User:Mpuou

Introduction of the film - 3 – 5 sentences highlighting plot, cast members, scriptwriters, movie production studio, major themes, where/how it was filmed, and historical context “The Mack” was a movie filmed in Oakland, California, in 1973. The film has been distributed by a few companies; it was originally released by the Cinerama Releasing Corporation. The film was directed by California native Michael Campus. The film starred Max Julien and Richard Prior, along with Juanita Moore, Dick Anthony Williams, Carol Speed, Roger E. Mosley, and George Murdock. “The Mack” was shot in a predominantly black section of Oakland on a $200,000 budget. “…Approval to shoot the locale was not an easy task. Before production was underway, campus spent two months in Oakland in the attempt to develop a feel for the community,” (Lawrence pg.69) It was this film that made the idea of “pimpin” cool. For years we have used terms such as “pimp” or “mackin” which have originated from this film.

Plot – Describe the plot in one paragraph. Include major plots points and the ending; Include a primary source quote here. Example, “According to the reviewer in XYZ newspaper, the film, ____, was [fill in the blank with a quote].” [Footnote] “The Mack” is a film about a man who returns home to Oakland after being in the “slammer” and is determined to bring himself up in the world. His friend enters the world of prostitution and he is asked to look out for her, therefore he accepts the life and becomes of pimp. Soon he is the “most notorious mack” in town but also receives unwanted attention. He faces problems with the police and fellow pimps in his area. According to the reviewer in the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Thomas “The Mack is a lot more realistic and a lot less sensational than most black action pictures. But according to its director Michael Campus, its writer Robert J. Poole actually was a pimp and every incident in the film really happened…”

Background – Talk about how the film was made. That is, talk about who wrote the script, who produced the film, who hired the actors. Add other interesting facts. This film was written by Robert J. Poole. Poole seems to be extremely interesting. “Robert J. Poole was a convict who — according to legend — wrote a 40-page treatment for a movie on prison toilet paper. Titled Black Is Beautiful, Poole ultimately got his material to producer Harvey Bernhard”(DistractedlGlobe) The film was produced by Harvey Bernhard, who was a big part of the growing entertainment industry in Las Vegas. Harvey is from Seattle, Washington. He is well known for his work on biographies. He moved to Hollywood to help with early television documentaries. He is well known for his work on films like “The Goonies” and “The Lost Boys.” In “The Mack” the screenwriter Robert J. Pool approached Harvey with an article he had written. Due to Harvey’s fascination with the material he decided to take a risk and work with Poole. Harvey hired Michael Campus who had filmed a few things for ABC prior, and he became the director of the film. Harvey Bernhard hired a lot of the actors for the film.

Theme 1 – talk about one historical theme (racism, sexuality, gender, Black Power, Civil Rights, Music, etc.) that is represented in the film. Support with a secondary source. Race is an obvious theme of this film. There is a lot of underlying hints to how difficult it was for black people to achieve the “American Dream” during this era. It shows how people had to result to doing other things in order to obtain an income and stay afloat. For example, “The Mack features a conflict that is visible along ethicized lines and Goldie’s fight also represents the refusal to accept racial oppression…Goldie’s struggle to overcome the oppressive system is reflected in his dealings with Hank and Jed, the bigoted white police officers,” (Lawrence pg.70). Theme 2 – Talk about another historical theme. Support with a secondary source. Blaxploitation films were the first to use funk and soul music. “Following in the tradition of its Blaxploitation predecessors, “The Mack” features a contemporary rhythm-and blues soundtrack composed by recording artist Willie Hutch and released by Motown records.”(Lawrence Pg.76) The soundtrack featured songs that really captured the essence of that time period. The soundtrack set the tone for the film. The album was popular after it was released and is still one of the top exploitation albums of its time period. Discussion of context – Write about any of the following: --The Blaxploitation genre is an ethnic subgenre in film. Blaxploitation films were made for urban black audiences, but the genre also appealed to people of all racial backgrounds. “The Mack is an outstanding movie filled with truth and realism about black street life. I urge every black person young and old to see it,” --The film had mixed reviews about this film. During the first week of the films release it earned $79,000 and was 27th on Variety’s list of top grossing films. According to Don Gordon the audience talked to the screen throughout the film and cheered throughout certain points as well. “Variety praised the film, complimenting the director and the cast: Michael Campus’ direction is strong and he handles the violence effectively. Julien…underplays his character convincingly and as the two crooked cops, Don Gordon and William C. Watson, as slickly cast” (Lawrence pg. 76).

The “black movie” industry was in a great struggle until the early 1970’s. Basically out of nowhere the industry emerged and had initial popularity. Black actors, and writers were heavily needed to create more films, and black audiences were hooked. Most of these films, even though they came off as a “black movie” and the entire audience would be black, they were really the opposite. These movies were directed by white people and glorified pimping and being gangster. Almost all of the black movies in the early seventies were about the same thing; making a strong black man look as cool and as successful as possible. New black hero characters were created out of these movies, and a large population of people were fueling this industry boom because of how relatable it was to their own lives. Max Julien from “The Mack” became a huge star because of his good looks and supreme confidence he showed on the screen. In the movie he was in prison and at the bottom but then he “figured it out” and pimped his way to the very top. The personalities of all the main characters in these movies were consistently the same, yet people still loved the movies and the main actors. (Bogle pg. 241, 257)

  Although lots of people were loving this great entertainment certain members of the black community such as the head of the NAACP Hollywood branch said “We must insist that our children are not constantly exposed to a steady diet of so called black movies that glorify black males as pimps…” (Bogle pg. 242) This quote tells a lot because a large part of the black community was completely sucked into these movies and couldn’t wait for the next one to come out, while others saw the underlying message in the movies and knew that this could negatively affect an entire community for decades to come, especially the youth. Overall the black film industry in the early seventies was very complex because of its sudden rise in popularity and the hidden negative impact is was having on the black community. 

Conclusion “The Mack’s” influence is still around today in the entertainment industry. Artist have paid homage to the film by wearing similar clothing in videos and performances, some have even referenced the film in their song lyrics. “The Mack has also been influential in film and television. For example, the popular television series ‘Martin’ (1992-1997) dedicated an episode titled “All the Players Came” to the Blaxploitation era and recreated the Players Ball that takes place in The Mack….Films such as ‘New Jack City (1991), Straight Out of Brooklyn (1991), Juice (1992), Menace to Society (1993), Original Gangstas (1996) How to Be a Player (1997), Shaft (2000), Four Brothers (2005), and a host of others contain themes similar to those depicted in The Mack as well as other Blaxploitation films,” (Lawrence pg. 77) There was no sequel to “The Mack,” but the film remains to be well known and popular. It is often stated that themes from the world today originated from the film, such as having a lot of girls, which is now portrayed as being cool especially in certain genres of music. “The Mack” ranked 3rd on the list of all Blaxploitation films. It fell to “Coffy” and “Black Caesar.”

Racism was very prominent throughout the United States during the 1970's when the movie was filmed. The film did a great job exploiting this issue, especially in an urban black community. The main character in the film, "The Mack," was forced to a life of being a "pimp," or controlling the business aspect of illegal prostitutes due to racism in his community. After being let out of prison, he was unable to find a proper job due to being a black male with a criminal record. This racism forced him to resort to a life of crime in order to provide for himself and his friend. "...Two corrupt and racist white detectives. Goldie refuses to work for Fat man again, and dismisses the detectives' requests to stop his brother from ridding the streets of drugs. As a result, his mother us assaulted which eventually leads to her death. Even though Olinga is disappointed un Goldie because he 'brought death to their house,' he agrees to help him get revenge." The racism by these polices officers in the film had such a negative affect. Their wrongdoings down spiraled to the death of their mother.

I strongly believe that this type of racism exhibited in the film still exists today. Black people have a much harder time finding work due to their race, especially if they have a criminal record. Racism still going on in America today. Although the United States has come a long way since the slavey, and huge steps were made toward granging equal right on the basis of race in the 1970s, racism still a very pressing problems in the US today. In my opinno America has not really come to terms with its ugly, racial bigotry and injustice.

Works Cited:

“A Pimp Is Only As Good As His Product.” This Distracted Globe RSS, thisdistractedglobe.com/2011/02/06/the-mack/.

Bogle, Donald. Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks. Vol. 4, The Continuum International Publishing Group Inc, 2002.

Lawrence, Novotny. Blaxploitation films of the 1970s: blackness and genre. Routledge, 2012.