Coonskin (film): Difference between revisions
1975 live action/animated satirical crime film for adults by Ralph Bakshi
Coonskin is a 1975 American live-action/animated satirical crime film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi. The film references the Uncle Remus folk tales, and satirizes the blaxploitation film genre as well as Disney’s racially controversial film Song of the South, also adapted from the Uncle Remus folk tales.[1] The film’s narrative concerns three anthropomorphic Uncle Remus characters, Br’er Rabbit (referred to as Brother Rabbit), Br’er Fox (referred to as Preacher Fox), and Br’er Bear (referred to as Brother Bear). They rise to the top of the organized crime racket in Harlem, encountering corrupt law enforcement, con artists, and the Mafia, in a satire of both racism within the Hollywood film system, and America itself. The film stars Philip Thomas, Charles Gordone, Barry White, and Scatman Crothers, all of whom appear in both live-action and animated sequences.
Originally produced under the titles Harlem Nights and Coonskin No More… at Paramount Pictures, Coonskin encountered controversy before its original theatrical release when the Congress of Racial Equality accused the film of being racist. When the film was released, Bryanston gave it limited distribution and it initially received mixed reviews. Later re-released under the titles Bustin’ Out and Street Fight, Coonskin has since been re-appraised, recontextualizing the film as the condemnation of racism that the director intended, rather than a product of a racist imagination, as its detractors had claimed. A New York Times review said, “Coonskin could be Ralph Bakshi’s masterpiece.”[2] Bakshi has stated that he considers Coonskin to be his best film.[3]
Plot
In a small town in Oklahoma, The local Preacher (Charles Gordone) takes a prayer, to the kids, then gives them a tour. When he gets there, he meets Sampson (Barry White) and plans to bust out their friend Randy (Philip Michael Thomas) from prison. As they rush to the prison, the two are stopped by a woman, who gives Sampson the price. Meanwhile, Randy and another cellmate named Pappy (Scatman Crothers) escape from inside the prison and wait for Sampson and the Preacher to help them get out. While waiting for them, Randy unwillingly listens to Pappy tell a story about three guys that resemble Randy and his friends. Pappy’s story is told in animation set against live-action background photos and footage.
Brother Rabbit (Philip Michael Thomas), Brother Bear, and Preacher Fox (Barry White and Charles Gordone) meet up with the sheriff and deputy, who arrive as customers only to find that one of the prostitutes was the sheriff’s daughter. After shooting his deputy in a rage, the sheriff turned his gun on Rabbit, who threw a knife killing the sheriff. The trio ran off deciding to move to Harlem, “home to every black man”. This then leads to a lady telling a newborn a story about Malcolm. Rabbit, Bear, and Fox then stop the car and find that it is not all that it is made out to be, this also leads to an old man digging in the trash. They encounter a con man named Simple Savior, an obese and phony revolutionary leader who claims to be the cousin of “Black Jesus“, and that he gives his followers “the strength to kill whites“. In a flashy stage performance in his “church”, Savior acts out being brutalized by symbols of black oppression—represented by images of John Wayne, Elvis Presley, and Richard Nixon, before asking his parishioners for “donations”. Rabbit and his friends quickly realize that Savior’s “revolution” is merely a money-making scam, and they quickly argue about it, before leaving off. Rabbit openly steals a large portion of the donation money, prompting Savior to try to have him killed. After Rabbit tricks his would-be murderers (in a paraphrasing of the story of Br’er Rabbit and the brier patch), he and Bear kill Savior. This allows Rabbit to take over Savior’s racket, putting him in line to become the head of all organized crime in Harlem. Rabbit lays out his plan to keep all organized crime money in Harlem. But first, he has to get rid of a few other opponents. Savior’s former partners tell Rabbit they will join him but only if he can kill his opponents; otherwise they will kill him instead.
Rabbit first goes up against Managan (Frank de Kova), a virulently idiotic and homophobic police officer and bagman for the Mafia, who demonstrates his contempt for African Americans in various ways, including a refusal to bathe before an anticipated encounter with them (he believes that they are not worth it). When Managan finds out that Rabbit has been taking his payoffs, he and his cohorts, Ruby (Frank de Kova) and Bobby, are led to a nightclub called “The Cottontail”. A black stripper distracts him while an LSD sugar cube is dropped into his drink. Managan, while under the influence of his spiked drink, he is also given a joint (either filled with marijuana or angel dust) and then is maneuvered…