Monday, May 22, 2017

Some Things To Know About Trick Baby

By Sandra Mitchell


Some of the more explicit Blaxploitation films do not make the most common themes of these kinds of movies central to the plot. The best of them nod at the traditional issues that abound in black exploitation movies, mostly those that are made making use of things that surround the culture and society of African Americans. Unlike the general exploitation genre, however, this is does not have derogatory underpinnings.

There is one film that might have risen above the rest, as differentiated by the common run of movies here. The film in question is Trick Baby, released in 1972, with a story taken from the novel of a famous black author named Iceberg Slim. The novel is really a very moving tale about African gangsters, something the feature was not able to be.

This movie is about two friends living and operating in Philadelphia, where they make a living deceiving people. The characters are called Blue Howard and White Folks, and being half white, folks could be somebody that is white. This fact helps them in their adventures to con people, and the movie is about their plan for their biggest con to date.

The dynamics of race propels this story, but these can be obvious enough because it is based on experiences for Slim, an ex pimp who made it by selling lots of his books about the African underworld. The delineations are made for those the characters, but the actual performance by Folks was very much of a let down for many African males. The intensity was not there, and Folks played white without giving much focus on their being black and why.

White Folks was born from the union of a prostitute and a white trick, hence the title. Since this accident of birth is the thematic focus of both novel and film, the story could have intensely examined the details behind it. However, the film went ahead with the classic need for Hollywood to have an easier subject to portray visually.

With this item, it can be seen how the film may explain its ignoring the most relevant issues related to a biracial criminal. Because of this, all that the film became was one more cliched item in the litany of themes on black crimes. The relationship between both protagonists became a buddy thing, making this movie a feel good one with nothing to say about realities on the ground but everything to gain in box office.

Films from Hollywood will tend to be dehumanizing, concentrating more on great visuals than focusing on the story elements. This defect is something that is still present, and so whatever films there are that are found meritorious in a story sense will not end up successful, in comparison to those that tend to con people.

The con being hatched by the two friends is nearly stopped on its tracks by the Mafia and a crooked cop. This twist is so cliched that most film goers can predict the ending, but even with critics howling, it is a thing beloved by producers. As with many features, the main point was overtaken by concerns about box office success in the end.

Thus, director Larry Yust thought it best to soften blows made by the story itself to be more acceptable to the general public. This is one organism that has an oh so sensitive stomach while allowing blasphemy to be its constant companion. And black experience is too much of a punch in the gut that it needs watering down.




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