I often feel that this preoccupation with racism is partly why the great African American director, Charles Burnett, is not as well known as Spike Lee. Burnett's films are very immersed in the black Los Angeles community that he comes from. He has stated explicitly that his intention as a filmmaker was about articulating the issues that …
I often feel that this preoccupation with racism is partly why the great African American director, Charles Burnett, is not as well known as Spike Lee. Burnett's films are very immersed in the black Los Angeles community that he comes from. He has stated explicitly that his intention as a filmmaker was about articulating the issues that beset his local community. You get a sense of that very strongly in his masterpiece Killer of Sheep and My Brother's Wedding and To Sleep With Anger. However, unlike Spike Lee, his films are not explicitly about anti-black racism. There are not even many white characters in his best works. I think if his films were more fiery and polemical he would be better known, not just among cinephiles, but more broadly. Sad to say, I don't think in the current climate that his best films would be considered angry enough to be of much interest.
I often feel that this preoccupation with racism is partly why the great African American director, Charles Burnett, is not as well known as Spike Lee. Burnett's films are very immersed in the black Los Angeles community that he comes from. He has stated explicitly that his intention as a filmmaker was about articulating the issues that beset his local community. You get a sense of that very strongly in his masterpiece Killer of Sheep and My Brother's Wedding and To Sleep With Anger. However, unlike Spike Lee, his films are not explicitly about anti-black racism. There are not even many white characters in his best works. I think if his films were more fiery and polemical he would be better known, not just among cinephiles, but more broadly. Sad to say, I don't think in the current climate that his best films would be considered angry enough to be of much interest.