Hmmm... I'm suspicious. Peter
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Nelson George: Gangsta, Gangsta: Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 13:10:07 EDT
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
*Gangsta, Gangsta: Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes
*Current mood: annoyed
from Nelson George's MySpace blog
If you are curious about old school black gangsters or a fan of tough
'70s New York cinema, this a great time. The big budget American
Gangster film opens Nov.2 and its pretty strong. I've actually seen it
twice at a screening and the New York premiere and enjoyed it both
times. It's not The Godfather or Serpico, films it very much wants to
be, but its got a nice '70s vibe, great locations and a great central
character in Frank Lucas, played with chilly fury by Denzel Washington.
Jay-Z liked it so much he's released album with the same title and even
has a single, "Blue Magic," which was Frank's brand of heroin.
If the film lacks insight into Frank's motivations and childhood, then
the corrective is my BET series American Gangster which profiles Frank
next week. We have a long sit down interview with him, as well as a
drive through Harlem with Frank, that gives the dark, violent backstory
the film misses out on and let's the 73 year old explian his survial of
the fittest philosophy with very little regret. Make no mistake: it is
an account b a killer of his life and man of the details are
frightening, both in what the say about Frank and the role of the
gangster as a merchant of death in America.
In the film and our episode Frank makes Nicky Barnes aka Mr. Untouchable
look foolish. Well, first with his autobiography and in a doc called Mr.
Untouchable, Nicky strikes back. The film, which opens in a few markets
this weekend, is a feature lenght look at his life with artsy looking on
camera interviews with Barnes that obscure his face. We profiled Barnes
on BET last season and that DVD (along with the other five episodes)
will be available for purchase this week as well.
In short, the black Godfather's of the New York '70s are alive, if not
well, in pop culture right now. Unlike the fantasies of current hip hop,
these are real stories with tragic consequences, not just for the
individuals personally murdered by these men, but because the were both
deeply involved, along with the Mafia and elements of the U.S.
government and New York Police Department, in hooking a generation on H.
Don't glorify Franl Lucas or Nicky Barnes, but understand their, until
now, little understood place in this country's underground history.
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_______________________________________________
Mellon Myers Undegraduate Fellowship Program at Macalester (http://macmmuf.org)
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