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Thursday, October 16, 2008

Top Five Minority Movies

I've read the lists of the the AFI's top 100 movies of all time (original 1998 and 10th anniversary).
I never noticed that in the history of cinema, there have only been two movies with a minority protagonist to make either list.
On the original list it was, of course, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (at number 99). On the anniversary list it was Do the Right Thing (at number 96). A gorilla made the list both times (the original King Kong) as well as an alien (E.T.) .
Really? In the history of Hollywood, there were no movies about Asians? What about The Joy Luck Club? Where are the Hispanics/Latinos?
I see that Birth of a Nation made the original list (at number44) but in more politically correct times it seems to have lost it's appeal and has fallen from the newer list completely.

The thing that got me thinking about good movies was that I saw The Five Heartbeats for the first time today? (So I'm a little behind.)


No, the movie doesn't qualify for one of the 100 best movies of all time. I'm not even sure if I would put it on my list of the 100 best Black movies of all time. But it had Troy Beyer. I wasn't a Dynasty fan but I liked Troy Beyer. If I had to choose between Halle Berry, Stacey Dash and Troy, Troy would win. She just looks like she'd be nice.





But Troy can't top my childhood crush. Dianne Carrol was my girl. I used to wish that I was Cory (her son on her show Julia). Ms Carrol is also in The Five Heartbeats looking as good as ever.

Am I disqualified from knowing anything about Black culture because I had never seen the movie? What movies are the five (or so) movies that everyone should see? What are the five (or so) minority or Black movies everyone should see? What are the five (or so) best movies and minority movies? What are the most seminal movies?

My favorite movies are; Malcolm X, Snatch, Black Hawk Down (or Apocalypse Now), Kung Foo Hustle and the Old Boy trilogy. My list seems to change about every three months. No, they're not the movies that I would say are the best. But they are the movies that I watch at least once a month.

I ask you.

What are the movies everyone should see or should have already seen?

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