Feb 6 Early Denzel In A Black Film Based on a Black Detective Novel

[ancianita]

5. So true.

It's interesting, imo, because it shows how the Great Migration had spreading effects across the country, not just the industrial states.

Also interesting that when I taught the military genre among others in my yearlong film class, I didn't use this film. Instead I showed how films and actors might portray the military as a little known equal rights institution, pairing A Soldier's Story with Courage Under Fire. Denzel, imo, has a brilliant career arc through all the scripts he's chosen.

If I'd gone back to teaching African American Lit, I'd probably have combined this film with the novel as part of crime/detective subgenre. Stories-into-film is another whole class subject that gets folks into buying books again.