Soul Man (1986)

[LessAspin]

Ronald Reagan really brought racism back out of the closet bigly in the 1980s.

It should be noted that 'Soul Man' had some very negative real life implications too..

As documented in the Wonkette and Vice pieces linked below ⬇️

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

https://www.vice.com/en/article/remembering-the-absurdly-racist-blackface-comedy-soul-man/

[GreatGazoo]

1. Rae Dawn Chong responded to Spike Lee's criticism of the film

"I was the black actor for sure, but I didn't lead with my epidermis, and that offended people like Spike Lee, I think. You're either militant or you're not and he decided to just attack. I've never forgiven him for that because it really hurt me."

James Earl Jones plays the professor and had full access to the script before committing. Clearly the premise sounds offensive. The plot of the film was not revealed as part of promotion -- C Thomas Howell's character quickly finds out what it is like to be black in a racist world. He surrenders the scholarship to a black woman and takes out a loan to pay back what was not rightfully his.

The producers thought that while the premise seems offensive, the plot of the film was unquestionably anti-racist. The Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP got an advanced screening and reversed their plans to protest. The writer, Carol Black, attended super lefty Swarthmore and has produced documentaries dealing with racism. Black's 1988 hit "The Wonder Years" was remade in 2021 with a black cast.