Melvin Van Peebles' Classified X (1998)
- Original title
- Classified X
- Directed by
- Mark Daniels
- Genre
- documentary film
- Country
- United States
- Runtime
- 53 min
- Rating
- 5.4 of 10 from 6 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A documentary narrated by Melvin Van Peebles that traces the history of Black representation in American cinema through the 20th century. It covers stereotypes, shifting portrayals, and the independent Black film scene that operated outside Hollywood.
informativeanalyticalthoughtfulretrospectivesobereducationalcriticalinsightful
What happens
Classified X is a 1998 French-US documentary movie written by Melvin Van Peebles, directed by Mark Daniels and narrated by Van Peebles, that details the history of black people in American cinema throughout the 20th century. According to the review in Variety: "... Van Peebles' distinctive analyses and his ever-growing importance to new black helmers via 1971's breakthrough Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song make this a package with shelf life for cinematheques, schools and select broadcaster webs.... Scaredy-cat comedy-relief types, jungle "savages," mammies and minstrels (Van Peebles acidly observes that Caucasian players "put on blackface when they felt like doing something extra-stupid") gave way after World War II to "The New Negro" -- a put-upon "keeper of conscience" for the white protagonists. Pic briefly exits Hollywood to consider the independent black cinema that flourished -- with strict low-budget bounds -- from silent days till the late '40s, supported by a network of blacks-only theaters." The documentary includes footage from the following movies: The Palm Beach Story Africa Screams The Birth of a Nation Casablanca Cry Freedom The Defiant Ones Gone with the Wind Guess Who's Coming to Dinner The Jazz Singer Shaft (1971) (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
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Escape from Affluenza (1998)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.