It’s a beautiful afternoon on
Chicago’s South Side and Melvin Van Peebles is cranky. In a few hours
the 76-year-old filmmaker and father of the blaxploitation film
movement will be showing his latest work, Confessionsofa Ex-Doofus-ItchyFooted Mutha.
Midway through the interview, the adroit older man wearing
patent-leather pants, red and black sneakers, topped off with a
watermelon-decorated sport coat is already directing traffic.
“Close
that f*****g door,” Van Peebles barks in the direction of people
constantly moving in and out of his press room. “We’ve got to be pro
about this, let’s go.”
Quickly
you realize that with every order he gives — including where his
interviewer should be positioned and how he should go about asking his
questions — this man was born to direct, born to compose music, born to
breathe life into aspects of the world most of overlook. In this candid
interview, rolling out sat down with the legend to discuss
his opening the door for black cinema, the difference between Tyler
Perry and Spike Lee and why hip-hop owes him a pat on the
back. –gavin philip godfrey
Everyone
likes to say Melvin Van Peebles birthed blaxpoitation films. What do
you think was your role in bringing black cinema to the mainstream?
Back in the day, that was when the important thing was done, but until Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song
made all of this money as an independent film and a black independent
film, none of these things had actually happened. It’s hard to say what
your latest contribution is or your earliest contribution. I think the
money that I’ve made and the start of a whole genre of film —
independent film — was never really taken seriously before Sweetback and
African American cinema was just off the charts, but when I showed that
it was possible and there was an audience for real stories, then that
made a major change.
Speaking of real stories, why do you think the black community is quick to invest in Tyler Perry, but not Spike Lee?
That’s a question I never discuss. I’m here as the pioneer filmmaker,
etc. not to have a dissertation on the various possibilities of this
versus that. I have enough trouble coming from the toilet with my pants
leg dry without dissertating on what I don’t know. There’s an old
saying, someone said, ‘Blessed he who doesn’t know and can’t be
persuaded to say it.’ I’ve got to take the fifth on that.
You’re making a hip-hop album with Madlib, what is it about today’s hip-hop culture that inspires you?
I think you have it ass-backwards — I inspired hip-hop culture. Before
the albums that I did on A&M, … after that you had the advent,
and then it was moving along and along.
Describe this latest film as it relates to the story of your life and film career
The whole movie is like in [Sweet] Sweetback’s Badass Song. The Confessions of an Ex-Doofus mother — than runs it all down — you either speak the language or you don’t. If you don’t understand it, well, go ask your momma.
For young black fillmakers what can they take from your story as a key to their own success in the industry?
It’s not a one-[size]-fits all title. It would be a disservice to say
to this guy do that, [and] to the other guy do that — each one has his
style, but the overriding [thing] — not just for black people, but
filmmakers, carpenters [and in] everything else — keep on keeping on.
Remember the deal is, it’s not how many times you get knocked down, it’s
how many times you get up.
