The Black Panther Party for Self-Defence was a militant organisation, rallying the disenfranchised, downtrodden negro youth of the 1960’s and boldly standing face-to-face with the oppressors of African-American society. The panther is a creature that will not attack unless cornered, but that will stand in defiance of its attacker with tenacity.
One of the key inspirations that drove the party’s leaders, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, was the Melvin Van Peebles no-budget film, Sweet Sweetbacks Baadassssss Song – a rousing tale of black urban youth rising above their station in life in the face of ingrained racism.
In 1995, Mario Van Peebles, filmmaker and son of Melvin, and who had seen first-hand as a boy the role his father played in the strengthening of the Black Panthers, found independent financing to film Panther. Despite it being a volatile and richly cinematic tale born of an era of unprecedented social change and having a central character of iconic standing, no major studio would make it. In fact, after only three weeks in cinemas, and with no marketing budget to counter the radical white media’s claims of its inflammatory focus, Panther was dumped and sent to video.
It has since developed a cult following and been resurrected many times over at festivals offering retrospectives on African-American films. Not a lot of critics sing its praises as a major work – it never fully overcomes its low-budget origins and Peebles goes perhaps a little too far in his rather angelic portrayal of Huey Newton and his minions. Subtlety is not one of Peebles\' strong points – his white characters, played by such sneeringly-villainous actors as Joe Don Baker, James Russo and Michael Wincott – might as well wear Klan hoods.
But Peebles\' film ultimately conveys the historical importance and bonding social influence Newton, Seale and the Black Panther movement had on America. The Panthers were formed less than a decade after Rosa Mae Parks refused to give up her seat on that Alabama bus, an action that gave rise to Martin Luther King and his weeping social reform agenda, and the film leaves us with no doubt as to the spirited determination and honourable goals the Panthers brought to a more truthful uniting of America’s states.
