What better way to kick off my film analysis series on the subject of women and their connection to addiction than the greatest pimp movie of all time, "The Mack".
I'll show how the female, even in a movie about pimps where the men are seemingly in control, is at the center of all their actions. Even a pimp as great as Goldie can't really beat the female dynamic. He controls it, he manages it. But ultimately, he can't beat it.
Let's proceed...
When the movie opens it is immediately established that the film is being dedicated to "A MAN", Frank D. Ward, who was essentially the inspiration for and had a cameo in the film. He was also a major pimp and drug dealer in Oakland, CA. Along with his three brothers, they RULED the city of Oakland with an iron fist back in the 60's and early 70's. Frank was the leader and died by gunfire shortly after the film wrapped.
It's very fitting that they dedicate the film to his memory, but the thing that always struck me when I saw this opening was the "MAN" part of it. Dedicated to "A Man". Very significant that this be said because this is basically what the story is all about. Dealing with the "drug" of woman and what it takes to "deal". You HAVE to be a MAN first.
The film opens and we are immediately thrown into a gunfight in what appears to be a junkyard. Our two male leads, Max Julien (Goldie) and Richard Pryor (Slim) are running from the police after a robbery for a major "heroine dealer" that they work for.
The robbery hasn't gone well and during the course of the shootout, Goldie is eventually took down as he tells Slim to go ahead without him. Slim relunctantly makes his getaway and Goldie takes the fall as he is caught and lays under a heap of trash as the two cops quickly find and stand over him to talk about how they really feel about his antics. The point of this scene is to show how low Goldie has fallen, but the more important factor here, which isn't explained til later is Goldie is strung out on heroine himself. He is a drug addict. And this is the fate of a guy who does drugs and in doing drugs, robs and cheats to get his fix. He's in a nowhere life. The cops win this round and Goldie is sent off to prison.
The prison sequences are very short, but poignant in the subtle points they make. The first quick scene shows him when he arrives and how he immediately can't take the pressure. He screams to the annoying sound of some nearby banging bars. I would look at this scene as his "withdrawal phase".
The next scene is Goldie on the floor doing push-ups. This is what I would call "the recovery phase". But the one that's interesting is the third shot. He sits against a wall with what appears to be a bowl of water and it seems he's struggling to sip it. He's thirsty but he seems to be holding back. He smirks and takes two short sips and stares off. he looks disappointed with himself. You can tell he's obviously fighting the drink. And after he takes the sip he angrily bangs his head on the concrete wall. Angry at himself for being weak. I would read into this as "the discipline phase".
We then cut to the opening credits as the morning sun rises over L.A.
It's a new day and as the camera pans down, we see a bus pass along the freeway. Inside, we find Goldie peering out the window looking refreshed. After five years, he's on his way home from prison.
He's a new man "reborn".
Once he gets off the bus, he stands in front of a bar which is aptly named "The Sneaky Fox". It's appears to be the main hangout of the local pimps and hustlers in the area.
Whatever Goldie does now, he knows he'll have to do it on the low. He's ready to hustle, but doesn't want or need any heat. He in effect must become "The Sneaky Fox". But can a street pimp, who's whole lifestyle revolves around flash and attention, ever really do anything on the low?
We see this world of hustlers and even a few "regular" workers as they mostly conduct gambling of various sorts. Another form of addiction or what can quickly become an addiction.
Because think about it, every time a man gets involved with a woman he is gambling with the odds highly in her favor if things go sour. Especially if it hits the level of marriage. Yes, you could say it swings both ways, but really, what REAL man has ever gotten with a woman thinking "JACKPOT, I'll be taken care of the rest of my days!" or "She'll love me forever!" Men don't think like this. The only benefit a man is getting from a woman is her body. Every thing else is secondary or doesn't figure into it at all. Men just don't care about that kind of shit. They're just giving in to the female's desires and hoping for the best possible outcome. Any REAL man simply wants to "hit it". Now, if it's really good, then she'll probably have nothing to worry about, for he'll want it on a regular and always be satisfied with what he gets. But if she slips in anyway and causes him to be "bored", then he'll quickly move on to find that next good "hit". This is where women always fail. They assume because they have a pussy, it's all that's required to keep the man happy. Yes, the pussy is powerful, but ultimately it's still just a pussy. Men want excitement and thrill during sex. They want a "high" and today's woman has had her mind filled with so much bullshit that she thinks she doesn't have to work at it anymore. They have become lazy and preoccupied with everything except keeping a man "happy". And they have the nerve to wonder why men cheat so much and do the things they do to them. I guarantee you women of the old school worried about this far less than the generations since the so-called feminist movement.
But I digress.
Anyway, Goldie immediately goes to the mysterious "head pimp" who is so cool and elusive we don't even get his name. He just pops in, delivers his wisdom and pops back out. He is symbollically, the father figure in Goldie's life.
Here he talks to Goldie about setting him up and getting him involved in this "world" of pimping. It appears through the conversation that these guys knew each other before but never did business together like they're about to do now. It seems Goldie has finally come around to seeing the "light".
Camera pans up over a row of pool tables as it lets you know this is a game we're about to play. The head pimp then goes into one of many of the classic monologues featured throughout the film and have ended up on many a rap record.
He explains the "world" of pimping to his protege':
"The game is out there, Goldie. Just waiting for you. You can be a player. Perhaps one of the best. Now remember...a pimp is as only good as his product. And his product is WOMEN. Now you got to go out there and get the best ones you can find. And you got to work them broads like nobody has ever worked them before. And never forget...ANYBODY can control a woman's body, see, but the key is to control her MIND. You see, pimping's big business...and it's been going on since the beginning of time. And it's gonna continue STRAIGHT AHEAD until somebody up there turns out the lights on this small planet."
Probably the greatest explanation of pimping ever put on film. But there is a cold irony to all of this and in the scheme of this story, it's ends up being quite a sad one.
From here, Goldie begins his trek to start looking for women and the first place he looks is a bar where he runs into one of his old flames from back in the day. Now, it's not made exactly clear who Lulu (played by Carol Speed) was to Goldie (a prostitute he used to frequent, an old girlfriend, just an aquaintance) but you get that they connected pretty well with each other beyond just sex. So much so, Lulu wastes no time and quickly puts it on the table that she needs a pimp and wants Goldie for the job. But as is typical of a woman, she seems confused about just what she wants to do. She claims she's an outlaw, but wants someone in her corner to take care of her. For some reason, she won't "choose" any of the other pimps available to represent her. It seems she gravitates more to Goldie because of their intimate "friendship". He seems "safe" to her. Like the female is designed to do, she is looking for the mark, even in her pimp. She wants the easiest possible outcome. Their mutual interest in him looking to be a pimp (which he doesn't even tell her in this conversation) and her desire to be taken care of as a hoe meets up at the same, crucial place.
See, pimps who are successful never go out and just hunt down any ole' girls on the street, contrary to popular belief. That's risky. Like anything, you have to shop around and seek quality and also seek out prime opportunity. You have to know what you're getting in your product and MUST know it will be someone who is down and you can halfway trust. It's all about induction. The best pimps know this and can calculate these opportunities because in the long run, he will have the least amount of headaches from the girl he chooses. Once again, the best, easiest possible outcome. Yes, in a lot of respects, pimps basically think like women. But remove all the EMOTION and IRRATIONALITY and replace it with LOGIC and OBJECTIVITY. THAT is the real POWER and real DEFINITION of a pimp.
Just like any drug, you're either dealing quality or you're dealing garbage and if you're dealing garbage, best believe, you are going to have headaches and problems down the road. That's primarily what's wrong with the game and these "wanna-be" pimps of today. There's no class in it anymore. These "punks" do it more out of desperation than anything else and with desperation comes taking on WHATEVER you can make a buck off of.
Not wanting to show his hand just yet, Goldie tells Lulu he'll "think about it" and they agree to possibly meet up later at her apartment as she takes off to meet a trick. Goldie decides to leave also and heads out the back entranceway. Before he can even get down the steps good, he runs into some old ghosts from his past. The two cops that busted him in the robbery five years ago. They seem very "happy" that Goldie has been released back into the streets as they have been "bored" in the years since he's been gone. It seems Goldie himself has become a sort of drug and inductor to these cops. He gives them the "buzz" they're looking for and the fact that they actually sought him out on the day he got out of jail speaks to just how much he means to them. It goes beyond police business, now crossing over into the personal. It seems whatever Goldie was doing, he kept them on their toes and was crafty at beating them at their own game, until he finally got caught. Now they want to "hit" him where it hurts once again and they promise to continue taunting him at every opportunity. These are the demons from Goldie's past that he can't shake. His indulgence in drug use and robbery has opened up a can of worms he can't find the lid to cover back up.
From here, Goldie heads to his MOTHER'S house to seek some much needed "comfort and cushion". (Note that the scene prior is Goldie at his most stressed dealing with the cops and then it cuts to one where he is now most at ease) In talking to the mother(played by Juanita Moore from "Imitation of Life", a quite shrewd bit of casting), we get a little bit of an insight into Goldie's background as it's mentioned that his father was killed in the south when he was little and they had to leave Alabama. It probably being a racial situation. So, we now know that Goldie was raised without a father and male figure in his life. So, the MASTER drug, the MOTHER figure takes over, which creates problems for this male figure in how he views the world. Goldie also has a brother who deals with the issue in a different, more positive way, but it still sets to create it's own problems. They are two men struggling to channel their male energy into some type of power position. What we get from Goldie is he is definitely the more of the mama's boy of the two. He fights the mother "drug", but not nearly as much as his younger brother. We can understand this because the brother, Olinga (played by Roger E. Mosley) isn't shown in ONE dialogue scene with her. You never see them together in conversation. But Goldie is another story. He LOVES his mother deeply and we get that from how they interact with each other in this scene and another one later. It's so deep to the point where it almost appears romantic.
Actually, this is the most romantic we see Goldie through the entire film. We also get that Goldie is doing what he does for HER. To take care of her. So, for all his pimping, at the end of the day, he's doing it all for his MAMA. This is the drug he can never give up and doesn't want to. But you can't have it both ways and his walking the fence on trying to control women (prostitutes) and giving in completely to them (his mother) will cost him dearly in the end.
We next cut to the introduction of Olinga as he is in the middle of conducting one of his black revolution meetings, of which he is the leader. What you see in this scene is what has been the major malfunction of the black community for hundreds of years and definitely in the last century: needing a LEADER. Olinga speaks some very strong words to his audience. He speaks of things that are very true and as much as you hear from the audience the words "Right On!" and "Preach, brother!" You know that these "sheeple" or the "masses" are just paying him lip service. Nobody in this audience is about to go out and put into action this young leader's very strong "vision". It's a fantasy scenario in their eyes. One that can never be achieved under this "white man's world". This is the generation after Martin and Malcolm and you can get the sense that nobody really wants to die for the revolution anymore. It goes back to the old adage, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." Same applies to the masses. You can lead them to the promiseland, but you can't make them THINK. This has always been black folks primary problem and even to this very day it has pretty much doomed the race from ascending to any kind of real power in this country. Even with a so-called "african-american" president now in office. Don't let that smooth taste fool you. But it will anyway as usual. This is the nature of the masses.
Another sly clue to these points is what happens right after Olinga finishes his speech. We see Goldie enter from the back and come up front. The crowd immediately gets up and leaves. They don't hang around and try to talk to Olinga. They don't try to have an after discussion. None of that. They are OUT of there. They have had their "entertainment" for the night and now it's back to the streets to do whatever it was they were doing before the meeting.
Nothing changes.
The next thing we see is when Olinga spots Goldie (now at first I thought this was a bad editing cut because Olinga sees his brother and has one expression and when it cuts to him running up to hug him, his emotion is completely different, but I realized this has to be intentional) he runs up and hugs him in GREAT excitement. The reason his emotion changes so dramatically between cuts is because you are seeing two different Olinga's. In the previous cut, we see Olinga the revolutionary. Very stern and in control. In the next cut, we get Olinga(or whatever his original name was) the little brother, happy to see his big brother. He is completely giddy, almost reverting to how a little boy would react. The revolutionary completely dissappears. It's quite a brilliant piece of subtle editing and if it wasn't intentional, it's still a nice "accident".
What's even more interesting is as excited as Goldie's little brother is to see him, as they talk, they're almost having two different conversations. Olinga thinks Goldie is going to join his revolution and is excited to get him on board but Goldie only talks vaguely about "getting his stuff together" and "putting some plans in motion". Olinga, now reverted to a country goofball, assumes Goldie is talking about hooking up with him, but it is plain that he has his own plans. Also, the first thing Goldie mentions to him is he went to see their mother and Olinga immediatly brushes the potential of that conversation off stating, "Moms ain't been able to understand me since daddy died." So, we know Olinga ain't really trying to be under his mama's titty at all. He's determined to stand up as a MAN, even if it is apart of some foolhardy revolutionary organization.
The next scene is interesting as we get a peek inside the world and mentality of pimping. We listen as several of the key pimps, including Frank Ward himself in a cameo, explain some of the broader points of pimping as they get trimmed and cleaned up at the neighborhood barbershop. The barbershop ALWAYS having been the one true place white men could never infiltrate or control the black man. It has always been their centerpoint for discussion and socialization. The one place they could truly be themselves and be in control. Kind of sad when you think about it.
There is a smaller subtext happening here also that is interesting: These guys are all pimps. They're all in competition with each other. But what you get is a strong sense of RESPECT amongst each other as MEN. This ain't no punk shit going on. These are men talking men business. I think the fact that Frank Ward is mentioned in the beginning of the film and then shown here drives the point home even further. You see respect between the young and the old (the pimp asking the old shoeshine guy his age and not being condescending), the teachers and the students (the pimp Pretty Tony, played by Dick Anthony Williams, explaining his game to the younger guy). It's all out of respect for the game and what they have chosen to do for a living. As the camera pans back further, the scene ends as it reveals we've been listening from Goldie's POV as he sits in a barber chair. We have been his eyes and ears to this conversation as he tries to absorb all this knowledge. The thing is and the irony is this scene pays off later when Goldie makes a crucial error in judgement in an exchange with Pretty Tony.
Later on that night, Goldie spends the night with Lulu as they sit in bed and talk about Goldie's gameplan. The thing is, the conversation quickly veers off into personal matters...and memories.
This scene I believe is designed to show the inherent flaws in being a pimp. Lulu is a friend to Goldie. They could even be called lovers as they lay in bed naked together. But the whole point of hooking up is the "business arrangement" they have agreed upon and therein lies the flaw because Lulu is a female. And because she is a female she is emotional. She is also controlling as she cuts Goldie off in mid-sentence while he boasts about "changing the game" and people looking at him like "he was Jesus" and tells him bluntly, "You don't know nothing about pimping. Everything you know you got to get from me!" Now she says it in a somewhat joking way, which actually makes it even more dangerous because the statement is semi-serious.
This is her nature as it is with all women. She even slips off into a story about her mother and how she used to look so pretty and would call Lulu into the house, but she would never come. Saying there was nothing for her to go inside to, which speaks to why she is what she is. An "outlaw" as she calls herself. And with that, making herself sad by even telling the story, she cuddles up and throws her arm over Goldie. Having played on his emotions as well as her looking to him as a symbolic father figure.
Fading to some time later, Goldie thinking on what has just happened in bed with this woman, realizes what is going on and almost in anger, throws Lulu's arm off of him and leaps out of bed to go stand in front of the mirror. Lulu doesn't even wake up when he does it, now having to reassure himself of what's important. Reminding himself that he needs to keep his own emotions in check. This is business. So, in these first scenes, we see a man who is determined to be a successful pimp, but what you realize is this guy has inherent flaws in his gameplan and if he plans to be truly successful. These flaws will have to remedied. It's all connected back to women and THIS is the key to what makes good "drama". This "female" dynamic. Why do you think the word "drama" has been so closely associated with females in recent years? Because they ARE drama!
The next few scenes focus on Goldie's ascension to power. We see as he is fronted (loaned) money to start up his potential "empire". This I would have to say is also one of those inherent flaws in the underworld which can also apply to the drug game. The guy who gets off into these "business practices" almost always has to start from the bottom up. Which means he has no funds to invest going in. He has to be "loaned" money by one of the big wigs at the top who can see the potential in him to make it big.
But the operative word here is "potential". If the new guy doesn't come through in a rather quick amount of time, it will quickly turn disasatrous as he can't pay back his loan. So, he HAS to go in with a heavy amount of confidence that he can pull off the endeavor. Also, this is a way for the bigwig to keep the new guy in check and in his pocket from trying to attempt any "takeovers". But I can't tell you of the personal stories I know of of where most drug dealers or hustlers who end up dead usually go down because they "owed" somebody money. Debt is a DANGEROUS thing and should only be used if you absolutely NEED it! And even then I can't still can't neccesarily endorse it's use. BORROWING is just DANGEROUS!
We see Goldie come up fast as his girls quickly accumulate and he builds up his stable. Notice here in the beginning that he starts out with all black women. As it progresses, we'll see him start to go after the bigger, more lucrative prizes with white girls. There's actually a whole scene devoted to him recruiting his first white girl. It's played as a pretty big deal and in stepping over into this side of the fence, he begins to play with fire that is set on burning him.
We get a scene where Goldie returns to the neighborhood and is a "hero" to the kids on the block, almost looking like a superhero in his brown cap and bowler hat. They love everything about this guy and swarm on him like flies on shit, which may very well be how this scene was designed. The more interesting thing though, is the two women who hang back making critical remarks of Goldie. They talk a lot of trash, but neither one of them is going to intercede and "save" those kids from the big bad pimp. It's almost as if they know that he knows the truth about what's REALLY going on.
Now that's control for your ass!
We also get the first real introduction of Richard Pryor in one of his earliest. most potent film roles as Goldie's sidekick, Slim.
We see him briefly in the beginning during the robbery, but now him and Goldie are reunited and they plan to "take over the game". I believe in the first dialogue scene where him and Goldie discuss their plans in a bar that Pryor was completely loaded on cocaine and if you watch his mannerisms, it's probably accurate. Or very good acting. You decide. But, for the most part, the scene is improversation and it establishes that this is Goldie's main man and his strongest ally. It truly is one of Pryor's strongest dramatic roles.
Now, considering this was mostly improversation, there are some key points touched on in this dialogue. Goldie first talks about the white girl he is working on recruiting and how much money he had to spend on her the night before wining and dining her. Even as a pimp he STILL has to cowtow to the female if he wants the prime time product. He has to WORK for it!
This is what seperates the real players from the wannabes. They understand there are no shortcuts when you're trying to get paid. Goldie then slips off into a thought that reveals another potential weakness cutting at him. He explains how he can't understand how a woman can become a prostitue and sell herself and risk endangerment. It can't be denied that he has a conscious. He quickly plays it off into a joke, but we now know that Goldie still has a heart. He will struggle with this for the rest of the film.
In the scene where Goldie recruits the white girl, named Diane, he explains his strategy to her and immediately tells her before anything else, "It's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be a lot of work." This is the scene that seperates "The Mack" from all the other pimp movies of it's day. Because in this one scene, you get the gravity of just what this guy is doing and the fact that he's doing it on this "pretty", suburban white girl as they walk along an ocean pier with yachts just in the background. It lifts the film out of exploitation and puts it among a more honest and stronger breed of cinematic flair. It tries to move beyond the ghetto and into mainstream America's backyard.
The next few scenes are spent exploring the seedier, grimy aspects of the pimp game. A dark world that gets even darker. Here is where we see any semblance of emotion fall away from Goldie as he must be as tough as the streets in order to not only be successful, but to survive. He teaches his girls how to be professional shoplifters as Lulu takes them through the steps as if they were taking a paid course. We see Goldie meet up again with his mentor and "sage" as he repays him the last chunk of his loan. The head pimp declares to him and warns, "You're on top now, Goldie. But beware, somebody has a robbery planned for you." As the father figure would, he oversees and knows EVERYTHING. He tells Goldie the name of the pimp and Goldie takes the necessary action. The pimp in question, "The Gambler", stands at a table in the Sneaky Fox placing bets when Goldie shows up and "sneaks" up on him with a pistol and sticks it right in his face. With Slim right behind him, they take the Gambler and throw him in the back of Goldie's Caddy and then dump a bag of rats on top of hm and close the hood back, taking him on a little "joy ride". When they arrive at a nearby hospital entrance, they through him back out all scarred and bitten up and let him off with a warning. This showing just how vile and petty the pimp game can get. These are men and most will respect each other, but there will always be those punks who want to test you, especially when you reach the top. So, a pimp who makes it big can NEVER rest. The Gambler loses because he desires to take advantage of what doesn't belong to him. Just like the rapist who takes advantage of a female. If more women could think like Goldie and know when to take advisement and basically be AWARE, you wouldn't nearly have the amount of rapes that go on in society. Women by nature are STUPID. They will walk blindly into a dangerous situation because they have no concept of LOGIC and REASON. They just want what they want. Remember, think like a woman, but remove all emotion and irrationality and you will have true POWER.
We next see Lulu and another girl in a hotel play a john off while he's in the bathtub and rob him of $1,300. By the time the fat white boy figures it out, he is running after them in the street with just his underwear on in the heart of the ghetto. When he yells for a cop to help him and an unsympathetic black cop shows up and quickly figures out what's going on, it's the two rogue cops who are after Goldie who finally make it to the scene and escort him away and give him the "real" help that he needs. Basically "saving" him. The one cop exclaiming, "He's a friend of ours. We'll take it from here."
The black cop emasculated and rendered helpless to do his job.
Later on that night, we see the same two rogue cops as they chase Olinga grabbing one of "their" drug pushers off the block and "saving" him for his detrimental ways. Here, we see just how corrupt these two cops are as they are actually making a side living running pushers on the neighborhood blocks. Now, they have a direct adversary in Olinga as he's determined to literally yank these pushers off and "redeem" them of their crooked ways. So, the two corrupt cops have two primary adversaries in these brothers. One a major pimp who they already hate for personal reasons. The other a revolutionary, who is cutting in on their "side business". A volitale combination to the cops corrupted cause for sure.
During this same night in another part of town, Goldie makes the rounds on his girls and he seems pissed as he's already having problems out of them. He tells his driver of how he let a girl get away with something that he shouldn't and now he's out here and can't find anybody. Goldie realizing his weakness is rising to the surface again. When a girl finally emerges from the shadows and we realize it's Lulu, she runs up to the car in a panic and tears talking about SHE got robbed. It's the first signs of cracks in Goldie's armor and he MUST get rid of them. As she rambles on about a john trying to kill her (the tables turning on her now for what she did earlier), Goldie shows no sympathy and cuts into her that he doesn't give a damn about her or what happened and to get her ass back on the street and get him his money. Lulu is shocked. Her being the bottom bitch she thought she would get Goldie's sympathy, but she's caught him on the wrong night with this "drama" and bawling her eyes out, she turns and heads back to the street in shame. It would've been intersting to find out if she was really telling the truth or not. But it's left ambigious. The more telling aspect as this scene ends is the look in Goldie's eyes as she walks away. It's obvious he's hurt by having to do this to his main girl. But he knows anything less will make him a mark. He has to set the example. If he doesn't cut Lulu any slack, then maybe the other girls will get the message and tighten up their belts. This may even offer some insight into just why Lulu picked Goldie in the first place. Thinking she could shoot moves on him and maybe get away with it more than she would with anybody else. Goldie makes the correct decision here. You have to set your mark or you'll be a MARK. Leave no room to get hit. If Lulu had ANY doubts about Goldie being a hard ass, it was confirmed after this encounter.
A few nights later, Goldie hooks back up with his brother as they cruise the streets in Goldie's new Cadillac. Goldie asks him what he thinks of the new ride. Olinga, looking at the car almost in disgust says it's nice, but it's not even where his head is at. He doesn't care for material things. Interestingly enough though, he does hark back to their childhood together again and brings up what Goldie said as a kid about working hard and buying their mother a nice house. Olinga obviously trying to play on Goldie's weakness for their mother and use it to make him feel guilty about his current profession. Here lies another point about the pimp game. You must always be entrenched in material goods and services. In order to be on top and stay on top, you must always dress the part. So, for all the money a pimp makes, he spends an equal amount trying to keep up on the latest trends. He HAS to give as much as he takes, which can become a potent cycle which most of the time, by it's very nature, leads to being overly greedy which in turn draws those who want to take you down that much closer.
The next scene is one of the more trippy and flat out strange sequences in the film as Goldie takes Olinga over to a planetarium (yes, I said planetarium) to show him just how he keeps a tight hold on his women. As the women gaze up into the stars flashing across the ceiling during a "special show", Goldie talks to them about what he expects out of each and every one of his girls. He lays it out almost as a company mantra, which they happily follow. He even makes them recite the rules one by one. It's one of those scenes that probably could've been left on the cutting room floor as it doesn't really add anything to the plot and brings the film to a grinding halt, but is so funny you'd be angry if it was gone. At the end of the sequence, Goldie even promises if they act right they might be able to accompany him to the yearly Player's Ball or even the Player's Picnic which brings us to the next scene.
At the Player's Picnic, which is mostly a montage, we see the pimps and gangsters put into an entirely different light as everyone has been brought together for a leisurely day of fun in the sun.
It's interesting to study scenes like this one as it shows black people living in a different time and world. For all the gangster shit present in the film, things look far more innnocent here than they are now. People actually coming together in unity for a bigger cause. We do see a fight happen in one quick clip and even a pimp nodding off like he's on drugs, but I couldn't even imagine these types even THINKING about coming together like this much less making it actually happen today. It was getting bad then and that was over 30 years ago, so you can imagine how something like this would play out in today's climate of cell phones and other distractions of stupidity.
The plot begins to amp up again when we see Goldie later on that night at an upscale Chinese restaurant talking to the white prostitute Diane. We are also introduced to another bit, but key player in Goldie's world, the hooker Chico as she sits at a counter some distance away eating her meal. She turns around to see Goldie with Diane and instantly becomes agitated that he is spending"her" money wining and dining "some white bitch' as she puts it. It seems she almost tries to flip out as she gets into an argument with the owner when she gets too loud, even throwing Chinese noodles in his hair. Goldie leaps up and grabs her, trying to get her back under control. He whispers something to her which we can't hear, but whatever he says, it seems to put her back in check.
Goldie leaves the restaurant some time later and once again, before he can get out the door good, he is met by the two crooked cops. They harass Goldie again, but this time come with an agenda. They want in on his profits and make no bones about how they're going to get it. These two guys are CORRUPT! Don Gordon, who plays the lead cop Hank, should be given most of the credit here because he really gets into this role to the point where you almost wonder if he's serious or not. It's almost as if he's enjoying saying "nigger" and "coon" just a little too much. Who knows. But he takes the role to the very edge and you realize that there is nothing even remotely redeemable about these guys. They're rotten, they know they're rotten and they relish in the fact that they're rotten. This time Goldie mouths off to them and is hauled off to jail. Once there, Hank talks to him and tries to explain just what him and his partner Jed (William C. Watson) want. He even says he wants to be apart of Goldie's world, not the cop world. Goldie isn't trying to hear it and turns his back on him. The fact that Goldie won't bend himself to the cops desires leaves the door wide open for them to bend him and it's the fatal flaw in his character that will eventually bring down Goldie's house of cards. You would almost think Goldie was taking a moral stance against police corruption, something he can't really afford to do in his position.
Once out of jail, Goldie is picked up by the people who bailed him out. He doesn't know what's going on or who got him out until he arrives to a familiar mansion and discovers it's his old boss, a major drug operator named simply The Fatman. The guy Goldie used to do all the robberies for before he went to prison. It seems "Fats" has a proposition for Goldie also. He wants Goldie to come back and work for him but Goldie won't hear of that either. The pattern you see here and with the cops is that Goldie used to be a different person who was much more "flexible" and easier to convince back in the day. Now, after his stint in prison, it seems that there are just some things that he will not do. He's set "standards " for himself. The twisted thing going on is that he thinks becoming a pimp is actually a career improvement. He's chosen the "lesser of the two evils" so to speak. It shows that he's thinking and he's a bonafide hustler, but as is with the gangster world, it's hard to cut those ties to what you were before. Once you become embroiled in that world, it is truly difficult to get out and just "start over". But it's quickly revealed in their conversation that "Fats" has an alterior motive for wanting Goldie to come back and work for him. He tells him that "word has come down" that Goldie's "getting too big" and making too much money. Now we get the real reason. Goldie is just too damn good at what he does. They want to see him back under their watchful eye where he's just another nigger strung out on heroine and robbing places for them, taking the fall for their dirty work. They want to see him back at the bottom where he "belongs". It has much less to do about working for Fats and everything to do with having CONTROL. Towards the end of the conversation, Fats even tells Goldie that he WILL be coming back to work for him. That he doesn't even have a choice. They also want his brother shut down and to stop messing with their dealers. The two brothers who are fighting for their own power positions in their own community are about to find it very difficult to try and maintain those positions. But it really does speak to where does one draw the line. Does Goldie sell out and go back to being just another strung out drug runner and thief or does he take a stand for his independence and risk losing everything he's built? And just what HAS Goldie built? Considering the landscape today and how so many fools are easily bought and sold like slaves on the block and nobody stands for anything anymore, I can understand his position. Even if it is a little skewed. But how do you win when all the odds are stacked against you in the first place? He has two forces simultaneously coming for him at full blast. How does he win THAT war? Will his own thinking and hustling be enough?
Goldie & Olinga next come together on a stoop to talk and see where the other's head is at. Both trying to convince the other that what "they're" doing is the right thing. This scene is an interesting edit also as it appears based on the dialogue, that we're only getting half of the conversation. It seems there may have been more at the beginning that got clipped because even as it makes sense as a whole, there's a bit of choppiness at the end like something is missing. But we're not here to talk film symantics. We're here to talk about pimping.
The argument is basically now between the savior and the user. One wants to be a hero and "save" the people, which is noble, but a complete fantasy. The other is grounded in reality and realizes that the people have to save themselves and as long as they choose not to, guys like him will always be there to make money off of their weaknesses. To "eat them" so to speak. His selling the most potent, powerful drug of women. Goldie even goes so far as to say to Olinga, "When we were kids, we didn't have any heroes. Now there are all kinds of heroes. These kids...they even look up to me." So, Goldie is trying to flip the argument back onto Olinga and say that by the very nature of him hustling and getting out of the ghetto, he is "showing", not "talking" and is setting the example, which by definition makes him a hero. Goldie is becoming a bit conflicted here. It's not clear if he's using this as a tactical move to mess with his brother's head or if he genuinely feels this way, but just having that kind of thought in your head speaks volumes. Doe he envy Olinga's noble efforts? Possibly. Only because of the guilt being put down on him to be made like what he is doing is wrong. Goldie is the realist, period. I don't know if you need to teach a child about pimping, but it can't be no worse than all the other shit being shoved down their throats on a daily basis by the television and media. At least the kid would know the facts of life. Know the reality of how life works.
At this point, it's almost moot who is right or who is wrong because both of them have a much bigger problem on the horizon determined to shut both of them down for good.
The next scene finds Hank in a hotel room with a busty, black hooker. This scene seems to almost slow the picture down from the main story, but it's very important because here is where, visually at least, you see the drug of woman in full effect. Hank sits in bed with a pint of liqour in his hand as he goes into a small monologue about skinny women vs. big women and what is the truth. The irony of this scene lies in the fact that when you see the hooker, you can see she is not what is considered to be "fine" or " beautiful". She is busty and big and sits on the edge of the bed not saying a word. She almost looks like a big doll and he is just playing with her. Grabbing her tits and mashing him in his hand like Jello as he rants on about what is truth. He talks about animals in the jungle and how a skinny giraffe can't be trusted because of it's tall, skinny frame and how it can move fast. But an elephant is slow. You know it's coming. He compares the elephant to the hooker. It's a brillant monolgue that clarifies how relative things are in terms of our thinking. We are in awe when we see a "beautiful" giraffe, yet you would be hard pressed to find a giraffe who would let you pet it or even be friendly. They are always on the move. Always keeping their distance. Elephants on the other hand are huge and will strike fear just in terms of size. But they are gentle creatures who only attack when they are threatened. They are also not the prettiest creatures to look at. The cop wants the truth. He wants what is natural. This hooker is natural to him.
Why does he wants her?
Because she is real and tangible. She comes in with no pre-concieved thoughts of what the cop should be or do. She just lets him be who he is. His "natural" self. She is totally submissive to him and has no opinion. She is a "real" woman in his eyes and stripped of all notions of contrived beauty. He's basically in absolute control. And honestly, probably the best piece of ass he'll ever get. The scene is played for jokes and for the sheep ridden masses, they won't get what is being said here. But he has the goods and is effectively telling the audience so. It's a brilliant little side bar to the main storyline and makes the strongest case on the perception of women and their "real" potency. Not the contrived potency that Goldie is selling to the sucker ass tricks. At the end of this scene, a mysterious figure comes into the cop's room and walks over and tosses an envelope in his lap and tells him"he's slipping". The cop then remarks, "Now, THAT's a giraffe!" This is tagged on here to drive the point further that the cop is immersed in his drugs. The booze and the broad has him and he's now taking his eye off the ball of what he's supposed to be doing. As good as he has it at this moment, he is still in the throngs of the DRUG!
The drug habits continue as it cuts next back to Goldie and his MOTHER as they stand down on a pier in front of a bunch of condos. The same peir he was walking along with when he was with Diane. He's decided to buy his mama a new house and she is taken completely with the gesture. Now, she says, she can invite some of her friends over (more women) and enjoy life. The haunting theme music that was heard in the first scene with Goldie and his mother starts up again here also. The music is more spooky than anything else and has a trance-like quality to it. I'm sure this is by design to re-enforce all the emotion that is to be felt for the mother. We FEEL for her and just want her to be okay. This same device was used many years later to a lesser degree in the movie "American Gangster" with Denzel Washington playing a drug kingpin. It plays on our sympathy and reels us into what is ultimately...a trap.
This is what drugs do, right?
The next few scenes revolve around the two cops getting into their shennanagins and getting paid from their little underground business. But, someone is watching them. The black cop who tried to intercede in the white trick getting robbed is back and just like if he was Superman (which is also done by design) he steps out from the shadows in a dark alley with his hands on his hips ready to save the day. He must really think he IS Superman because he has no back-up, no gun drawn and basically no defense as he tells Hank and Jed just how he is going to bust them. All the evidence he's gathered. The hero complex in it's finest hour. As he rattles this off, the two cops waste no time in shooting and killing him. They then quickly figure out just who they can pin this murder they've commited on.
They show up at The Sneaky Fox and bust in as if it's a raid. They throw everybody up against the wall and proclaim, "A black cop has been shot tonight! Goldie, I think you know who did it." He then takes Goldie and Slim outside with plans to shoot them both in the back and make the whole thing look like they were fleeing an arrest. But in one of Richard Pryor's best scenes in the film, he defies the cops and tells them he's "not running because I ain't no track star." They both know that if they run, it's lights out. So, they stand their ground and begin to make a lot of noise, which draws witnesses out from the bar and squashes the cops little plan. Goldie, now seeing he is safe, but also seeing that these guys won't let up and will bring him down no matter what, walks off into the night in discouragement as Slim continues screaming at the top his lungs about how they're going to get the "stinkin' ass crooked cops".
From here, Goldie walks the streets during the early morning hours as he reflects on everything that is happening to him. His thoughts circling, his conscious bothering him once again.
Is it worth it?
Is it worth all the trouble and heat?
As he walks, he comes upon a church and decides to go in.
It's not stated who the preacher is doing the sermon in Goldie's mind as he reflects. But I'm prone to say it may be his father. Whoever he is, he is someone from Goldie's past who made an impression on him. This is also a curious pattern and theme going through the film with Goldie's character. The men he looks to as "father figures" or symbols of wisdom and authority are all cloaked in mystery and never identified. Almost like these broad visions of what Goldie wished he had from his real father, who is also never seen or identified. Hell, the mysterious pimp may not even be real and and a figment of Goldie's imagination. His own consciousness and logic speaking to him. Goldie gets the wisdom and knowledge, but does he really KNOW any of these men? Did he KNOW his father? I think this is why these characters are presented in this way.
He relives the sermon in his mind as we see it visually and it's interesting, the things the preacher is saying are very similar to the same things that Olinga speaks on. He speaks of self-reliance and knowing one's self. I don't believe the preacher mentions Jesus Christ or God once in the entire speech. But it's all played very churchy so, we get the idea that it's supposed to be religious. But it is a very bold, very true speech and it's why Goldie is thinking about THESE particular words at this time. It seems it's all relative. But why are these men so different in their approaches?
One thing is for sure here. Goldie is bugged about where things are headed.
We next go to the famous "Players Ball" scene, which was shot live as it was really happening. It's basicaly a compilation of shots of the party in action and how everyone has come together to celebrate the "industry" of pimping. Goldie has reached his pinnacle here. He is now with the creme de la creme of the game and as with someone who reaches the top, the vultures begin to circle with much more intensity. We get a quick shot of Fatman as he is present at the party also. And not there to celebrate pimping. He wants Goldie and he is determined to get him. He gets him to come out to the back of the building to talk again and this time he brings a gift. A pimp cane. Goldie isn't impressed. Fatman even accuses him of being high on heroine. Goldie has been drinking and enjoying himself, but is not using heroine. Fatman wishes he was. Then maybe he could get through to him. But he can't. He wants him to do a drug deal in New York and Goldie flatly refuses. He even goes off into an insult ridden tirade on the Fatman. Finally unleashing how he really feels about his former boss. Goldie is so fed up with him, he even trails off into Olinga territory by telling him he's going to rid him off the streets and close down his drug business. The hero complex now invading Goldie's own thinking. The argument can be made for who is the bigger, more dangerous "dealer", Goldie or Fatman. Heroine will quickly destroy more people across the board, this is true. But women tend to do more long-term damage overall. The family unit destroyed, children born out of wedlock with no fathers, careers destroyed if caught with a woman outside the marriage. The damage is more permanent and marks the man caught up in it for life. It seems men are more quickly forgiven for their drug habits than their infedilities with women. Just go down through the history. it's all there.
Fatman breaks the "gift" in two and storms off into the night as Goldie now knows THIS problem HAS to be dealt with. He goes back in to win the distinguished first place "Pimp of the Year" award.
All eyes are on him.
When Goldie steps into one of the party rooms later on that night, he discovers the white girl Diane, is dead from a lethal overdose of heroine. I would assume she never used the stuff before and Goldie quickly deducts who got to her and did this.
Goldie sits with Fatman in his car in a dumping yard some hours later, now presumbably ready to deal. But Fatman has other plans. He tells Goldie it's too late and it seems he may just off him altogether. But a strange looking man slowly strolls up to the car with a harpsicord around his neck. He wears a long beard and tells Fatman's bodyguards he's going to play a song for them. Before the guards can tell him to beat it, the musician rattles off a bunch of rounds from a gun located in a secret compartment in the instrument. It's Slim to the rescue, cloaked in disguise.
Goldie's boys quickly move in and snatch the Fatman out of the Caddy. He runs toward the fence trying to escape, but they quickly nab him and shoot him up with a lethal dose of heroine mixed with battery acid. It kills him on the spot. Goldie has now finally gotten rid of one of his problems. But can he get rid of the other one?
The one he's currently underestimating.
Back at the Sneaky Fox later on, all the guys hook up for a late night round of craps. Everything seems to be "kool in the gang". A man comes and alerts everyone that Fatman has just been killed. Goldie and Slim play it off like they know nothing. Pretty Tony stands at the head of the table and rolls, but doesn't hit much. He boasts about how his girl is coming to bring him some more money. Seconds later, she walks in. But not to see Pretty Tony. China Doll has come to stake her claim in the "Pimp of the Year", Goldie.
This is where we see Goldie's ego begin to quickly spin out of control.
With his nemesis out of his way, he is feeling high on cloud nine right now and pretty powerful. So, when China Doll says she chooses him, it only feeds the current of his power even more. The "drug" pushing him into overdrive. He tells her to back off, but she is determined. So, in order to save face in front of everyone, he must accept. Pretty Tony is shocked and goes off on his main woman. He demands her to come to him, but she withdraws, standing alongside Goldie and Slim. Goldie then declares in another famous piece of dialogue:
" Look, Pretty Tony. You know the rules of the game. Your bitch just chose ME. Now, we can handle this with some class or we can get off into some gangster shit."
Tony can't believe what he's hearing, but cuts back into him:
"Nigga, you ain't no pimp. You a rest haven for hoes. You're a car thief...a car thief."
When one of the pimps standing next to him laughs, he even goes upside his head with his cane, knocking him to the floor in anger. Goldie then let's his ego get the best of him as he shows off and rattles some numbers off to Slim and then throws them at Tony saying:
"Nigga can you buy that?"
Tony retreats, but not without making a final threat:
"Nigga, you gone wish you was never born."
Goldie has gotten rid of one enemy only to create another. And this time it's one of his own.
A knock comes to Goldie's mother's door this same night. When she answers, it's someone with a gun who holds it to her face and quickly steps in. The next time we see her, she is laid up covered in bandages in a hospital bed. Goldie is right there by her side. He can't believe what he's seeing. What has happened to his mother. But he tries to maintain a brave face. As he talks to her, he notices she stops moving. He calls out to her and she doesn't respond. When he goes to move her hand and it just drops back down. He knows the worst has indeed happened.
His mother is dead.
With everything going on, he knows he has more than a few enemies now. But his mind immediately goes to his most recent run in and assumes it had to be Pretty Tony.
He and Slim go after Tony and catch him in a warehouse where Goldie forces him to stick himself after Tony stuck Slim seconds earlier with a knife. It's obvious in watching how Tony reacts, something is not right. It doesn't seem like he's the culprit and this is some pretty cold shit even for a pimp to do attacking someone's mother. But Goldie is set in his mind Tony's the culprit. Acting on pure emotion and not THINKING LOGICALLY. Not even contemplating the other possible suspects. This scene demonstrates powerfully how black people minds tend to think in times of crisis. Instead of sitting down and using LOGIC and deducting the best case scenarios, they act on EMOTION and go to the easiest target, which is usually another black person. It would take serious work to sit down and try and pin it on the more possible suspects, the crooked cops. But that would take TIME and WORK. Both of which Goldie doesn't FEEL like dealing with at this time.
Goldie wants revenge now!
He ties Tony up in a chair and gags him as he and Slim rig a dynamite charge to the chair. (yes, actual dynamite!) Not even being able to speak now, Tony is rendered helpless of any kind of defense and must take the fall for the murder of Goldie's mother. They leave the warehouse and detonate the charges, blowing up the entire top floor of the warehouse. Goldie is now leaving a lot of wreckage and dead bodies in his path. This is not what he got into the game for and everything is falling into a deep negative. He's now making serious mistakes.
His brother's way is a fantasy, but as with all fantasies, they serve no real threat and aren't worth chasing.
Goldie, on the other hand, has become a real threat on all fronts.
At the funeral, Goldie breaks down in tears as he stares at his mother's coffin. He's crossed a line of no return and has confirmed in his mind that the pimp game and everything that comes with it is just too cutthroat for him to survive in. When he exits the funeral, he is met by the mysterious head pimp one final time who has some vital information for him. He tells him that someone that dropped dime on him has put a hit out on his life. He has no idea who it could be. With the cops having not messed with him directly in a while and himself falling deeper and deeper into the corruption of the game, he never contemplates the cops could be at the root of all of this. They can't be this corrupt...can they?
Goldie and Slim put a plan in action once again to catch the hitmen before they catch them. They scan the area and discover where they are and how many of them are they. They pose as movers and sneak right by them on the elevator. They then proceed to the main destination point to discover who is at the head of the hit. Slim takes the moving truck and Goldie drives his car. When Goldie arrives, he finds Slim has been murdered and from out of the darkness, step the two corrupt cops, finally revealing themselves. They tell Goldie that they not only killed Slim, but also killed his mother. The lead cop Hank even says he would do it again. But before he can get the words out, Olinga rises up from behind and grabs Jed in a strangle hold, choking him to death. Hank is caught as Goldie stands before him with a gun to his head. He makes him kneel down on his knees. But the cop doesn't beg for his life oddly enough. He is so caught up in his own corruption and his own ego, he simply tells Goldie, "We're the same. We're the same thing!" He keeps repeating this. Goldie points the gun at his forehead and as he screams the line one final time to him, pulls the trigger, killing him dead. His last enemy finally put down.
But at what cost?
Olinga falls back in exhaustion and knows Goldie has pulled him into something he never wanted to be apart of, but was necessary if they were going to survive at all.
Goldie walks over to the cops car to see who dropped dime on him and finds out it was the hooker Chico, who was still pissed at him for what happened back at the Chinese restaurant.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
So, the very thing that put him on top was the same thing that almost destroyed him and definitely destroyed his "family".
It's the female dynamic at the end of the day.
All the women who crossed through Goldie's life played a part in his ultimate downfall. The Mother, China Doll, Diane & Chico. With one exception....Lulu. Why? Because as demonstrated in an earlier scene when Goldie let her KNOW what time it was and her taking on the role of the bottom bitch, she was the only one whom he had ABSOLUTE control over.
The film ends in much the same way it began. In front of the Sneaky Fox with Goldie standing at a bus stop. Only this time he stands before his now disappointed brother, getting ready to board a bus to get out of town for good.
What could Goldie even do after something like this?
With everything leaving such a bad taste in his mouth, I can't imagine he would've set up shop somewhere else. Broken and bruised, he would more likely end up conforming to the system and having to get a regular job. Anything else and he will probably end up back in prison. Either way, he's screwed. The freedom he thought he could have was only but an illusion in the greater scheme of things.
This is the NATURE of this life's game we all play.
We're born to lose.
People love and admire pimping because it feeds a fantasy of male domination over the female species. The problem is people believe this is self sustaining and long lasting. Dealing with the psychological aspects of a female is probably one of the most difficult things a man will ever take on. Whether it be pimping or being married or having a girlfriend. Taming the female species is the greatest challenge a man will ever face...period. Yes, you can control it. Even manipulate it, but it must be stressed, that at the end of the day, it can never, EVER be really beaten. But if you're THINKING at all times. You can at least go through this game with a relatively small amount of bruises. That's the best any of us can do.
But you have to THINK and use INTELLIGENCE!
And this film, the greatest pimp movie ever made, shows us this irony in spades. If you go in using intelligence and just THINK of how to deal with a woman, rather than letting EMOTION get the best of you, which is the equivalant of having a needle shoved in your arm and FEELING a RUSH, then you can master the female dynamic and the journey through this life will be much "easier" to deal with.
THE TRUTHHOLDER HAS SPOKEN!!!
****BONUS****You want to learn even more about the female dynamic and better yet, get inside how the female MIND works, here's an excerpt from a book Carol Speed (Lulu) wrote on the making of "The Mack" talking about the love scene between her and Max Julian, who played Goldie (all the key words are highlighted in bold):When I walked out of the bathroom, I could feel the excitement of the crew as every eye burned through my towel, longing to see what it covered.
I deliberately walked slowly over to the bed, turned a corner of the spread down and provocatively slid beneath it as I pulled the towel off.Max got into bed with a smile, he too, dropping his towel only after covering himself with the spread. Michael (the director) joined us, sitting down at the bottom of the bed.
"Carol, I want you to pretend there's absolutely no one in this room but you and Max."
His eyebrows knitted together.
"Now, I want this played like you've just finished a climax. You know, you're kissing and love-playing afterwards."
I smiled. "All right, Mike."
Max squirmed impatiently. "I can take care of it, man."
"I know you will," Mike said good naturedly.
He got up and took his place behind the camera. Max and I started kissing to get in the mood for the scene.
"You have a nice body, lady." Max whispered in my ear.
"Thank you and you kiss nice."
Max kissed me again, wet and passionately, and then touched my breast under the covers. It sent a shiver down my spine."Now remember," Mike said slowly, "On action, you're kissing and love-playing. Are you ready?"
I sat up abruptly, holding the covers up to my breasts. "Mike! You didn't tell me what scene we're shooting!"
"Top of forty-two where you tell him how you can teach him to be a pimp."
I slip back down between the covers and Max began methodically massaging my stomach.
It made me hot."Action," Mike said softly.Max stuck his tongue in my mouth.
"Okay, cut! Carol, what happened to your opening lines?"
"It's Max's fault! You don't know what he's doing under the covers!"
I sighed, exasperated.
"Oh, I have an idea." Mike grinned."You want to stay in character, don't you, Carol?"
"Okay, but cool it a little bit.
I'm high and I'm still a woman."
"That you are, Carol Speed!" And he quickly moved his hand between my legs.
"Max! Mike, he's at his
tricks again!"
Mike motioned for me to be quiet. "It'll make the scene better. All right, action!"
The two scenes ran beautifully. Max played well off me."Carol, we should finish this tonight."
Max wanted to have sex, not play at it."I can't. I have a date tonight." I knew I didn't want Max;
it was just the excitement of the scene."It's guaranteed to be better than just touching."
He sucked the lobe of my ear."I'm not doubting that, but I can't."
I moved away from him and wrapped the towel around myself, getting out of bed. I walked to the bathroom and
lit a joint Mark had handed me earlier. I had to stay turned on.In the following shot, Max and I had to get out of bed. I had the towel just below my breasts.
I could hear the heavy breathing of the crew members as they watched me walk across the room. The room was cool, and I could feel the goose bumps stand out along my exposed back.The final scene Mike had blocked off in the bed. I was feeling very confident and
vain and allowed the covers to slip down, revealing my nipples.
"You better cover yourself, girl," Max suggested, pulling the covers over me.
"Why?" I pulled them back down."Okay." He gave me an angry look. I knew he was afraid I'd steal the scene from him.
I gave that scene everything I had, as much warmth and depth as I had in me. When Mike yelled, "Wrap!" he was in tears. He ran over to me. "Carol, you were beautiful." The entire crew came over to congratulate me on a fine performance.Max was sulking. "Yeah, you peed, Miss Speed! But you're gonna find some disappointments when they do the editing." Max couldn't stand being out-classed.
How could he expect me to want him when he was acting so small, I wondered."Whatever, Max." I thanked the crew, threw my robe around me and left to meet Fred(Ward, a REAL pimp) ....
Now, my question in looking at this jarring difference was "how did it get from tame and conservative to freaky and sexy?" My theory is this: Don Cornelius, after airing the show for almost a decade, was probably beginning to lose viewers going into the 80's. In terms of how sex was presented, the 80's was a huge turning point in entertainment and Soul Train would be no different if it wanted to stay on top of it's game. The performances were no longer enough. It needed more. It also needed to take out Dick Clark's American Bandstand as they were going head to head competing for viewers. Dick Clark would never degenerate AB's squeeky clean image and it suffered a sad fate because of it, being cancelled in 1989 after some 25 years on the tube. But Soul Train, being "the hippest trip in America" didn't need to hold to those rules. It was time to adapt to this new age of music videos and more sexually dominated music. They transformed the female dancers into images closer to Hollywood hookers and a legend was born again. The point I'm making here is simply...when in doubt...pimp your female drug to it's maximum effect. It will never fail you. Don Cornelius always came across more like a pimp than a TV host anyway so it would be easy to see how he would go from this:
What the hell kind of name is Shemar anyway?
And this:
DRINK UP!
