The Portrayal of Blacks in Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

With his breakout film Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971), which he wrote, produced, edited, composed, directed, and starred in, Melvin Van Peebles helped to create a new kind of American independent cinema - one that identified with the African American community and portrayed them as multidimensional characters containing more depth than in the usual flat stock roles Hollywood assigned to them. The film was essentially a direct attack on Hollywood and thus, also white America and “the man.” This is evident from the very beginning, as even the opening credits state that the film stars “the black community,” closely followed by the text: “Sire, these lines are not a homage to brutality that the artist has invented, but a hymn from the mouth of reality,” before changing to: “This film is dedicated to all the brothers and sisters who had enough of the man.” This sets the tone for the entire film and forewarns the audience of what they are about to encounter - a film that will unabashedly and unapologetically defy conventional filmic standards and force the audience into unfamiliar cinematic territory. 

The depiction of black sexuality and in particular, of black female characters, is a major theme of the film and is one area in which Peebles radically departs from Hollywood. In most classical Hollywood films, black characters are hardly present, if it all, and when they are, they are reduced to simplistic side roles that exemplify the “white man’s” perception of them. Males were generally shown as being unintelligent and only suitable for manual labor work servicing whites, such as gardening or being a butler. Females were also often represented in this manner, along with the archetype of the “Mammy” - a larger, older black woman who tends to be ill-mannered and spends her days taking care of white homes and families. These characters do not possess any real agency or desire to escape from their situations, or really to do anything different with their lives at all, and little to nothing is revealed about their backgrounds, motivations, and personalities. The topics of African-American love, relationships, and sexuality go unaddressed and seem to not even exist in the worlds of these films. The audience is generally never allowed inside their heads or given any insight to their thoughts and emotions, virtually dehumanizing them and making it seem that the only beneficial qualities they possess is their willingness to submit to and serve whites.  

Peebles completely destroys this notion in Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song. Here, the African-American characters are the protagonists and events are seen from their perspective, presenting a scathing condemnation of what they viewed as a racist and corrupt white America, particularly among the ranks of law enforcement. Sweetback does not sit idly by and let himself be controlled and manipulated by whites, but rather defiantly rebels against them and attempts to reclaim and create his own fate. His fight against oppression starts with his killing of two white police officers, and from then on his all of his actions work to confront America’s racial problems. His character is highly romanticized and is essentially a hero and redeemer for the black community, showing them that resistance against white subordination is possible and even directly helping other blacks, such as Mu-Mu, to escape the clutches of “the man.” 

Sweetback is also shown as being a desirable and sexually talented man, as first evidenced in the film’s opening sequence where he is seen being fawned over and fed by several African-American women, and then convinced by one woman to have sex with her. Throughout the film, women ask him for sex and comment on his amazing sexual prowess and large penis, reversing traditional Hollywood’s portrayal of black men as rapists and sexual degenerates. The black female characters in Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song are heavily sexualized as well, dressed in revealing attire, if anything at all, and engaging in sexual activities as they wish. This presents the concept of a strong black sexual identity being necessary for the black community to survive and flourish, and depicts some of the types of relationships and sexual interactions blacks experienced with each other.