Difference between revisions of "Soul Man"

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== Plot ==
 
== Plot ==
The film's hero is a UCLA graduate who poses as a black in order to qualify for a scholarship to Harvard Law School, and the movie follows him through his first semester, as he spars with a black professor, falls in love with a black woman and experiences racism. <ref>Ebert Roger. [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/soul-man-1986 Soul Man]. Roger Ebert. Retrieved January 17 2021.</ref>
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The main character in this movie is a UCLA graduate who acts as a black person in order to fit the bill for a grant to Harvard Law School, and the movie shows his first semester in the Harvard Law School, when he fights with a black professor, have a crush with a black woman and experience racism. <ref>Ebert Roger. [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/soul-man-1986 Soul Man]. Roger Ebert. Retrieved January 17 2021.</ref>
  
 
== Controversy ==
 
== Controversy ==
The plot concerns a young, white man who is accepted by Harvard Law School but can't come up with the sky-high tuition until he hits on the idea of pretending to be black. After turning his skin dark with an overdose of tanning pills, Mark Watson (C. Thomas Howell) applies for and gets a scholarship that should be open only to black students.  
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The plot concerns a young, white man who is accepted by Harvard Law School but can't come up with the sky-high tuition until he hits on the idea of pretending to be black. After he turns his skin to black using overdose tanning pills, he applies and gets a scholarship that only accepted black students. The filmmakers never put their shoes on the black people and don't understand anything about being black, and that restricts their capacity to discover the humor in the circumstance they've set up.<ref>Boyar, Jay. [https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1986-10-25-0260350201-story.html 'Soul Man' Just Goes to Show Discrimination Isn't Funny]. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 17 2021.</ref>
The filmmakers simply don't understand (or, at any rate, know how to dramatize) anything about being black, and that limits their ability to find the humor in the situation they've established.<ref>Boyar, Jay. [https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1986-10-25-0260350201-story.html 'Soul Man' Just Goes to Show Discrimination Isn't Funny]. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 17 2021.</ref>
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
 
{{reflist}}
 
[[Category:Black Racism in Comedy Movies]]
 
[[Category:Black Racism in Comedy Movies]]

Revision as of 15:52, 7 March 2021

Soul Man Scene

Soul Man is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Steve Miner and written by Carol L. Black. The film got involved in controversy because it is portraying a white entertainer in blackface, provoking some people to protest against its release. The film was widely criticized for featuring a white actor wearing blackface. In spite of the movie is controversial and critics gave then negative reviews, Soul Man was successful, profiting $35 million on a $4.5 million budget. [1]

Plot

The main character in this movie is a UCLA graduate who acts as a black person in order to fit the bill for a grant to Harvard Law School, and the movie shows his first semester in the Harvard Law School, when he fights with a black professor, have a crush with a black woman and experience racism. [2]

Controversy

The plot concerns a young, white man who is accepted by Harvard Law School but can't come up with the sky-high tuition until he hits on the idea of pretending to be black. After he turns his skin to black using overdose tanning pills, he applies and gets a scholarship that only accepted black students. The filmmakers never put their shoes on the black people and don't understand anything about being black, and that restricts their capacity to discover the humor in the circumstance they've set up.[3]

References

  1. Soul Man (film). Wikipedia. Retrieved January 17 2021.
  2. Ebert Roger. Soul Man. Roger Ebert. Retrieved January 17 2021.
  3. Boyar, Jay. 'Soul Man' Just Goes to Show Discrimination Isn't Funny. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 17 2021.