From Wikipedia:
"The film was widely criticized for featuring a Caucasian actor wearing dark makeup to appear African-American. Members of the NAACP spoke out against the film and an African-American student group at UCLA organized a picket of a cinema screening Soul Man.
NAACP Chapter President Willis Edwards said in a statement at the time, "We certainly believe it is possible to use humor to reveal the ridiculousness of racism. However the unhumorous and quite seriously made plot point of Soul Man is that no black student could be found in all of Los Angeles who was academically qualified for a scholarship geared to blacks."
No one would buy Howell as Black for a second. But while early blackface was trying to mock Blacks, the makeup here does not.
No, Howell's imitation of Stevie Wonder does that. So does the racist message of "Blacks take college admissions away from superior whites."
As other reviews point out, Howell doesn't experience almost any actual racism while "Black." One kid makes a timid anti Black joke and apologizes. That's it. No cops pulling him over, no threats from racists, and nobody hostile over his relationship with a white girl.
Completely clueless, dull, unfunny.
NAACP Chapter President Willis Edwards said in a statement at the time, "We certainly believe it is possible to use humor to reveal the ridiculousness of racism. However the unhumorous and quite seriously made plot point of Soul Man is that no black student could be found in all of Los Angeles who was academically qualified for a scholarship geared to blacks."
No one would buy Howell as Black for a second. But while early blackface was trying to mock Blacks, the makeup here does not.
No, Howell's imitation of Stevie Wonder does that. So does the racist message of "Blacks take college admissions away from superior whites."
As other reviews point out, Howell doesn't experience almost any actual racism while "Black." One kid makes a timid anti Black joke and apologizes. That's it. No cops pulling him over, no threats from racists, and nobody hostile over his relationship with a white girl.
Completely clueless, dull, unfunny.