Black Dynamite

Grab your seats, and hold on tight 

The Blaxploitation genre has a very complicated legacy to say the least. Whilst it was, in many instances, the first time black actors played black main characters, they were also chock-full of negative stereotypes. But by that same token, it also came closer than a lot of other media to discussing issues that black audiences faced at the time, just projected through a lens of caucasian confusion and paranoia. Regardless of what you feel about the progenitors of the genre, its impact is undeniable amongst many black filmmakers and actors as something to both homage and improve upon. And Black Dynamite is the perfect homage.

Directed by Scott Saunders and co written by Saunders, long time actor and stuntman Michael Jai-White and Byron Minns, Black Dynamite stars Jai-White as Black Dynamite, a kung-fu trained, former CIA agent turned pimp who embarks on a journey of “Kung-Fu Treachery” against the Man as he tries to uncover who killed his brother Jimmy and flooded the streets with Crack. Or Heroin (it's never made clear). He meets a a cast of other Pimps and club owners like Bullhorn, Cream Corn and Chicago Wind along with Black Panthers Saheed and Militant #1 and Militant #2 who all in some way shape or form embody an aspect of the genre, be it low budget, nonsensical slang or just not knowing how to act on camera. And the jokes never let up. The editing is intentionally bad, with outtakes and bad line reads staying in the movie. The set design is inconsistent, in particular with people getting defenestrated through fenestra that the interior shots don't have. Even the soundtrack is a joke, with the lyrics being descriptions of whats happening on screen as it happens.

If John Waters was to direct a blaxploitation homage (which, by god, we need now more than ever) it would turn almost exactly like this. Jai-White had come out and said that he would host Blaxploitation viewing parties and point out all the inconsistencies whilst coming up with the idea for the script. And the writers room was full of people who probably went to those parties. This movie is like if Rudy Ray Moore was a stuntman as well as a comedian. The love for the genre and an eye for detail is ever present, from the camera movement to the fact the whole film was shot on the cheap with Super 16mm film. It looks and feels like some lost film scrapped up from the bottom of A.I.P's film vault and I love it so very, very much.

In a strange way, I would almost recommend this film as an introduction to the genre for the uninitiated, perhaps as the second-half of a double bill with Foxy Brown. Something to get you into the genres more accessible end before moving on to more serious fair like Super Fly or The Mack. And Blacula should be in there as well, because that movie has some serious cultural capital. And maybe Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song because it may have started the whole genre. In short, watch more of these movie. And watch Black Dynamite.