For the screen analysis assignment, I saw the film Night Catches Us (Tanya Hamilton, 2010) at the opening night of the Tuesdays At The Gish series. I choose to see this film because it was made with a black cast and crew. The director of the film was a black woman which is rare to see in the American film industry. Those three aspects of the film alone attracted me to it.
The film is directed by Tanya Hamilton and is about a black man and woman in the 1970s who had ties with the black panthers. The film contains a lot of ideological messages since it is about The Black Panther Party and how it affected black people before, during, and after the government dismantlement or the party. The film is about an ex-panther who left the party after being accused of snitching when a local chapter leader was set up and killed by the feds. The late leader leaves behind a daughter and wife who talk charge of the community and use their house as a community center for people in the neighborhood.
The film is beautifully shot. It takes a very different look on 70s inspired films. Films from the seventies about the BPP( Black Panther Party) are usually over exaggerated with the expression of the characters’ narratives. This is a common element used in Blaxploitation film that reflected how people in the period felt at that time. The film is heavily influenced by the elements of the L.A. Rebellion. The film also focuses on the everyday struggles of the people it follows. The film focuses a lot on nature. A lot of the scenes in the film are shot in a forest like area.