Seeing "Hancock" made me think of a question that has been on my mind for years now: "Why Can't Hollywood Seem To Get The Black SuperHero Right?"
Is Hollywood doing it on pupose? Is Hollywood just misinformed? Is Hollywood so culturally and mentally conditioned to believe that these negative images that they continue to churn out make up who and what Black people are?
Does Hollywood believe that Black people can and should always be undervalued, understimated and marginalized when it comes to the way we are presented on film?
Is Hollywood so removed from Black people that when they go to make a movie about us, it's based on the images they have shown before?
It seems almost every attempt to make a Black Superhero movie has to have either this "comedic" or "comedic fool" approach. It also seems that more often than not, these films become one "big miss" instead of a "big hit".
Is it good business for Hollywood to continue to make films like these? Do they really benefit financially? Do they really?
Why have we yet to see a straight up, righteous Black Superhero? Why is that?
I think we need Black creators, Black writers, Black producers, Black directors, Black animators, Black editors, Black financiers, Black production companies, and Black distributors to make a really good Black Superhero Movie come to life. Otherwise, Hollywood is going to keep on churning out more of the same as we saw in "Hancock" and so many others.
Several other Black Superhero film attempts came to mind as I watched "Hancock" from over the years. Must we always go the comedic fool route when portraying a Black Superhero? It seems to be either that or the Black Superhero doesn't have all of his personal arsenal together or some other trait that is lacking:
Example #1: Superman 3 - (Release date: June 17th, 1983 - Budget: $39,000,000 - Domestic Box Office Gross: $59,950,623. Considered a major financial disappointment, since the first two movies each grossed over $100 million) - Though Richard Pryor is not a superhero in this movie, this is the poster that went all over the world. Once again, images.
Example #2: Bill Cosby's "Leonard Part 6" (Release date: December 18th, 1987 - Budget: Unkown - Gross revenue: $4,615,255) - "Bill Cosby plays Leonard Parker, a former CIA spy. A secret agent is called out of retirement to save the world from an evil genius. " - This movie is regarded as a genuine flop and Bill Cosby himself has even apologized for it over and over again. Maybe Bill Cosby should have maybe focused on bringing "The Brown Hornet" to film that year instead, the superhero from his Fat Abert series! Dig the pink ballerina shoes Cosby is wearing. What tha?! Once again, images.
Leonard Part 6 Original Trailer
Is that Gloria Foster, the actress who played The Oracle in the Matrix? I did not know she was in this until I found this clip.
Example #3: Robert Townsend's "Meteor Man" (Release date: August 6th, 1993 - Budget: Unknown - Gross revenue $8,023,147)- "Jefferson Reed is a mild mannered school teacher in Washington D.C. His neighborhood is plagued by a local gang. One night he is exposed to a fallen meteor and..." - OK, blah, blah. We get the idea. Basically a decent film by Townsend. All star Black Cast. I loved "Hollywood Shuffle" and I had high hopes for this film when I heard they were going to make it but this movie still was not the Black Superhero I wanted to see in 1993.
Example #4: Damon Williams' superhero parody "BlankMan" (Release date: August 19th, 1994 - Budget: Unknown - Gross revenue: $7,941,977) - "Darryl (Damon Wayans) is a nerdy, child-like man with a genius for inventing various gadgets out of junk. After tragedy hits his family, and when he stumbles on a method to make his clothes bulletproof, he decides to use his skills to become the lowest budgeted superhero ever. His brother Kevin (David Alan Grier) disapproves of Darryl fighting crime as "Blankman", but soon finds himself fighting alongside his brother as "Other Guy", an easily overlooked partner with no special weapons or crime-fighting abilities." "Hancock" actually reminded me of "BlankMan" in many places. Need I say more? This movie was so bad, even for a superhero parody, it was funny. Not bad as in good but bad as in bad.
Example #5: "M.A.N.T.I.S." (Starring Carl Lumbly was a TV series that aired for one season on the FOX Network between August 1994 and March 1995. "A paralyzed African-American scientist builds a powerful exo-skeleton in order to walk again, and uses his new abilities to fight crime. Lumbly's character, Dr. Miles Hawkins, was a wealthy, mild-mannered doctor who was shot in the spine by a criminal. Paralyzed from the waist down, he uses his company's resources to invent a powered exoskeleton that not only enables him to walk but gives him superhuman abilities"- I actually somewhat enjoyed this TV series when I was able to catch it in 94-95. It seemed that Hollywood came close to getting a Black Superhero right here. The brotha was super intelligent and used his mind to build his design. He was super intelligent but the one drawback, they made him a parapalegic. Once again, there seems to have to be either a disability involved or the old comedic approach when it comes to Hollywood creating Black Superheroes.
Example #6: Shaq's comedy film "Kazaam" (Release date: July 17th, 1996 - Budget: $20 million - Gross revenue: $18,937,262) "Being a lone young boy in the 'hood" is dangerous and unpleasant. This is what Max experiences when he fools a gang of local toughs who cornered him at school. The gang finds out that the key he gave them is of no value in committing a robbery, and they chase him through the streets of his neighborhood, bent on revenge. He tries to escape by slipping into the open door of an old warehouse, but they follow him there, too. While running from them through aisles filled with all kinds of stuff, he bumps into an old boom box. By doing that, he manages to release Kazaam, a genie who has been held captive for thousands of years. In order to stay free, Kazaam must give Max three wishes." -- Did they say the little white kid actually rubs a boom box instead of the traditional lamp and Whoosh! Out comes Shaq? LOL! OK. Riiiiiight. Gotcha. Next example....
Example #7: "Spawn" (Release date: August 1st, 1997 - Budget: $40,000,000 - Gross: $87,840,042) - Spawn is a film adaptation of Todd McFarlane's creator-owned Image comic book of the same name. This movie was considered a box office success. The special effects were good but the storyline turned me off. A brotha basically has to go to Hell, become the servant of Malebolgia, a demonic ruler of various realms, and becomes his eternal servant and leader of Hell's army in Armageddon to come back to Earth and be a SuperHero. Thanks again, Hollywood.
Spawn Trailer
Example #8: "Steel" (August 15th, 1997) - "John Henry Irons (Shaquille O'Neal) is a weapons designer for the United States military. When his project to create weapons that harmlessly neutralize soldiers is eradicated, he resigns in disgust. When he sees criminal gangs are using the weapons that he helped manufacture on the street, he uses his resources and his Uncle Joe's (Richard Roundtree) equipment in his junkyard to fight back against the man who's been selling them to those gangs: Nathaniel Burke (Judd Nelson). In order to do so, he uses the resources that are available to him to forge himself a suit of armor and the weaponry necessary to carry out his war on crime."
Check out the homeless brotha sleepin on the park bench at 9:00 into the video. Remind you of a movie that is out right now? Can you say "Hancock"? Also, turn down the volume from 9:00 until the end and count how many times the camera closes up on the homeless brotha on the bench. They did it four times so your brain can get the point they are trying to make. The brain remembers what is repeated much better than what was shown once.
Not a bad film. Family oriented yet at times kind of boring. Straight to video release. Some felt this film had heart. The soundtrack was decent.
Blade (1998 - Budget: $45,000,000 - Gross revenue: $131,183,530) - A box office success. - The most legit out of the bunch and Wesley Snipes produced and financed this with his own prodiction company Amen Ra. There was still a vampire theme in this but so was the comic.
Halle Berry's superhero film "Catwoman" ( Release date: July 23rd, 2004 - Budget: $100,000,000 - Gross revenue: $82,102,379) "A shy woman, endowed with the speed, reflexes, and senses of a cat, walks a thin line between criminal and hero, even as a detective doggedly pursues her, fascinated by both of her personas." Some people liked this movie very much. I can't say I was one of them. I skipped it until I saw it on cable late one night while channel surfing. It was great to see Halle Berry but I wasn't impressed by this film. After I saw it I understood why it won the Razzie Award. MSN Movies ranked Catwoman as the third worst superhero movie to date, behind Batman & Robin. I actually thought this movie made the money it did based on the Power of Halle Berry and the power of the Batman franchise. They replaced Selina Kyle with Patience Phillips.
Overall, it is a reality that the true line of Black SuperHero Movies have yet to come.
To Be Continued...
~LT
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