- What connections can you make between Malcolm X and Ganja & Hess?
- What role does violence against black people play in both texts?
- The myth of Icarus is important to Malcolm X's narrative (it's the title of Ch. 15). African mythology (and Christian) also seems to be important to Ganja & Hess. Discuss why these old stories are being used in these modern texts?
- Discuss the ways that G&H and Malcolm X differ narratively. Why would Bill Gunn choose to tell his film in such an unorthodox manner?
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Ganja & Hess and Malcolm X
This week we're screening the classic art film Ganja & Hess (1973, directed by Bill Gunn). It's hard to overestimate the effect that Malcolm X and other black nationalists had on the culture of the 1960s and '70s. The entire genre of Blaxsploitation film (Shaft [1971], Super Fly [1972] and many others) came out of the activism of the Civil Rights era. Even though often the politics in these films was submerged or even nonexistent, the films' very existence as cinema was political. Prior to the 60s, black people essentially didn't exist in films except in the role of servants or slaves. With Blaxsploitation, black men and women became the heroes of mainstream films.
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Ganja and Hess was an interesting movie to me. It showed many weird parts but this movie had many similarities to Malcolm X. When I talk about similarities, I am talking about the cross and the noose. These two items are very alike because they both show death. The cross shows when Jesus died and the noose shows when people want to take their own life. Back in the days, many black people were hung because of their skin color. Many whites did not like having black around, which was wrong. In Malcolm X, the setting is in the past where segregation was still happening and many blacks were treated differently. Many blacks were taking a stand and this movie shows it. Black actors were not able to have big roles and this movie was full of them. Malcolm X wanted blacks to have rights and for all people to be treated the same, and this movie shows it. It shows all the trouble blacks have went through to get their voice heard.
ReplyDeleteReligion plays a big role in this movie. We see the cross appear a lot throughout the movie because it shows Christianity. The story of Jesus and his death showed how a man sacrifice his life for others. Many people look up to Jesus because He is an amazing guy and leader. Many people did that for black to have rights. They tried to make people be treated the same and mainly risked their lives all the time. While Malcolm X is based on something real, the movie Ganja and Hess is based on something fake. G&H use things in their movie to make it surreal. Bill Gunn makes his film in an unorthodox manner because he wanted to show how his story was all connected by making people think outside the box. He uses things that people use in their everyday life to foreshadow the true details he is trying to show. For example, Hess knows that he is a bad guy because he is drinking other people's blood and killing them, but he is still in church asking for forgiveness. Hess knows he is a bad guy but he tries to show that he is a good person. He shows some scenes in a church and him asking for forgiveness from God. Hess tries to show and put on a fake version of himself to make people think that he is a good guy.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison between G&H and Malcom X is the importants of religion and how it was used to advance the plot. The use of the religion was used when both the main characters are at there lowest point in time then tried to seek forgiveness. In both mediums however, one was face with judgment and the other find a way to seek "answers" for racial problems. Religion itself has it's ups and downs but as portrayed in both mediums it challange they way we think about religion.
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