A landmark of Black and American independent cinema that would send shock waves through the culture, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song was Melvin Van Peebles’ follow-up, after he walked away from a Hollywood contract in order to make his next film on his own terms.
* Iconic for so many reasons, this film is the alpha and the omega for any canon of subversive Black film. It literally launched an era in film culture, and it minted van Peebles as one of the most important cineastes that ever lived. Rest in Power to the Godfather! [GD]
