African Americans divided over 'Soul Plane' antics
|
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
HOLLYWOOD — The "first black-owned airline" has barely lifted off, but a determined campaign is already under way to ground it, or at least clip its wings.
"Soul Plane," the hip-hop-flavored comedy that opened last Friday about fictional NWA Airlines, has already run into cultural turbulence inside the African-American creative community, igniting heated arguments that illustrate the lack of consensus among blacks when it comes to comic stereotypes and the depiction of African-American culture in film and television.
Declaring in a recent speech that "Soul Plane" is "coonery and buffoonery," Spike Lee is one of a number of entertainment figures saying the film is among the most offensive ever in terms of showing blacks in a negative light. Their protests are mostly based on the R-rated film's trailer, advertising campaign and early drafts of the script.
Other actors, writers and directors have called "Soul Plane" a modern-day minstrel show and a throwback to films in the 1940s and 1950s, when blacks were mostly shown as lazy clowns. The South Los Angeles-based National Alliance for Positive Action has aimed its protest at MGM, the studio behind the film. "Soul Plane" is the latest in a slate of urban-based films being developed by MGM after the crossover success of the studio's 2001 release "Barbershop."
"There is definitely a feeling in the community that this is the film that really does cross the line," said Lee Bailey, publisher and executive producer of the Electronic Urban Report, a Web site linked to the "Radioscope" entertainment program.
But the makers of "Soul Plane" and other supporters say the film is a brash and wild comedy in the vein of "Airplane!" or "Saturday Night Live" and that those who find it insulting are taking the jokes too seriously.
"First and foremost, this is a comedy that is an equal-opportunity offender," said Peter Adee, MGM's president of worldwide marketing. "It takes shots at everyone."
Jessy Terrero, a music-video director making his directing feature debut with "Soul Plane," said, "I'm part of Generation X, part of the hip-hop culture, and I just wanted to make a good comedy for my generation. I don't see this as a movie about race, it's a movie about class." Terrero said he cut out many of an early script's jokes about race.
"Soul Plane" is the latest in a series of black-oriented movies and TV shows where questions of taste and appropriateness have provoked controversy. Some of the images and language have been attacked, while others have celebrated the pushing of the cultural envelopes.
The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton in 2002 threatened to stage a boycott against "Barbershop" because of jokes about Rosa Parks and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Lee himself came under some fire for "Bamboozled," which used the popularity of a televised minstrel show to poke fun at racism.
"Soul Plane's" dominant image in the trailer and advertising is a purple-colored plane equipped with hydraulics that allow it to bounce like a lowrider. NWA Airlines is headquartered at Malcolm X Terminal, which is also home for a "99 cent" store and a basketball court.
Passengers in "low class" snack on fried chicken and sip malt liquor out of 40-ounce bottles. There's a dance club and a craps table on board. Several of the passengers are sex-crazed.
The "pilot" (Snoop Dogg) has no idea how to fly a plane but has no trouble getting "high" in the cockpit. The "n-word" is sprinkled liberally throughout the film.
Actress Anne-Marie Johnson, the national chairwoman of the equal employment opportunity branch of the Screen Actors Guild, said the filmmakers and cast have no respect for the "scars 'Soul Plane' leaves on the culture. It's all about the 'right now.' "
Despite the furor, "Soul Plane" has more than its share of defenders, calling the attacks short-sighted and off-base. They say "Soul Plane" is a comedy with attitude that merely points out differences within and between cultures.
"Why are black people so insecure?" said Walter Latham, the creator behind "The Original Kings of Comedy" tour and film that featured Cedric the Entertainer.
Latham added: "Black people should accept the fact that our heritage is different, and we should embrace who we are as a people. If there was a black airline, they probably would serve ribs and collard greens. That's who we are."