Episode 205: Jamma Fanaka Won't Go Down Without a Fight

## Show Notes

We discuss the career of independent Writer/Director Jamaa Fanaka, his lifelong struggle making films, and his role in the L.A Rebellion. His features under discussion include Welcome Home, Brother Charles, Emma Mae, and the Penitentiary trilogy.
## Films Discussed

* Directed by Jamaa Fanaka
	+ *Emma Mae* (1974)
	+ *Welcome Home, Brother Charles* (1975)
	+ *Penitentiary* (1979)
	+ *Penitentiary II* (1982)
	+ *Penitentiary III* (1987)
	+ *Street Wars* (1992)
* *Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song* (1971) Dir. Melvin Van Peebles
* *Mean Streets* (1973) Dir. Martin Scorsese
* *Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore* (1974) Dir. Martin Scorsese
* *Killer of Sheep* (1978) Dir. Charles Burnett
* *Stir Crazy* (1980) Dir. Sidney Poitier
* *Death Wish II* (1982) Dir. Michael Winner
* *Top Gun* (1986) Dir. Tony Scott
* *Daughters of the Dust* (1991) Dir. Julie Dash
* *New Jack City* (1991) Dir. Mario Van Peebles
* *Menace II Society* (1993) Dir. Allen and Albert Hughes
* *Clerks* (1994) Dir. Kevin Smith

## Discussion Notes

* Jamaa Fanaka: a black filmmaker with a substantial career that never caught a break
	+ Part of the L.A. Rebellion
		- Group of black filmmakers who made a few films that got no distribution
		- Their rise was due in part to affirmative action finally hitting film schools and black students getting admitted
		- Notable members include Julie Dash, Charles Burnett, and Jamaa Fanaka
		- They echoed the neo-realist ideas of Italy, telling stories from the streets
		- Fanaka wanted to bridge the gap from the concepts of the Rebellion to mainstream movies
	+ Fanaka, after a stint in the army and a stint in jail, entered film school
		- Quoted as being 'on the way to rob a bank' when he saw a notice for a film program at UCLA
	+ Eventually made it into the DGA, still got no jobs, and died in 2012
	+ Could have done so much more, if only given the opportunity
* A brief ICC history of black filmmaking
	+ Oscar Micheaux was the highlight the silent era
	+ Dried up until the Blacksplotation era (a label hated by Fanaka)
		- Notable directors included Melvin Van Pebbles and Ozzie Davis
	+ Died out again until a mainstream revival with Spike Lee in the 80's
* *Welcome Home, Brother Charles* (a.k.a. *Soul Vengeance*)
	+ Fanaka's feature length result of a short-film school project
	+ Has the fantastical premise of a magical member, but is more focused on the concept of reintegration of a convict into society
	+ Has a lived-in time capsule feel
* *Emma Mae* (a.k.a. *Black Sister's Revenge*)
	+ A character study of a young Southern woman coming to her family home in LA
	+ Sprawling story anchored by a powerful performance from Jeri Hayes
	+ Highly recommend by our hosts!
* The *Penitentiary* series
	+ Massive hit when it came out - biggest independent movie ever at it's time of release
	+ A muscular, sweaty, bloody movie series
	+ Fanaka was still a student when he made this (to keep access to UCLA's film equipment)

## Listener Letters

* Zenik
* Do our hosts recall any notable instances of copy-paste composing?
	+ Will: *The Artist*'s usage of music from *Vertigo*
		- Also loves hearing big scores in Turkish ripoff movies
	+ Poverty Row's reuse of public domain tracks
	+ *Furious* (1984) contains a Russian orchestra needle-drop
	+ *Bride of Frankenstein* (1935) score gets used in a lot of Universal horror movies
	+ *King King vs. Godzilla* (1962) uses the *Creature from the Black Lagoon* (1954) score
	+ The Shaw Brothers usage of Western scores
	+ *The Killer* uses tracks from *Red Heat*
	+ *Thief's* Tangerine Dream soundtrack used in Shaun Costello films

## Post-Outro Discussion

* The greatest part of staying home sick as a kid - unlimited TV and movies!
* Our hosts discuss their go-to movies for when they have the flu
	+ Godzilla films, Monty Python films, and hard-drive backlog diving
* Will shares a wisdom-teeth horror story