Black is Black ain't

Before he died of AIDS in 1994, Marlin Riggs had amassed an impressive collection of films to his credit: "Ethnic Notions," "Color Adjustments" and the highly acclaimed but controversial "Tongues United." Riggs covered a range of topics concerning the black experience, from racism to black male homosexuality.

In his last and most daring work, "Black Is... Black Ain't," Riggs attempts to address the struggle for black identity from black points of view.

The film specifically tackles how certain groups within the black community are embraced or rejected in the forging of a black identity. It is an extremely ambitious and certainly important goal, and one which Riggs intended to be his dying gift to society before his death, which occurred before the film could be completed.

Unfortunately, due to the broadness of its scope, and perhaps due to the absence of its conceiver in the last seven months of production, "Black Is... Black Ain't" is a rambling, diffuse, and unfocused work, covering too many issues and faces for any strong message to be expressed.

The film has a broad scope, addressing skin-tone prejudice, sexism within the black community, family relationships, civil rights movements, gangs, the Black Panthers, perceptions of homosexuality, the relationship of hair and fashion to Black self-definition, Afrocentrism, life in the urban ghetto, etc. While each of these subjects is fascinating in and of itself, the sheer number of issues is overwhelming. And with all of this crammed into an hour and twenty minutes, all subjects are obviously not addressed evenly.

Much time is dedicated to issues such as sexism and homophobia, while the problems of black sons growing up without black fathers is given barely thirty seconds. Riggs should have narrowed his scope down to the issues which he already invests the majority of his time, and cut the issues about which he has less to say.

The diffuseness of Riggs' work is not merely a reflection of subject matter, but also of a varied and erratic style. In addition to his straightforward, "talking-heads" style interviews with such luminaries as Angela Davis and Cornel West, Riggs also includes blurred and shaky MTV-style cuts, slow-motion ghetto shots and short sections of poetry and dance meant to express his own feelings on the subject matter. Dragging and distracting, the attempts at innovation merely seem scattershot and amateurish for this accomplished filmmaker.

Riggs' production staff's decision to include so much footage of Riggs dying in the hospital also detracts from the film's power. In these scenes, Riggs comments on the film's progress, subjects addressed in the film and his own deteriorating condition. All of the clips are interesting and compelling, but they don't fit with the rest of the documentary, as if a completely separate film were spliced into what Riggs originally conceived.

"Black Is... Black Ain't" is a disappointment.

At times Riggs manages to capture voices and stories that add insights into black identity in compelling and straightforward ways. However, it is frustrating that these successes are drowned out by cinematic special effects and an overload of other voices and issues.

Maybe if Riggs had been around to refine, edit and focus his work, it could have been an extremely powerful and attitude-changing film. If nothing else, the film is a testament to the tragedy of his death.