Sunday, October 13, 2019

Malcolm X and Ganja & Hess

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.
  • 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?

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