Work Lessons From Dolemite

Make Your Own Movie

Does it matter what the budget of this film is? The quality of the acting? They had martial arts training and some of the phoniest karate moves I have ever seen. This is from the era when martial arts movies were all the rage. Rudy Ray Moore could barely lift his leg to kick anyone.

It's the Entertainment

I have not seen Avatar: Three Hours in the Water. Is it necessary? Many big budget movies fall away after they are released. There is no CGI in Dolemite. I was entertained. Far more than some of these three hundred million dollar budget films where they forgot to write a script.

Stick It To the Man

Corrupt cops are more believable in Los Angeles. Cops in movies never call for backup. In this film they end up in a trunk. After that humorous karate. Seriously, Miss Piggy was more a master of the martial arts.

Branding is Important

I have never been good at branding. It doesn't affect my job. My brand is Sex Machine. That originated early in my tenure when a colleague could not recall my name. The song is about follow through skills.

Of course the uptight married people who discuss Personal Branding would not appreciate my brand. In the contextual vernacular, it is important to "F up Mother F'ers." when necessary. Dolemite used the full words. It flowed out of his mouth.

I have yet to watch the Eddie Murphy biopic. Did they film that in the same Ralph's parking lot? While I can make fun of the location shoots and wood paneling endemic of era (that is more blatant in Black Caesar. No matter how high he moved up in the underworld the offices were adorned with wood paneling. It was the seventies.) this was an enjoyable experience.

Music Covers All Manner of Sins

The music in this movie is top notch. I own the soundtrack to The Thing With Two Heads. Such is the advantage of scouring used record stores. While I have not seen the film where Ray Milland and Rosey Grier come together, as it were, Jerry Butler has some good songs and The Incredible Bongo Band served as the foundation for Afrika Baambataa and the Soulsonic Force.

How many movies inspire the basis for Ken Burns's Hip Hop? That documentary series may or may not happen.

The Audience Should Be Engaged

It is nice seeing older movies where no one has a phone. While they may reuse the same scene of the audience applauding at The Total Experience, the audience gives every act a chance.

Everyone Has a Story To Tell

Blaxploitation is an inaccurate way to minimize a genre of films in the auteur period. Hollywood took a page from the French New Wave and directors made the movies that meant something to them. From Bonnie and Clyde through Star Wars which actually was a small film there were many stories in one of the greatest periods of expansion in film.

As is the case with every era there are bad movies as well. Black cinema was vital and there were many voices. Whether it was kung fu action (Black Belt Jones disappointed me because Jim Kelly's scenes were shot in slow motion), Cleopatra Jones taking down drug dealers or dramas like Sounder and Claudine there was a cinema that disappeared after The Wiz lost money.

There were some Richard Pryor movies which could be good or painfully awful. 48 Hrs had a predominantly black cast and Eddie Murphy does not receive enough credit for creating a variation on the leading man that has remained to this day. It would be another four years before Spike Lee started writing and directing movies with his unique voice.

While those films are far from the action in Dolemite, everyone deserves a chance to have their film made and brought to a wider audience. Even if it is run in the middle of the night on cable- it should be seen and enjoyed.