Unfortunately, Demme's supernaturalist rendering gives only a supporting role to Baby Suggs and the community of women who survived slavery and marched down Bluestone Road to save Sethe. Hollywood insiders are already pointing to Beloved as proof that major pictures that deal with race are losers. But this movie was hobbled by creative pretensions, not subject matter. The racial divide left by slavery is still our greatest problem. Before Hollywood's major players decide to give up on this subject, they should remember how Americans huddled around their small screens to watch Roots.
Film is our culture's most powerful medium.
It ought to be able, simultaneously, to do good and do well. Copyright Boston Review , 1993-2000. All rights reserved. Please do not reproduce without permission.