“Tutti i film sui neri sono stati raccontati attraverso gli occhi della maggioranza bianca, con le loro parole”, almeno fino all’arrivo di Melvin Van Peebles, nato a Chicago il 21 agosto 1932 e comunemente considerato come il Padrino del cinema Black e il pioniere della “Blaxploitation”. Una figura importante per il cinema, non solo afro-americano, della quale da oggi dovremo fare a meno. Lo scrittore, musicista e regista di Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, ci ha lasciato all’età di 89 anni, morto martedì 21 nella sua casa di Manhattan, come comunicato dai figli Mario, Max e Marguerite.
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Ispiratore di molti autori dagli anni settanta in poi, da Spike Lee a John Singleton, capace di conquistare il mercato da indipendente e sfruttando gli stessi Studios, Van Peebles ci lascia numerosi libri, undici album, persino un musical di Broadway nominato ai Tony. Nel 1969, il suo L’uomo caffelatte fu il secondo film diretto da un afroamericano per gli Studios più importanti (dopo Ragazzo la tua pelle scotta di Gordon Parks).
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Rapidamente deluso da Hollywood e dalle sue logiche Melvin Van Peebles si è sempre distinto per una autonomia di pensiero e di parola, venendo spesso discriminato e ignorato dal sistema. Ma restando per sempre un’icona e un esempio per molti artisti, che oggi lo piangono. E che lo ricordano sui social, dal suddetto Spike Lee ad Ava DuVernay, Barry Jenkins e numerosi altri, come vediamo di seguito:
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“You have to not let yourself believe you can’t. Do what you can do within the framework you have. And don’t look outside. Look inside.”
― the iconic artist, filmmaker, actor, playwright, novelist, composer and sage Melvin Van Peebles, who has gone home at the age of 89. pic.twitter.com/36BQKzN9G7
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) September 22, 2021
He made the most of every second, of EVERY single damn frame and admittedly, while the last time I spent any time with him was MANY years ago, it was a night in which he absolutely danced his face off. The man just absolutely LIVED pic.twitter.com/IIpfU8wI7q
— Barry Jenkins (@BarryJenkins) September 22, 2021
Damn. Rest In Peace Melvin Van Peebles. The blueprint and inspiration for multiple generations of filmmakers. A whole legend. https://t.co/CfHBbXqIgT
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) September 22, 2021
Melvin Van Peebles has left the earthly sphere. His work and influence will remain. Condolences to @MarioVanPeebles his talented son, and all of his loved ones. RIP
— Rusty Cundieff (@RustyCundieff) September 22, 2021
We’ve lost another lion, the true revolutionary, an artistic gangsta, cultural disrupter who forever changed the game Rest n Peace Melvin Van Peebles ✊🏾🙏🏾✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/OH9D6Slnbx
— David Alan Grier (@davidalangrier) September 22, 2021
Thank You KING 👑
It’s not only what you did but the times and circumstances you did them in.
Dignified Innovator.
A Filmmaker who was the essence and embodiment of indy film in “struggle times”.
The beauty is you lived to see the fruits of your labor birth and feed many🕊 pic.twitter.com/pcvPvR29CX— MC HAMMER (@MCHammer) September 22, 2021
A godfather of both black and independent cinema – Melvin Van Peebles played by his own rules and made movie history. Here are a couple shots from 2018’s TCM Fest with his son Mario introducing a crowd to the still revolutionary “Sweet Sweetback” https://t.co/0NLNwGCNTq pic.twitter.com/AMsQ7TCezW
— Larry Karaszewski (@Karaszewski) September 22, 2021
Not only a filmmaker, but a novelist, playwright, songwriter, actor, and, not mentioned in this obituary, the first black man to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. What a talent, what a career, what a life! Rest In Peace, Melvin Van Peebles. https://t.co/54G1QJHovZ
— Frank Conniff (@FrankConniff) September 22, 2021
RATED X BY AN ALL WHITE JURY remains one the greatest taglines of all time, as well as perhaps the greatest act of rebellion against the MPAA we've ever seen. A true renegade. RIP Melvin Van Peebles.
— C. Robert Cargill (@Massawyrm) September 22, 2021