Film on African Americans/Women
to Screen Feb. 13 at UCSD

February 5, 2008

By Jan Jennings

A film addressing stereotypes about African Americans and women will be screened at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 13 in the Cross Cultural Center at the University of California, San Diego as part of February’s Black History Month activities.

Baadasssss Cinema: A Bold Look at 70’s Blaxploitation Films, produced by the Independent Film Channel (IFC) in 2002, will be followed by a discussion on racial and sexual stereotypes led by attorney and UCSD alumna Carol Rogers. The event is free and open to the public.

The hour-long documentary, directed by Isaac Julien, includes archive film clips and interviews with a number of the genre’s biggest stars, including director Melvin Van Peebles discussing the historical importance of his landmark film, Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song; Pam Grier of Foxy Brown; Richard Roundtree of Shaft, and director Quentin Tarantino. The music of blaxploitation movies focuses on Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly and Isaac Hayes’ Shaft.

Rogers, who received her bachelor’s degree from Warren College in sociology with minors in African Studies and Contemporary Black Arts, says the documentary is an overview of the entire genre. Her discussion, following the screening, will address questions such as:

• Why do you think the Black Panthers embraced blaxploitation films while the NAACP was critical of the genre?
• How do you think these films influenced the development of Hip Hop music and culture?
• Did these films exploit the black community or celebrate it?
• Who can use the N word and in what context?
• What is the long lasting impact of this genre on popular culture?

The screening and discussion are sponsored by the UCSD Cross Cultural Center, the Office of Sexual Harassment Prevention & Policy (OSHPP), and the African American Studies Minor.

“We selected his film because it addresses stereotypes about African Americans and women,” says Rogers. “It seems to fit with the educational missions of OSHPP, the Cross Cultural Center, and the African American Studies Minor.”

Baadasssss Cinema was originally shown on IFC in August of 2002 as part of a week-long blaxploitation film festival. For further information visit the UCSD Black History Month web site at http://blackhistorymonth.ucsd.edu or call the Cross Cultural Center at (858) 534 9689.

Media Contacts:
Pat JaCoby, 858-534-7404
Jan Jennings, 858-822-1684