Perhaps it is fate that an early era Blaxploitation, anti-capitalist film about an off-the-rails, pot-smoking cop who starts to mentally deteriorate because of racism from white officers on the force and insults from Black people he’s arresting, barely had its chance to reach an audience. Written, directed, and produced by its star Christopher St. John, 1972’s Top of the Heap is a tragic story of a Black artist struggling to create a singular vision in a Hollywood system dominated by white voices.
Although featuring what one would expect to see in any film labeled “Blaxploitation,” Top of the Heap takes a very different approach to the subgenre. It’s a story about Black trauma, angst, and disillusionment with the American dream and a middle finger to the expectations of the subgenre it wishes to subvert. It’s a surreal and violent cocktail made with the ingredients of Abel Ferrara,...
Although featuring what one would expect to see in any film labeled “Blaxploitation,” Top of the Heap takes a very different approach to the subgenre. It’s a story about Black trauma, angst, and disillusionment with the American dream and a middle finger to the expectations of the subgenre it wishes to subvert. It’s a surreal and violent cocktail made with the ingredients of Abel Ferrara,...
- 8/25/2020
- by Erik Nielsen
- The Film Stage
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