Soul Man

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Movie
German title Soul Man
Original title Soul Man
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1986
length 101 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Steve Miner
script Carol Black
production Steve table
music Tom Scott
camera Jeff Jur
cut David Finfer
occupation

Soul Man (alternate title: Soulman ) is an American comedy film from 1986. Directed by Steve Miner , the screenplay was written by Carol Black . The main roles were played by C. Thomas Howell and Rae Dawn Chong .

action

The from Los Angeles native Mark Watson as his friend Gordon Bloom Field gets a place at the Harvard Law School of Harvard University . However, since his father blocks his financial support on a whim, he needs a scholarship. When Mark learns that the only available scholarship is only awarded to African-Americans , he uses tanning pills to artificially color his skin black and receives the scholarship.

At the university, Mark runs into Professor Banks, an African American. Banks makes it clear to Watson that he has no racial preference among his students; over time, however, Mark's hard work earned Banks' professional and personal esteem. However, Mark realizes that even in the 1980s the life of an African American was still shaped by prejudice ; be it more positive (on the part of his ethnophile fellow student Whitney) or negative (in the form of two students who like to crack racist jokes), he also experiences discrimination by the police.

Watson meets Sarah Walker, an African-American fellow student from San Diego who works to finance her studies. Sarah is a single mother with a young son, and in order to be able to afford to study, she was hoping for the same scholarship that Mark received. This fact causes Mark to feel more and more remorseful over time, especially since he falls seriously in love with Sarah.

One winter day, Mark's parents surprisingly come to visit. Since Mark is still under cover, he receives her masked at first, but simultaneous visits from Sarah and Whitney finally end the day in a disaster. After realizing that it can't go on like this, Mark reveals in public the fact that he is really white.

In order to atone for his fraud, Mark agrees to repay the illegally received scholarship. Banks asks if he has learned anything from the story. Watson replies that all along he had had the opportunity to give up black skin, which is not possible for real African Americans. Banks then expressed his respect for Mark's insight and continued to assure him of his personal support. Finally, Sarah decides to forgive Mark for his mistakes and give their relationship a second chance.

Reviews

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times on 24 October 1986, which was the concept of the comedy " promising ", but the film was " brainless " ( " lame-brained "). He only praised the portrayals of Rae Dawn Chong and James Earl Jones.

Rita Kempley described the film in the Washington Post of 24 October 1986 as " embarrassing " ( " embarrassing "). The film was also criticized for operating a modern form of what is known as blackface , which also led to some demonstrations. In 2008 New York Press critic Armond White wrote that the film predicted the rise of Obama, who also graduated from Harvard. In his opinion, it was the best movie set at Harvard.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
  2. ^ Rita Kempley, The Washington Post
  3. ↑ Soul Man 'Just Goes To Show Discrimination Isn't Funny . In: Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved November 12, 2010. 
  4. ^ NAACP, Black Students Protest Film `Soul Man . In: The Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 9, 2010. 
  5. ↑ Our Soul Man . In: New York Press .