rawlinson
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From: Timbuktu. Chinese or Fictional.
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146. Coonskin
1975
Director: Ralph Bakshi
Unfairly labelled as racist on its initial release, Coonskin is one of the most misunderstood films that will appear on this list. The title probably didn't help, Bakshi used the working title of Harlem Nights, that was turned into the more strident 'Coonskin No More' in writing, before being shortened by producer Albert S. Ruddy to Coonskin, against Bakshi's protests.
Bakshi was trying to say something about American society and Coonskin is a satire on racial attitudes. The black characters are stereotypes, but they're stereotypes in order to mock the stereotypes that society places on people and on the lack of racial awareness in the world. All the characters are stereotypes, gays, Italians, the Jewish, it's a theme Bakshi, like Robert Crumb, returned to over and over. They both tried to confront the audience with the most grotesque racial stereotypes imaginable, in an attempt to challenge their own perceptions.
The plot plays out like an animated Blaxploitation take on Uncle Remus as a rabbit, fox and bear become kings of the Harlem crime scene. Sampson (Barry White) and the Preacherman (Charles Gordone) try to help their friend Randy (Philip Michael Thomas) break out of prison. When they are stopped by a police roadblock, Randy is stuck listening to his fellow escapee Pappy (Scatman Crothers) as he tells him stories about friends he used to know. We then go into animation scenes, Thomas, Gordone and White are recast as Brother Rabbit, Brother Bear and Preacher Fox. When their home is sold and turned into a brothel, they leave for Harlem. They meet a conman called Saviour who claims to be a revolutionary and cousin of Black Jesus, who aims to give people the strength to kill whitey. Attending one of his stage shows, Rabbit tries to turn the crowd against him, but they attempt to kill Rabbit instead, leading to Rabbit and Bear killing Saviour and Rabbit takes over Saviour's business. Rabbit looks to become the crime kingpin, but first he has to take down a few enemies, including Madigan, a hated, bigoted cop who loathes African-Americans and works for the Mafia.
The Congress of Racial Equality condemned the film before anyone had even seen it and the controversy meant that it got a very limited release. Its premiere, at the Museum of Modern Art, was protested by CORE, led by Al Sharpton. True to form, Sharpton was more interested in furthering his own reputation than in debating the work on its own merits. It's an audacious film and it's easy to see why it could be troubling, but anyone with integrity would take the time to view the film (and Bakshi did invite Sharpton to see it) before condemning it. The NAACP recognised it was a difficult film, but they understood it and supported it.
Bakshi's aims were to create something incendiary, something that stood up for oppressed African-Americans. How else can you interpret the way the film personifies America as an attractive woman who screams rape when a black man approaches her? Bakshi used blackface iconography, but he used it to confront racism, not celebrate it. It's still a troubling, but brilliant, piece of cinema and it's a film that deserves a wide audience and some critical re-evaluation.
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