Katayoon Rohani
Professor Odom
Black studies 140B
May 15, 2017
Five on the Black Hand Side Extra Credit
The blaxploitation genre continued with Oscar Williams's "Five on the Black Hand Side", based on a play by the recently deceased Charlie L. Russell. Watching it I was reminded of "All in the Family": the old-school patriarch, the mousy mom, and the rebellious offspring. While the plot centers on the mom's finally standing up to her domineering husband, there's more. A truly outstanding scene takes place in the dad's barbershop. One of the patrons recites some poetry that sounds like comedic rap! The overall point is that this is one enjoyable movie. Every blaxploitation movie that I've seen has been fun, but this one manages to be so without …show more content…
which was where I once lived from 1987-2003. And I recognized Ms. DuBois from when she was Willona Woods on "Good Times" which she would portray a year after this movie. She's also recognizable to me as the singer of "Movin' On Up" theme of "The Jeffersons" of which Leonard Jackson once played Louise's father. And Ms. Taylor would eventually portray Cliff Huxtable's mother on "The Cosby Show". Five on the Black Hand Side was released at a time when most black-oriented films were bloody action fests. In contrast, this low-budget effort, coproduced by actors Brock Peters and Michael Tolan, eschews exploitation for humanity and domestic drama. Leonard Jackson plays a barber who is also the domineering head of a middle-class African American family. Jackson is forced to rethink his values when his previously docile wife (Clarice Taylor) joins their three children in rebelling against her husband's retrogressive behavior. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi. This relationship between the two parents in this movie got parodied in a skit of the same name on the comedy series In Living Color. The film went into limited release in theaters, but helped launch the careers of Glynn Turman and Ja'net DuBois: he did films and TV, landing mostly African-American characters, leading to the role of Bradford Taylor on the TV Show A Different World and she became famous as Willona on the TV hit Good
Professor Odom
Black studies 140B
May 15, 2017
Five on the Black Hand Side Extra Credit
The blaxploitation genre continued with Oscar Williams's "Five on the Black Hand Side", based on a play by the recently deceased Charlie L. Russell. Watching it I was reminded of "All in the Family": the old-school patriarch, the mousy mom, and the rebellious offspring. While the plot centers on the mom's finally standing up to her domineering husband, there's more. A truly outstanding scene takes place in the dad's barbershop. One of the patrons recites some poetry that sounds like comedic rap! The overall point is that this is one enjoyable movie. Every blaxploitation movie that I've seen has been fun, but this one manages to be so without …show more content…
which was where I once lived from 1987-2003. And I recognized Ms. DuBois from when she was Willona Woods on "Good Times" which she would portray a year after this movie. She's also recognizable to me as the singer of "Movin' On Up" theme of "The Jeffersons" of which Leonard Jackson once played Louise's father. And Ms. Taylor would eventually portray Cliff Huxtable's mother on "The Cosby Show". Five on the Black Hand Side was released at a time when most black-oriented films were bloody action fests. In contrast, this low-budget effort, coproduced by actors Brock Peters and Michael Tolan, eschews exploitation for humanity and domestic drama. Leonard Jackson plays a barber who is also the domineering head of a middle-class African American family. Jackson is forced to rethink his values when his previously docile wife (Clarice Taylor) joins their three children in rebelling against her husband's retrogressive behavior. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi. This relationship between the two parents in this movie got parodied in a skit of the same name on the comedy series In Living Color. The film went into limited release in theaters, but helped launch the careers of Glynn Turman and Ja'net DuBois: he did films and TV, landing mostly African-American characters, leading to the role of Bradford Taylor on the TV Show A Different World and she became famous as Willona on the TV hit Good