Drop Squad

Many top name actors appear in this film. A must see film for all people! Definitely makes one think about and analyze your own values. Race is a very strong determining factor in American society and this movie speaks to what it means to be true to yourself.

I did not know what to expect until I watched this movie for at least a half hour. At first glance it appeared to be a black exploitation movie with a political message of 1970's, with gong-ho mercenaries. Later I realized that the storyline and the underlying message of the film was the same and served as the idea of the more recently filmed Eddie Griffin's comedic version titled "Undercover Brother." This original film was a sad attempt to boost African American pride and its culture with a very bad taste coming out of Hollywood. The movie is demeaning, sarcastic, and disrespectful toward the African American community. It manages to high lite the negative habits and traits prevalent in low income communities, which does not speak highly of the writer(s) and director(s), and their focus while making this low value production. Fortunately, Eddie Griffin was able to put a much better spin on this story and made an enjoyable comedy, as opposed to the original movie's sad attempt.

I believe this film was made w/ its creators knowing that it would be shot down by various "types" of people who'll just simply refuse to look at it objectively. In my opinion, it is a "must see" for everyone aimed particularly at the Black bourgeois. I like the fact that not only does the DROP Squad address the problems of Blacks self-exploiting racial stereotypes for personal financial gain, it also questions the tactics that must be enacted to solve these problems. The aim of the DROP Squad is very provocative but I especially like the human aspect whereas the "Rocky" character debates w/ "XB" and "Garvey" on how to deal w/ the captive individuals to be "dropped." Rocky has a more diplomatic approach that seems to have been more effective back in earlier times around when the group was founded. Seemingly as time has passed and the situation has evolved to crazier proportions, XB and Garvey have resorted to more drastic tactics in order to "get their attention first." I believe what many people fail to realize is that this picture is asking the question "Which, if any, of these methods are more appropriate to addressing this problem?" The tone of the film gets "crazier" as time moves on and the problem gets worse, thus developing the drama where the Squad questions itself altogether. Whether you like this movie or not, you've got to admit that it serves its purpose and that's to "incite dialogue" and not racism.

In a Black community, the Deprogramming and Restoration Of Pride Squad is kidnapping Black folks who have forgotten their Black culture, and restoring their Blackness to them. Everyone's on board with the kidnapping, although there is some argument about the deprogramming. Some want to use persuasion and the love of their family. Others want to beat the **** out of them.

It has a good cast, including Eriq La Salle, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Ving Rhames, and Vanessa Williams. It's produced by Spike Lee, which may make you think you're going to get one of his offensive-to-all satires, like CHI-RAQ or BAMBOOZLED; instead, the rough stuff is limited to one of the to-be-programmed characters who has gone to work for the advertising industry, creating commercials for advertiser Spike Lee that hit every stereotypical button. Instead, it examines the conflicts within the community that lead to a rising tide of violence in far more sober terms.

Having just seen Bamboozled, this movie came to mind. Comparing the two, I think this one was more effective. The similarities are striking. In both movies, there are blacks that made it in the establishment, one as an advertisement professional and in the other as a television writer producer. And in both roles, they are enmeshed in producing something for the black audience. The advertisement professional is soon black listed by his family for having made television advertisements that use stereotypes such as fried chickens and malt liquor, and other parodies of which the family relatives are ashamed and hint of an Al Sharpton's "genocide". The television production in Bamboozled is protested by Al Sharpton (playing himself). The sponsors of the televion series show ads of fashion clothing, malt liquor ("The Bomb"). While Bamboozled ends in violence, Drop Squad ends with the uppity black returning to his true self, reminded of his own "blackness". In Bamboozled, reflecting the interested by white teenagers in Hip Hop, one member of the rap group is white and is the only survivor of a police shootout ("why me? why me? kill me too!"), and in the followers of the television series is a "Sicilian Nigger", an italo-american that covered his face with blackface and wants to act "black". Or is it "blak", since we don't need the "C", as one of the rapsters suggests.