Goodbye Uncle Tom

The North vs. South of exploitation films. Whereas more conventional attempts to break through the dominant ideology use the storytelling conventions of classic narrative films, Jacopetti and Prosperi do whatever they please with the language of film. By constantly violating unwritten genre conventions, they make it impossible to watch Goodbye Uncle Tom as either a documentary or a fictional film. The characters speak to the camera, which is not merely a passive witness, but one of the perpetrators of the oppression of the black population. The concept of the “white” camera capitalising on the humiliation of black people is brought to its ultimate conclusion with the moment when the camera(man) lies down in bed with a black female slave. The intermingling of authentic documentary shots with fictional scenes masterfully directed in keeping with various exploitation subgenres (sex-, blax-, slave-) creates solid parallels between the blacks’ prior oppression and their contemporary fight for their rights (in the climactic sequence, a parallel montage is skilfully used to create the impression that past and present events are identical). On the one hand, the film thus makes the suffering of slaves a compelling epic spectacle but, on the other hand, it shows the white man in a negative light, calls black brothers to arms and, with alienating effects, prevents us from becoming “immersed” in the film. The ambiguity is notable with respect to the possible use of cinema for political messaging, as exploitation itself serves as a means of both strengthening (the camera in the hands of the white man) and weakening the power of the white majority (showing the legitimacy of resistance). I definitely recommend watching Goodbye Uncle Tom as more than just study material for Django Unchained. (The rating relates to the uncensored Italian version). 80% (01/13/2013)