:06,772 --> 01:05:07,860
- Yeah?
1479
01:05:07,904 --> 01:05:08,992
SHIRL JONES:
What's going on, baby?
1480
01:05:09,035 --> 01:05:10,254
- I don't know.
1481
01:05:10,297 --> 01:05:12,038
- You had "Anaconda",
you know, Ice Cube.
1482
01:05:12,082 --> 01:05:13,735
- Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff
1483
01:05:13,779 --> 01:05:17,174
and it's a send-up to the film
"Nightmare on Elm Street"
1484
01:05:17,217 --> 01:05:19,176
and the "Geto Boys"
who are from Houston
1485
01:05:19,219 --> 01:05:22,527
who have really significant
horror themes.
1486
01:05:22,570 --> 01:05:24,572
It's kind of a natural pairing.
1487
01:05:24,616 --> 01:05:27,010
They're fans,
they're rapping about it,
1488
01:05:27,053 --> 01:05:29,229
and eventually,
they end up on set.
1489
01:05:29,273 --> 01:05:32,232
[♪]
1490
01:05:34,017 --> 01:05:36,062
ASHLEE BLACKWELL: One highlight
from the early 2000s was "Bones"
1491
01:05:36,106 --> 01:05:38,543
which was this kind of this
blacksploitation throwback.
1492
01:05:38,586 --> 01:05:40,023
It comments on what drugs did
1493
01:05:40,066 --> 01:05:42,025
to the black community
specifically.
1494
01:05:42,068 --> 01:05:44,375
We had Snoop Dogg
as this title character.
1495
01:05:44,418 --> 01:05:46,203
ERNEST DICKERSON:
He's involved in gambling
1496
01:05:46,246 --> 01:05:48,335
and stuff like that,
but he ain't somebody
1497
01:05:48,379 --> 01:05:52,339
who always tried to give back
to his community.
1498
01:05:52,383 --> 01:05:54,515
But for me, one of the most
interesting things
1499
01:05:54,559 --> 01:05:56,909
about doing "Bones"
was the love story.
1500
01:05:58,302 --> 01:06:00,217
- [gasps]
1501
01:06:00,260 --> 01:06:02,741
- But just the idea, you know,
of reviving a love
1502
01:06:02,784 --> 01:06:06,440
that had been lost
and it's one of the things
1503
01:06:06,484 --> 01:06:09,530
that the studio
really kind of downplayed.
1504
01:06:09,574 --> 01:06:12,969
- Really?
- Yeah, when they...yeah.
1505
01:06:13,012 --> 01:06:17,408
Yeah, I think they wanted kind
of like a cheap horror film,
1506
01:06:17,451 --> 01:06:22,195
you know, and I think we gave it
more than they anticipated.
1507
01:06:22,239 --> 01:06:23,457
But I gotta tell you this,
1508
01:06:25,416 --> 01:06:27,940
you haven't lived until
you've seen Snoop blush.
1509
01:06:27,984 --> 01:06:28,941
[laughs]
1510
01:06:28,985 --> 01:06:30,551
'Cause Snoop, Snoop,
1511
01:06:30,595 --> 01:06:33,032
first day,
Snoop had to kiss Pam Grier.
1512
01:06:33,076 --> 01:06:34,555
- For real?
1513
01:06:34,599 --> 01:06:35,687
ERNEST DICKERSON: And he kissed
her and they were into it,
1514
01:06:35,730 --> 01:06:37,254
they were into it,
they were into it,
1515
01:06:37,297 --> 01:06:39,604
I said, "Cut,"
and Snoop just...
1516
01:06:40,648 --> 01:06:43,738
[laughs] I said,
"You blushing, man?"
1517
01:06:43,782 --> 01:06:47,090
He said, "Hey, man, I grew up
dreaming about this woman.
1518
01:06:47,133 --> 01:06:48,439
Now I get to kiss her?"
1519
01:06:48,482 --> 01:06:51,007
- [laughs]
Yeah, that's a good day.
1520
01:06:52,356 --> 01:06:53,879
ASHLEE BLACKWELL: But then,
things started to change
1521
01:06:53,922 --> 01:06:55,881
and more black characters
are starting to be centralized
1522
01:06:55,924 --> 01:06:58,014
or even if they were
secondary characters,
1523
01:06:58,057 --> 01:06:59,798
they were much more prominent,
1524
01:06:59,841 --> 01:07:02,279
more seen, not just
as window dressing,
1525
01:07:02,322 --> 01:07:04,324
but very integral
to the story.
1526
01:07:06,152 --> 01:07:07,545
ERNEST DICKERSON:
"Attack the Block",
1527
01:07:07,588 --> 01:07:09,373
I loved this film, man.
This was the kind of movie
1528
01:07:09,416 --> 01:07:12,115
I would have loved
to have seen as a kid.
1529
01:07:12,158 --> 01:07:13,333
- Now that you mention,
1530
01:07:13,377 --> 01:07:14,987
I wanna make sure
I show it to my kids.
1531
01:07:15,031 --> 01:07:16,902
- But also growing up
in a housing project
1532
01:07:16,945 --> 01:07:20,645
and seeing a film that says,
"Yeah, we can be heroes, too."
1533
01:07:20,688 --> 01:07:22,125
ASHLEE BLACKWELL:
It's a story about
1534
01:07:22,168 --> 01:07:24,257
working class youth in London
1535
01:07:24,301 --> 01:07:26,520
and literally,
there's an alien invasion
1536
01:07:26,564 --> 01:07:28,696
that comes crashing down
on your neighborhood.
1537
01:07:32,700 --> 01:07:34,441
Moses,
played by John Boyega,
1538
01:07:34,485 --> 01:07:36,139
basically saves
his neighborhood.
1539
01:07:36,182 --> 01:07:39,490
Every time I see this movie
at the end, it gives me chills.
1540
01:07:39,533 --> 01:07:41,709
Moses is in a cop car
with his friend Pest
1541
01:07:41,753 --> 01:07:44,451
and all he hears outside
is his name being chanted
1542
01:07:44,495 --> 01:07:46,410
over again.
"Moses, Moses!"
1543
01:07:46,453 --> 01:07:48,455
CROWD: Moses! Moses!
1544
01:07:48,499 --> 01:07:49,500
- His friend looks at him,
1545
01:07:49,543 --> 01:07:50,501
he's like,
"Hey, that's for you."
1546
01:07:50,544 --> 01:07:51,763
PEST: That's for you, man.
1547
01:07:51,806 --> 01:07:52,894
ASHLEE BLACKWELL:
This is why John Boyega
1548
01:07:52,938 --> 01:07:54,331
is in "Star Wars", right?
1549
01:07:54,374 --> 01:07:55,549
That's why he's this big star
because he looks up
1550
01:07:55,593 --> 01:07:57,203
and he has this smile
on his face,
1551
01:07:57,247 --> 01:08:00,902
this innocent, pure,
child-like smile.
1552
01:08:00,946 --> 01:08:04,558
He gets to feel like he matters
in his neighborhood.
1553
01:08:04,602 --> 01:08:06,604
A lot of young black kids
don't feel like they matter.
1554
01:08:06,647 --> 01:08:09,433
I think that's really
the core of this film.
1555
01:08:10,434 --> 01:08:12,305
He gets to be the hero.
1556
01:08:12,349 --> 01:08:13,915
- I think something
really important
1557
01:08:13,959 --> 01:08:16,179
happens in the 2000s.
1558
01:08:16,222 --> 01:08:19,356
When you have these
more self-reflexive horror films
1559
01:08:19,399 --> 01:08:21,488
that are looking back
and saying,
1560
01:08:21,532 --> 01:08:24,578
"That was the stereotype,"
or, "That was the cliché,"
1561
01:08:24,622 --> 01:08:28,060
or, "That's the trope
we are always relying on."
1562
01:08:28,104 --> 01:08:32,282
So, in exposing
those kinds of well-worn,
1563
01:08:32,325 --> 01:08:36,764
kind of well-trodden
knowns about horror,
1564
01:08:36,808 --> 01:08:38,853
horror also had to catch up
and mature
1565
01:08:38,897 --> 01:08:41,595
if it was going to
continue to thrive.
1566
01:08:41,639 --> 01:08:43,162
EDDIE PARKS: It's all over.
1567
01:08:43,206 --> 01:08:46,557
MELANIE: It's not over.
It's just not yours anymore.
1568
01:08:46,600 --> 01:08:47,514
ERNEST DICKERSON:
Now you gotta see this film,
1569
01:08:47,558 --> 01:08:48,907
"The Girl with All the Gifts".
1570
01:08:48,950 --> 01:08:51,431
- I mean, I watched this
'cause you recommend it.
1571
01:08:51,475 --> 01:08:55,043
- Really well-done
British horror film
1572
01:08:55,087 --> 01:08:58,743
with this young black girl
as the main character.
1573
01:08:58,786 --> 01:09:00,745
It's after a disease
that's hit humanity
1574
01:09:00,788 --> 01:09:05,141
where it's turned into everybody
into like these feral animals.
1575
01:09:05,184 --> 01:09:06,620
- [screams]
1576
01:09:06,664 --> 01:09:08,013
- It's a zombie movie.
1577
01:09:08,056 --> 01:09:09,754
Sort of. It's terrifying.
1578
01:09:09,797 --> 01:09:12,626
It's an apocalyptic future
where we're no longer us
1579
01:09:12,670 --> 01:09:16,282
but again it's probably
white people's fear, right?
1580
01:09:16,326 --> 01:09:20,112
That they're losing dominion,
you know,
1581
01:09:20,156 --> 01:09:23,811
that the manifest destiny thing
isn't quite working
1582
01:09:23,855 --> 01:09:24,856
like it used to.
1583
01:09:27,250 --> 01:09:29,600
TANANARIVE DUE: That character
was not written as black.
1584
01:09:29,643 --> 01:09:31,515
That happened during
the casting process.
1585
01:09:31,558 --> 01:09:33,299
It's a very similar process
as to what happened
1586
01:09:33,343 --> 01:09:34,735
in "Night of the Living Dead".
1587
01:09:34,779 --> 01:09:37,999
She just killed the audition,
so she got the part,
1588
01:09:38,043 --> 01:09:40,698
and it creates such a difference
in the film
1589
01:09:40,741 --> 01:09:43,004
to have this black child.
1590
01:09:43,048 --> 01:09:45,224
- I read the book
before I saw the movie,
1591
01:09:45,268 --> 01:09:46,704
so when I saw the movie
1592
01:09:46,747 --> 01:09:48,749
and they had cast
a little black girl,
1593
01:09:48,793 --> 01:09:51,230
I was like, "Oh, my God,
this is amazing!"
1594
01:09:51,274 --> 01:09:53,189
- We're alive?
1595
01:09:53,232 --> 01:09:54,146
- Yes.
1596
01:09:55,887 --> 01:09:58,498
- Then why should it be us
who die for you?
1597
01:09:58,542 --> 01:09:59,412
TANANARIVE DUE:
I talked to Mike Carey,
1598
01:09:59,456 --> 01:10:01,371
the writer/screenwriter.
1599
01:10:01,414 --> 01:10:03,503
This is a sharper
social commentary
1600
01:10:03,547 --> 01:10:05,766
even maybe than
that he had intended.
1601
01:10:05,810 --> 01:10:07,899
You see a story about
a character, a black girl
1602
01:10:07,942 --> 01:10:10,684
who faces
some insurmountable odds
1603
01:10:10,728 --> 01:10:13,861
where it seems impossible
but you come up with plans
1604
01:10:13,905 --> 01:10:15,776
and you execute your plans.
1605
01:10:15,820 --> 01:10:17,996
This is the stuff that helps us
get through life.
1606
01:10:21,042 --> 01:10:22,870
RACHEL TRUE:
That's the kind of opportunity
1607
01:10:22,914 --> 01:10:25,395
that I would have killed for
in the '90s,
1608
01:10:25,438 --> 01:10:26,744
reading script after script
after script
1609
01:10:26,787 --> 01:10:28,963
and wanting to read
for the lead girl
1610
01:10:29,007 --> 01:10:31,662
but going, "Oh, no, okay,
I'm the friend,
1611
01:10:31,705 --> 01:10:34,273
so I'm gonna say,
'Are you okay?
1612
01:10:34,317 --> 01:10:35,970
Oh, are you okay?
1613
01:10:36,014 --> 01:10:37,363
Are you okay?'"
1614
01:10:37,407 --> 01:10:38,364
- Are you okay?
1615
01:10:38,408 --> 01:10:39,713
- Yeah.
1616
01:10:39,757 --> 01:10:41,759
- I mean, six million
different ways to Sunday,
1617
01:10:41,802 --> 01:10:43,804
I have to figure out a million
different line readings
1618
01:10:43,848 --> 01:10:46,851
for the same line because
whatever thing is going on,
1619
01:10:46,894 --> 01:10:49,157
it's not about the black people
we're going through,
1620
01:10:49,201 --> 01:10:51,856
it's, "Are you, white person
in peril, okay?"
1621
01:10:51,899 --> 01:10:53,640
So when I saw that movie,
1622
01:10:53,684 --> 01:10:56,121
I was like,
"Okay, things are shifting."
1623
01:10:56,164 --> 01:10:58,689
TANANARIVE DUE: We've shifted
from being the focal point
1624
01:10:58,732 --> 01:11:03,128
of the fear, other,
to being the heroes, right?
1625
01:11:03,171 --> 01:11:04,390
To being the icons.
1626
01:11:04,434 --> 01:11:06,218
To being the one
that you in the audience
1627
01:11:06,262 --> 01:11:07,393
are looking up to.
1628
01:11:07,437 --> 01:11:09,874
That's been very exciting
to watch unfold.
1629
01:11:09,917 --> 01:11:11,484
- If you have to ride
in the back of the bus
1630
01:11:11,528 --> 01:11:16,272
for 90% of history, it takes
a little bit to get in front.
1631
01:11:16,315 --> 01:11:17,882
- Black is in fashion.
1632
01:11:21,407 --> 01:11:22,669
MARK H. HARRIS:
"Get Out" I think,
1633
01:11:22,713 --> 01:11:26,891
is kind of like
a perfect movie of its time.
1634
01:11:26,934 --> 01:11:29,502
It came out like the transition
between the Obama administration
1635
01:11:29,546 --> 01:11:30,503
and the Trump administration.
1636
01:11:30,547 --> 01:11:31,504
- Yeah.
1637
01:11:31,548 --> 01:11:32,766
- So, I mean,
1638
01:11:32,810 --> 01:11:35,639
I remember when
Obama was elected.
1639
01:11:35,682 --> 01:11:37,858
People were actually
having debates about whether
1640
01:11:37,902 --> 01:11:40,165
racism is dead now
and that sort of thing.
1641
01:11:40,208 --> 01:11:42,689
Is this a post-racial world
and all that?
1642
01:11:42,733 --> 01:11:45,170
As Trump's campaign came along,
1643
01:11:45,213 --> 01:11:49,043
I think the public
came to be aware like,
1644
01:11:49,087 --> 01:11:51,959
"Uh-oh, you know,
racism still does exist."
1645
01:11:52,003 --> 01:11:54,919
- A horrific scene
in Charlottesville, Virginia.
1646
01:11:54,962 --> 01:11:57,791
The hate boiling over
white supremacists
1647
01:11:57,835 --> 01:12:01,491
and countered protestors
fighting with fists and clubs,
1648
01:12:01,534 --> 01:12:03,971
confederate flags
on full display.
1649
01:12:04,015 --> 01:12:05,843
DONALD TRUMP: I think
there's blame on both sides
1650
01:12:05,886 --> 01:12:07,627
and I have no doubt about it.
1651
01:12:07,671 --> 01:12:10,326
- You will not replace us.
1652
01:12:10,369 --> 01:12:13,198
White lives matter!
1653
01:12:13,241 --> 01:12:14,417
LORETTA DEVINE:
It sort of like shows you
1654
01:12:14,460 --> 01:12:15,983
where the culture is
right now
1655
01:12:16,027 --> 01:12:17,637
as far as black men
are concerned.
1656
01:12:17,681 --> 01:12:18,899
- Yes.
1657
01:12:18,943 --> 01:12:21,424
- And a lot of the fears
that we go through
1658
01:12:21,467 --> 01:12:24,340
being a part of the black race.
1659
01:12:26,516 --> 01:12:30,346
JORDAN PEELE: When I think about
the fears that we deal with,
1660
01:12:30,389 --> 01:12:34,828
I think that anything
that we suppress as people,
1661
01:12:34,872 --> 01:12:40,181
anything that we push down
and hold deep is gonna explode.
1662
01:12:40,225 --> 01:12:44,011
It's gonna come out
in a nasty way
1663
01:12:44,055 --> 01:12:48,320
if it's held on to
long enough.
1664
01:12:48,364 --> 01:12:53,760
So, I think we need these valves
for our fears.
1665
01:12:53,804 --> 01:12:55,196
- Sink into the floor.
1666
01:12:55,240 --> 01:12:56,284
- Wait, wait,
wait, wait, wait.
1667
01:12:56,328 --> 01:12:57,242
- Sink.
1668
01:13:02,421 --> 01:13:04,380
- Floored me right to the...
1669
01:13:04,423 --> 01:13:06,251
I had no idea what to expect.
1670
01:13:06,294 --> 01:13:08,645
PAULA JAI PARKER: Is this
something that we, as a people,
1671
01:13:08,688 --> 01:13:10,995
always talk about.
- Exactly.
1672
01:13:11,038 --> 01:13:13,519
- Like, you know, it's like
you told our secret.
1673
01:13:13,563 --> 01:13:17,305
- [laughs]
- That we do have a fear
1674
01:13:17,349 --> 01:13:23,703
that these people [laughs]
are trying to steal our souls.
1675
01:13:23,747 --> 01:13:25,618
TINA MABRY:
It's an auction, you know.
1676
01:13:25,662 --> 01:13:27,228
It's an auction block
1677
01:13:27,272 --> 01:13:29,622
and she's disguised
in a different way.
1678
01:13:29,666 --> 01:13:32,625
- [applause]
1679
01:13:32,669 --> 01:13:35,149
- What the maid to me
represented in "Get Out"
1680
01:13:35,193 --> 01:13:38,936
is just what maids has been
doing through history.
1681
01:13:38,979 --> 01:13:41,504
They've been trying to tell you.
1682
01:13:41,547 --> 01:13:47,205
- Oh, no. No. No.
1683
01:13:47,248 --> 01:13:50,513
No, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no.
1684
01:13:50,556 --> 01:13:51,949
- They've been
sitting at the table
1685
01:13:51,992 --> 01:13:54,430
with the white people
and saying look,
1686
01:13:54,473 --> 01:13:57,084
"We ain't gonna do this.
Get the hell out of here."
1687
01:13:58,738 --> 01:14:00,218
KELLY JO MINTER: I think
one of my favorite parts
1688
01:14:00,261 --> 01:14:04,091
is when the girl is smiling
and crying at the same time.
1689
01:14:04,135 --> 01:14:06,093
- My favorite part is when
he was beatin' their ass!
1690
01:14:06,137 --> 01:14:07,443
- [grunts]
1691
01:14:09,096 --> 01:14:10,750
RACHEL TRUE: I was like,
"Oh, you didn't get
1692
01:14:10,794 --> 01:14:14,145
that he was like picking
cotton out of the chair?"
1693
01:14:14,188 --> 01:14:16,800
Or, "You didn't get,
like he killed him with a buck.
1694
01:14:17,931 --> 01:14:19,585
Did you not know
that black men were called bucks
1695
01:14:19,629 --> 01:14:20,978
during slavery?"
1696
01:14:22,022 --> 01:14:24,895
- I felt like
I wanna make the movie
1697
01:14:24,938 --> 01:14:28,333
as answering every
disappointed black person
1698
01:14:28,376 --> 01:14:32,598
that goes to a theater
and watches, you know,
1699
01:14:32,642 --> 01:14:34,557
white protagonists
make dumb decisions.
1700
01:14:34,600 --> 01:14:35,732
- No, no, no, no, no.
1701
01:14:35,775 --> 01:14:37,603
No, no, no, don't do that!
1702
01:14:37,647 --> 01:14:39,475
- And that sense
of marginalization
1703
01:14:41,172 --> 01:14:44,218
that sense of,
"Can we just...?
1704
01:14:44,262 --> 01:14:46,612
If there was a brother in here,
that would never happen.
1705
01:14:46,656 --> 01:14:47,961
That would never happen.
1706
01:14:48,005 --> 01:14:49,833
If there was a sister,
would never let this...
1707
01:14:49,876 --> 01:14:51,835
she would be out of the house."
1708
01:14:56,535 --> 01:14:58,015
Spoiler alert,
1709
01:14:58,058 --> 01:15:00,887
but there's no good white people
in this movie. [laughs]
1710
01:15:00,931 --> 01:15:04,325
That white savior trope
always pops up.
1711
01:15:04,369 --> 01:15:06,806
There's always
one good white person.
1712
01:15:06,850 --> 01:15:08,895
I saw this as obviously
this opportunity
1713
01:15:08,939 --> 01:15:12,290
to use that to my favor.
1714
01:15:12,333 --> 01:15:14,422
The audience is expecting,
though, you have to have
1715
01:15:14,466 --> 01:15:17,513
one good white person
in the film, right?
1716
01:15:19,384 --> 01:15:21,212
- You know I can't give you
the keys, right, babe?
1717
01:15:22,518 --> 01:15:24,084
- I couldn't believe
what I was watching.
1718
01:15:30,438 --> 01:15:34,834
- I made "Get Out"
for everybody in the audience,
1719
01:15:34,878 --> 01:15:40,057
you know, I didn't want anybody
to see the film and not get it,
1720
01:15:40,100 --> 01:15:43,060
but I really made it
for black audiences,
1721
01:15:43,103 --> 01:15:46,585
that meaning, if black audience
didn't get it,
1722
01:15:46,629 --> 01:15:49,849
and didn't get like it,
that's a fail, you know.
1723
01:15:49,893 --> 01:15:53,070
- Not surprisingly
but kind of surprisingly,
1724
01:15:53,113 --> 01:15:56,290
the white guy next to me
and all the audience members
1725
01:15:56,334 --> 01:15:58,597
who were white
were cheering for Chris.
1726
01:16:02,166 --> 01:16:05,604
That empathy
that we have so often
1727
01:16:05,648 --> 01:16:08,607
had to extend to characters
who didn't look like us,
1728
01:16:08,651 --> 01:16:12,437
white audience members were
extending their empathy to him.
1729
01:16:13,786 --> 01:16:16,441
JORDAN PEELE:
The ending of "Get Out"
1730
01:16:16,484 --> 01:16:21,359
was very inspired by
"Night of the Living Dead",
1731
01:16:21,402 --> 01:16:24,928
although I didn't necessarily
know it when it happened.
1732
01:16:24,971 --> 01:16:26,364
You know,
it was common knowledge
1733
01:16:26,407 --> 01:16:30,498
that my intention was to have
Chris go to jail
1734
01:16:30,542 --> 01:16:32,936
and that the cops would come out
and take him away.
1735
01:16:32,979 --> 01:16:34,067
- Get up here!
1736
01:16:36,548 --> 01:16:39,551
[soft piano music]
1737
01:16:39,595 --> 01:16:42,075
- Now most realistic ending is
he's shot on the road.
1738
01:16:42,119 --> 01:16:43,207
- [gunshot]
1739
01:16:48,038 --> 01:16:49,213
- No one wants to watch that.
1740
01:16:49,256 --> 01:16:51,650
That's headlines,
that's hashtags.
1741
01:16:51,694 --> 01:16:54,479
Prison would have been
a little bit more of a mercy
1742
01:16:54,522 --> 01:16:56,742
but even so, I have seen
enough black men
1743
01:16:56,786 --> 01:16:58,222
in prison orange.
1744
01:16:58,265 --> 01:17:01,138
I could go my whole life
without seeing another film
1745
01:17:01,181 --> 01:17:03,444
or television program
about black men in prison.
1746
01:17:05,577 --> 01:17:09,581
JORDAN PEELE: By the time I
showed the film to an audience,
1747
01:17:09,625 --> 01:17:11,409
the culture [inaudible]
were at change, okay,
1748
01:17:11,452 --> 01:17:14,542
so Black Lives Matter
had become a presence
1749
01:17:14,586 --> 01:17:17,502
and there was now attention
to racial violence
1750
01:17:17,545 --> 01:17:20,461
in a way that there hadn't been
when I first wrote it.
1751
01:17:20,505 --> 01:17:23,987
- The lights of the car said
it was the cops coming
1752
01:17:24,030 --> 01:17:26,990
and it was a whole another
rash of fear.
1753
01:17:27,033 --> 01:17:28,818
It was almost like
the Klan is coming.
1754
01:17:28,861 --> 01:17:30,384
Because it was like,
1755
01:17:30,428 --> 01:17:32,169
"Oh, my God, if it's the cops,
he doesn't have a chance."
1756
01:17:32,212 --> 01:17:36,260
- Black people also were
expressing this like,
1757
01:17:36,303 --> 01:17:39,002
"Yo, we need a hero.
We need a release.
1758
01:17:39,045 --> 01:17:41,178
We need a cheer,"
and so I listened to that.
1759
01:17:43,876 --> 01:17:46,705
ROBIN R. MEANS COLEMAN: To have
Rod show up and save him,
1760
01:17:46,749 --> 01:17:51,362
that lets you know
that there will be no Chris
1761
01:17:51,405 --> 01:17:54,931
being speared by meathooks,
being burned on a pyre.
1762
01:17:54,974 --> 01:17:56,976
There will be no lynching today.
1763
01:17:57,020 --> 01:17:58,630
That's the power of "Get Out".
1764
01:18:02,199 --> 01:18:04,592
- The fact that this movie
had never been made,
1765
01:18:04,636 --> 01:18:09,032
not only "Get Out" itself,
the fact that there's, you know,
1766
01:18:09,075 --> 01:18:14,124
a small handful of films
led by black people,
1767
01:18:14,167 --> 01:18:18,563
to me,
was the horror itself.
1768
01:18:18,606 --> 01:18:21,566
It's no mistake
that the sunken place
1769
01:18:21,609 --> 01:18:25,744
feels and looks like
a darkened theatre, right?
1770
01:18:25,788 --> 01:18:32,185
We're allowed to buy a ticket
and yell at the screen
1771
01:18:32,229 --> 01:18:35,667
but we're never going to get
that representation.
1772
01:18:38,931 --> 01:18:40,106
- What's going on, man?
1773
01:18:41,629 --> 01:18:43,588
I can't see myself.
1774
01:18:43,631 --> 01:18:47,026
- I'm afraid that's one of
the misfortunes of the cursed.
1775
01:18:47,070 --> 01:18:48,941
- This really ain't hip!
1776
01:18:48,985 --> 01:18:51,596
I mean, a man has
got to see his face!
1777
01:18:51,639 --> 01:18:53,380
RICHARD LAWSON: Probably
of any line in that film,
1778
01:18:53,424 --> 01:18:57,080
that line reverberates.
1779
01:18:57,123 --> 01:19:00,344
"A man has got to be able
to see himself,"
1780
01:19:00,387 --> 01:19:04,435
is really a prophetic line
1781
01:19:04,478 --> 01:19:07,786
'cause it represents
black people
1782
01:19:07,830 --> 01:19:13,096
and black people's history
and legacy and journey
1783
01:19:13,139 --> 01:19:15,751
and the ability
to see yourself today.
1784
01:19:15,794 --> 01:19:18,971
- It's finally dawning on
the powers that be
1785
01:19:19,015 --> 01:19:22,148
that horror
is a valid genre, right?
1786
01:19:22,192 --> 01:19:24,542
It's not just some little
odd thing over there
1787
01:19:24,585 --> 01:19:27,850
that low budget people make,
and make a little money on,
1788
01:19:27,893 --> 01:19:29,155
and we make fun of.
1789
01:19:31,201 --> 01:19:33,464
MIGUEL A. NUÑEZ:
Because of "Get Out"
1790
01:19:33,507 --> 01:19:35,248
I think black is the new green.
1791
01:19:35,292 --> 01:19:38,295
I think any little
remaining shades of,
1792
01:19:38,338 --> 01:19:40,210
"Uh, if he's black,
do you think it'll work?
1793
01:19:40,253 --> 01:19:41,820
You know, if it's a black cast,
you think it'll work?
1794
01:19:41,864 --> 01:19:43,430
If it's a black director,
you think it'll work?"
1795
01:19:43,474 --> 01:19:45,911
All those little bitty
remaining barriers
1796
01:19:45,955 --> 01:19:47,870
have been completely removed.
1797
01:19:47,913 --> 01:19:50,133
There's some people right now,
and I know this to be a fact,
1798
01:19:50,176 --> 01:19:52,222
that are changing
some of their white scripts
1799
01:19:52,265 --> 01:19:53,963
to make them black now.
1800
01:19:54,006 --> 01:19:55,138
- There's less and less of this,
1801
01:19:55,181 --> 01:19:56,530
"Oh, well, black people
don't like,
1802
01:19:56,574 --> 01:19:58,097
watch,
or make horror films."
1803
01:19:58,141 --> 01:20:02,319
I think that's a conversation
that's becoming obsolete.
1804
01:20:02,362 --> 01:20:04,321
A part of the work that I do
that I love doing is
1805
01:20:04,364 --> 01:20:07,280
I get to talk to these new
and up-and-coming filmmakers
1806
01:20:07,324 --> 01:20:10,370
who are making these
really fun and funny
1807
01:20:10,414 --> 01:20:13,678
but also scary
and introspective films.
1808
01:20:13,721 --> 01:20:17,290
- Just so many up-and-coming
talents out there
1809
01:20:17,334 --> 01:20:19,423
that's, you know,
that's pretty exciting
1810
01:20:19,466 --> 01:20:23,470
and gives me hope
for the future that we're...
1811
01:20:23,514 --> 01:20:24,558
- We'll help other and...
1812
01:20:24,602 --> 01:20:26,604
- Yeah!
- ...and change the game.
1813
01:20:26,647 --> 01:20:29,433
- We just need to all
get in the door, you know.
1814
01:20:29,476 --> 01:20:31,914
There's so many stories
and so many genres
1815
01:20:31,957 --> 01:20:33,350
that we belong to.
1816
01:20:33,393 --> 01:20:35,265
- I just have
so many people like say,
1817
01:20:35,308 --> 01:20:36,701
"I got a horror film.
I got a horror film.
1818
01:20:36,744 --> 01:20:37,702
I got a horror film,"
1819
01:20:37,745 --> 01:20:40,052
and this is way before
"Get Out".
1820
01:20:40,096 --> 01:20:41,575
And now, maybe
they'll get a chance
1821
01:20:41,619 --> 01:20:44,230
to actually get that out
to the public.
1822
01:20:44,274 --> 01:20:45,492
- These are stories
1823
01:20:45,536 --> 01:20:50,106
by black creators
for black viewers.
1824
01:20:50,149 --> 01:20:52,325
If whites want to enjoy it,fine,
1825
01:20:52,369 --> 01:20:55,372
but it's not about them, right?
It's about us.
1826
01:20:55,415 --> 01:20:58,201
KEN FOREE: I think
the entire film industry
1827
01:20:58,244 --> 01:21:01,682
are ready for us
to open up the doors.
1828
01:21:01,726 --> 01:21:06,731
MARK H. HARRIS: Just seeing
black heroes and leads on screen
1829
01:21:06,774 --> 01:21:08,428
like the next generation
won't think,
1830
01:21:08,472 --> 01:21:10,213
"Oh, that's weird."
1831
01:21:10,256 --> 01:21:11,605
They're gonna think,
1832
01:21:11,649 --> 01:21:14,173
"That's perfectly normal
to have the black lead,
1833
01:21:14,217 --> 01:21:15,566
the black person
save the day."
1834
01:21:15,609 --> 01:21:18,699
- If we can use
what we've experienced,
1835
01:21:18,743 --> 01:21:21,789
we can tell stories that people
have never seen before,
1836
01:21:21,833 --> 01:21:24,618
so that's what I'm excited
to see coming.
1837
01:21:24,662 --> 01:21:29,580
- There's a draw
and a connection there
1838
01:21:29,623 --> 01:21:32,931
in the minority experience
for these horror films.
1839
01:21:32,975 --> 01:21:35,586
The industry's realized,
"Oh, yeah,
1840
01:21:35,629 --> 01:21:40,852
white people will see movies
about non-white people."
1841
01:21:42,898 --> 01:21:45,509
They will. They'll see.
You just have to make 'em.
1842
01:21:55,040 --> 01:21:56,694
- Mic.
- Thank you.
1843
01:21:56,737 --> 01:21:58,609
- Are we rolling?
1844
01:21:58,652 --> 01:22:00,219
Why didn't somebody tell us
we were rolling?
1845
01:22:00,263 --> 01:22:01,917
No one said anything!
1846
01:22:01,960 --> 01:22:03,440
We just sitting here talking...
I didn't know we were rolling.
1847
01:22:03,483 --> 01:22:04,920
No one said Action.
1848
01:22:04,963 --> 01:22:06,138
- That always got me up like
1849
01:22:06,182 --> 01:22:07,966
I don't know about
the fashion of the time,
1850
01:22:08,010 --> 01:22:09,576
but I'm like, you know,
1851
01:22:09,620 --> 01:22:12,449
these murders going around,
people with bites in their neck,
1852
01:22:12,492 --> 01:22:14,581
and no one's suspecting
the guy with the cape. [laughs]
1853
01:22:14,625 --> 01:22:17,280
- Nobody!
- They did the mash...
1854
01:22:17,323 --> 01:22:18,977
BOTH:
They did the monster mash!
1855
01:22:19,021 --> 01:22:22,111
- Horra? Horror?
1856
01:22:22,154 --> 01:22:23,677
It's like rhymes
with torah, right?
1857
01:22:23,721 --> 01:22:25,636
Horra? Torah?
1858
01:22:25,679 --> 01:22:29,422
I cannot horror.
I love talking horra.
1859
01:22:29,466 --> 01:22:32,295
Oh, shit.
I love talking horror.
1860
01:22:32,338 --> 01:22:34,297
BOTH:
They play the monster mash!
1861
01:22:34,340 --> 01:22:36,473
[laughter]
1862
01:22:36,516 --> 01:22:38,954
- Brown's in Town!
[grunts]
1863
01:22:38,997 --> 01:22:41,391
- "Return of the Living Dead"
was one of my favorite films.
1864
01:22:41,434 --> 01:22:45,090
I didn't know anything
and the entire film,
1865
01:22:45,134 --> 01:22:48,398
I was supposed to be walking
around with a naked girl.
1866
01:22:48,441 --> 01:22:49,965
- Right.
- So, if you watch it,
1867
01:22:50,008 --> 01:22:51,879
go back to the movie, 'cause
when the scenes were on her,
1868
01:22:53,229 --> 01:22:56,710
most people lookin' at her but
next time, when you watch it,
1869
01:22:56,754 --> 01:22:59,017
look at me
and I'm gonna be like this.
1870
01:22:59,061 --> 01:23:00,279
[Kelly Jo Minter laughs]
1871
01:23:00,323 --> 01:23:02,325
- Every scene I was like that!
1872
01:23:02,368 --> 01:23:04,370
- So, any of you filmmakers,
1873
01:23:04,414 --> 01:23:06,546
if you wanna include
a couple of old timers,
1874
01:23:06,590 --> 01:23:09,985
hey, you know,
my number still works. Okay?
1875
01:23:10,028 --> 01:23:12,030
- Our numbers still work.
- You know what I mean?
1876
01:23:12,074 --> 01:23:14,032
- Are we finished? 'Cause I
wanna watch this whole movie.
142173
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